Hitting all maximum stable sets in $P_5$-free graphs

Abstract

We prove that every $P_5$-free graph of bounded clique number contains a small hitting set of all its maximum stable sets. More generally, let us say a class $\mathcal{C}$ of graphs is $\eta$-bounded if there exists a function $h:\mathbb{N}\rightarrow \mathbb{N}$ such that $\eta(G)\leq h(\omega(G))$ for every graph $G\in \mathcal{C}$, where $\eta(G)$ denotes smallest cardinality of a hitting set of all maximum stable sets in $G$, and $\omega(G)$ is the clique number of $G$. Also, $\mathcal{C}$ is said to be polynomially $\eta$-bounded if in addition $h$ can be chosen to be a polynomial. We introduce $\eta$-boundedness inspired by a question of Alon and motivated by a number of meaningful similarities to $\chi$-boundedness. In particular, we propose an analogue of the Gy\'{a}rf\'{a}s-Sumner conjecture, that the class of all $H$-free graphs is $\eta$-bounded if (and only if) $H$ is a forest. Like $\chi$-boundedness, the case where $H$ is a star is easy to verify, and we prove two non-trivial extensions of this: $H$-free graphs are $\eta$-bounded if (1) $H$ has a vertex incident with all edges of $H$, or (2) $H$ can be obtained from a star by subdividing at most one edge, exactly once. Unlike $\chi$-boundedness, the case where $H$ is a path is surprisingly hard. Our main result mentioned at the beginning shows that $P_5$-free graphs are $\eta$-bounded. The proof is rather involved compared to the classical ``Gy\'{a}rf\'{a}s path'' argument which establishes, for all $t$, the $\chi$-boundedness of $P_t$-free graphs. It remains open whether $P_t$-free graphs are $\eta$-bounded for $t\geq 6$. It also remains open whether $P_5$-free graphs are polynomially $\eta$-bounded, which, if true, would imply the Erd\H{o}s-Hajnal conjecture for $P_5$-free graphs. But we prove that $H$-free graphs are polynomially $\eta$-bounded if $H$ is a proper induced subgraph of $P_5$.