Related papers: The optimal bound on the 3-independence number obt…

In this paper, we study the independence polynomial $P_G(x)$ of a finite simple graph $G$, with emphasis on the evaluation at $x=-1$, symmetry, and its connection with the $h$-polynomial of the edge ideal of $G$. For big star graphs, we…

We derive the asymptotic formula $\alpha(k,q)=\lambda_{k-1}q^k+o(q^k)$, where $\alpha(k,q)$ is the independence number of the de Bruijn graph $B(k,q)$, and $\lambda_{k-1}$ is a constant arising from a variational problem on the unit…

Let $G$ be a simple, connected and finite graph with order $n$. Denote the independence number, edge independence number and total independence number by $\alpha(G), \alpha'(G)$ and $\alpha"(G)$ respectively. This paper establishes a…

In a graph $G = (V,E)$, a k-ruling set $S$ is one in which all vertices $V$ \ $S$ are at most $k$ distance from $S$. Finding a minimum k-ruling set is intrinsically linked to the minimum dominating set problem and maximal independent set…

The isolation number of a graph $G$ (also called the vertex-edge domination number of $G$), denoted by $\iota(G)$, is the size of a smallest subset $D$ of the vertex set $V(G)$ of $G$ such that $G-N[D]$ (the graph obtained by deleting the…

A well known upper bound for the independence number $\alpha(G)$ of a graph $G$, is that \[ \alpha(G) \le n^0 + \min\{n^+ , n^-\}, \] where $(n^+, n^0, n^-)$ is the inertia of $G$. We prove that this bound is also an upper bound for the…

We study the Independent Set (IS) problem in $H$-free graphs, i.e., graphs excluding some fixed graph $H$ as an induced subgraph. We prove several inapproximability results both for polynomial-time and parameterized algorithms.…

Counting independent sets in graphs and hypergraphs under a variety of restrictions is a classical question with a long history. It is the subject of the celebrated container method which found numerous spectacular applications over the…

In this paper, we introduce super-minimally $k$-connected graphs, those $k$-connected graphs in which no proper subgraph is $k$-connected. For $k$ greater than or equal to three, this class lies strictly between the classes of minimally…

For an integer $k \ge 1$, a (distance) $k$-dominating set of a connected graph $G$ is a set $S$ of vertices of $G$ such that every vertex of $V(G) \setminus S$ is at distance at most~$k$ from some vertex of $S$. The $k$-domination number,…

A set C of vertices of a graph is P_3-convex if every vertex outside C has at most one neighbor in C. The convex hull \sigma(A) of a set A is the smallest P_3-convex set that contains A. A set M is convexly independent if for every vertex x…

Let f(k) denote the maximum such that every simple undirected graph containing two vertices s,t and k edge-disjoint s-t paths, also contains two vertices u,v and f(k) independent u-v paths. Here, a set of paths is independent if none of…

We study the locations of complex zeroes of independence polynomials of bounded degree hypergraphs. For graphs, this is a long-studied subject with applications to statistical physics, algorithms, and combinatorics. Results on zero-free…

Given a set $\mathcal{F}$ of graphs, we call a copy of a graph in $\mathcal{F}$ an $\mathcal{F}$-graph. The $\mathcal{F}$-isolation number of a graph $G$, denoted by $\iota(G,\mathcal{F})$, is the size of a smallest set $D$ of vertices of…

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…

Let $\mathcal{C}_k(n)$ be the family of all connected $k$-chromatic graphs of order $n$. Given a natural number $x\geq k$, we consider the problem of finding the maximum number of $x$-colorings among graphs in $\mathcal{C}_k(n)$. When…

Testing whether there is an induced path in a graph spanning k given vertices is already NP-complete in general graphs when k=3. We show how to solve this problem in polynomial time on claw-free graphs, when k is not part of the input but…

Let $k \geq 3$. We prove the following three bounds for the matching number, $\alpha'(G)$, of a graph, $G$, of order $n$ size $m$ and maximum degree at most $k$. If $k$ is odd, then $\alpha'(G) \ge \left( \frac{k-1}{k(k^2 - 3)} \right) n \,…

Let $n(k_1, k_2)$ be the least integer $n$ such that there exists a graph on $n$ vertices in which every vertex is contained in both a clique of size $k_1$ and an independent set of size $k_2$. Recently, Feige and Pauzner showed that ${n(k,…

A set $S\subseteq V$ of vertices of a graph $G$ is a $c$-clustered set if it induces a subgraph with components of order at most $c$ each, and $\alpha_c(G)$ denotes the size of a largest $c$-clustered set. For any graph $G$ on $n$ vertices…