Related papers: Maximal independent sets and separating covers

We present quantum complexity lower and upper bounds for independent set problems in graphs. In particular, we give quantum algorithms for computing a maximal and a maximum independent set in a graph. We present applications of these…

The celebrated Hadwiger's conjecture states that if a graph contains no $K_{t+1}$ minor then it is $t$-colourable. If true, it would in particular imply that every $n$-vertex $K_{t+1}$-minor-free graph has an independent set of size at…

This paper discusses the question of how many non-empty subsets of the set $[n] = \{ 1, 2, ..., n\}$ we can choose so that no chosen subset is the union of some other chosen subsets. Let $M(n)$ be the maximum number of subsets we can…

In our paper, we consider the following general problems: check feasibility, count the number of feasible solutions, find an optimal solution, and count the number of optimal solutions in $P \cap Z^n$, assuming that $P$ is a polyhedron,…

A theorem of Shearer states that every $n$-vertex triangle-free graph of maximum degree $d \geq 2$ contains an independent set of size at least $(d\log d - d + 1)/(d - 1)^2 \cdot n$. Ajtai, Koml\'{o}s, Pintz, Spencer and Szemer\'{e}di…

Let ${\rm ind}(G)$ be the number of independent sets in a graph $G$. We show that if $G$ has maximum degree at most $5$ then $$ {\rm ind}(G) \leq 2^{{\rm iso}(G)} \prod_{uv \in E(G)} {\rm ind}(K_{d(u),d(v)})^{\frac{1}{d(u)d(v)}} $$ (where…

Let $G$ be a simple graph with vertex set $V(G)$. A set $S\subseteq V(G)$ is independent if no two vertices from $S$ are adjacent. For $X\subseteq V(G)$, the difference of $X$ is $d(X) = |X|-|N(X)|$ and an independent set $A$ is critical if…

The notion of augmenting graphs generalizes Berge's idea of augmenting chains, which was used by Edmonds in his celebrated solution of the maximum matching problem. This problem is a special case of the more general maximum independent set…

Kuratowski's 14-set theorem says that in a topological space, 14 is the maximum possible number of distinct sets which can be generated from a fixed set by taking closures and complements. In this article we consider the analogous questions…

A graph $G$ is {\em well-covered} if every maximal independent set has the same cardinality $q$. Let $i_k(G)$ denote the number of independent sets of cardinality $k$ in $G$. Brown, Dilcher, and Nowakowski conjectured that the independence…

An independent set in a graph is a set of pairwise non-adjacent vertices, and alpha(G) is the size of a maximum independent set in the graph G. A matching is a set of non-incident edges, while mu(G) is the cardinality of a maximum matching.…

We determine the maximum number of induced cycles that can be contained in a graph on $n\ge n_0$ vertices, and show that there is a unique graph that achieves this maximum. This answers a question of Tuza. We also determine the maximum…

An old problem of Moser asks: how large of a union-free subfamily does every family of m sets have? A family of sets is called union-free if there are no three distinct sets in the family such that the union of two of the sets is equal to…

An $i$-independent set is a vertex set whose pairwise distance is at least $i+1$. A proper (square) $k$-coloring of a graph $G$ is a partition of its vertex set into $k$ independent ($2$-independent) sets. A packing $(1^{j}, 2^k)$-coloring…

For a finite set of integers such that the first few gaps between its consecutive elements equal $a$, while the remaining gaps equal $b$, we study dense packings of its translates on the line. We obtain an explicit lower bound on the…

Let G be a graph. The independence-domination number is the maximum over all independent sets I in G of the minimal number of vertices needed to dominate I. In this paper we investigate the computational complexity of independence…

We solve two related extremal problems in the theory of permutations. A set $Q$ of permutations of the integers 1 to $n$ is inversion-complete (resp., pair-complete) if for every inversion $(j,i)$, where $1 \le i \textless{} j \le n$,…

Geometrical objects with integral side lengths have fascinated mathematicians through the ages. We call a set $P=\{p_1,...,p_n\}\subset\mathbb{Z}^2$ a maximal integral point set over $\mathbb{Z}^2$ if all pairwise distances are integral and…

Motivated by a question on the maximal number of vertex disjoint Schrijver graphs in the Kneser graph, we investigate the following function, denoted by $f(n,k)$: the maximal number of Hamiltonian cycles on an $n$ element set, such that no…

Let $A$ and $B$ be sets of vertices in a graph $G$. Menger's theorem states that for every positive integer $k$, either there exists a collection of $k$ vertex-disjoint paths between $A$ and $B$, or $A$ can be separated from $B$ by a set of…