Locating-dominating coalitions in graphs

A set $D$ of vertices in a graph $G = (V, E)$ is a locating-dominating set (LD-set) if it is dominating and every two vertices $u$, $v$ of $V\setminus D$ satisfy $N(u) \cap D \neq N(v) \cap D$. Two disjoint sets $A,B\subset V(G)$ form a locating-dominating coalition (for short, an LD-coalition) in $G$ if none of them is an LD-set in $G$ but their union $A\cup B$ is an LD-set. A locating-dominating coalition partition (for short, an LDC-partition) is a vertex partition $\Pi$ such that every set of $\Pi$ is not an LD-set in $G,$ but forms an LD-coalition with another set of $\Pi$. The locating-domination coalition number of $G$, denoted by $C_{L}(G),$ equals the maximum cardinality of an LDC-partition of $G$. Our purpose in this paper is to initiate the study of locating-dominating coalitions in graphs. We first investigate the existence of LDC-partitions. We also obtain lower and upper bounds on $C_{L}(G)$. We characterize connected graphs $G$ of order $n\ge 3$ satisfying $C_L(G) = n,$ as well as those trees $T$ such that $C_L(T)=n-1$. In addition, we determine the exact values of $C_L(G)$ for some classes of graphs. Moreover, we investigate the computational complexity of the decision problem associated with locating-dominating coalition partitions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that addresses the algorithmic complexity of a decision problem related to coalition partitions, not only for this locating-dominating model but for coalition partitions in general.