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François Dross

Publications and source records attributed to François Dross.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2025

Partitions of planar (oriented) graphs into a connected acyclic and an independent set

A question at the intersection of Barnette's Hamiltonicity and Neumann-Lara's dicoloring conjecture is: Can every Eulerian oriented planar graph be vertex-partitioned into two acyclic sets? A CAI-partition of an undirected/oriented graph is a partition into a tree/connected acyclic subgraph and an independent set. Consider any plane Eulerian oriented triangulation together with its unique tripartition, i.e. partition into three independent sets. If two of these three sets induce a subgraph G that has a CAI-partition, then the above question has a positive answer. We show that if G is subcubic, then it has a CAI-partition, i.e. oriented planar bipartite subcubic 2-vertex-connected graphs admit CAI-partitions. We also show that series-parallel 2-vertex-connected graphs admit CAI-partitions. Finally, we present a Eulerian oriented triangulation such that no two sets of its tripartition induce a graph with a CAI-partition. This generalizes a result of Alt, Payne, Schmidt, and Wood to the oriented setting.

math.CO↗
arXiv2025

Isometric-Universal Graphs for Trees

We consider the problem of finding the smallest graph that contains two input trees each with at most $n$ vertices preserving their distances. In other words, we look for an isometric-universal graph with the minimum number of vertices for two given trees. We prove that this problem can be solved in time $O(n^{5/2}\log{n})$. We extend this result to forests instead of trees, and propose an algorithm with running time $O(n^{7/2}\log{n})$. As a key ingredient, we show that a smallest isometric-universal graph of two trees essentially is a tree. Furthermore, we prove that these results cannot be extended. Firstly, we show that deciding whether there exists an isometric-universal graph with $t$ vertices for three forests is NP-complete. Secondly, we show that any smallest isometric-universal graph cannot be a tree for some families of three trees. This latter result has implications for greedy strategies solving the smallest isometric-universal graph problem.

cs.DS↗
arXiv2023

Computing pivot-minors

A graph $G$ contains a graph $H$ as a pivot-minor if $H$ can be obtained from $G$ by applying a sequence of vertex deletions and edge pivots. Pivot-minors play an important role in the study of rank-width. Pivot-minors have mainly been studied from a structural perspective. In this paper we perform the first systematic computational complexity study of pivot-minors. We first prove that the Pivot-Minor problem, which asks if a given graph $G$ contains a pivot-minor isomorphic to a given graph $H$, is NP-complete. If $H$ is not part of the input, we denote the problem by $H$-Pivot-Minor. We give a certifying polynomial-time algorithm for $H$-Pivot-Minor when (1) $H$ is an induced subgraph of $P_3+tP_1$ for some integer $t\geq 0$, (2) $H=K_{1,t}$ for some integer $t\geq 1$, or (3) $|V(H)|\leq 4$ except when $H \in \{K_4,C_3+ P_1\}$. Let ${\cal F}_H$ be the set of induced-subgraph-minimal graphs that contain a pivot-minor isomorphic to $H$. To prove the above statement, we either show that there is an integer $c_H$ such that all graphs in ${\cal F}_H$ have at most $c_H$ vertices, or we determine ${\cal F}_H$ precisely, for each of the above cases.

math.CO↗
arXiv2023

Separating the edges of a graph by a linear number of paths

Recently, Letzter proved that any graph of order $n$ contains a collection $\mathcal{P}$ of $O(n\log^\star n)$ paths with the following property: for all distinct edges $e$ and $f$ there exists a path in $\mathcal{P}$ which contains $e$ but not $f$. We improve this upper bound to $19 n$, thus answering a question of G.O.H. Katona and confirming a conjecture independently posed by Balogh, Csaba, Martin, and Pluhár and by Falgas-Ravry, Kittipassorn, Korándi, Letzter, and Narayanan. Our proof is elementary and self-contained.

math.CO↗
arXiv2023

On the proper interval completion problem within some chordal subclasses

Given a property (graph class) $Π$, a graph $G$, and an integer $k$, the \emph{$Π$-completion} problem consists in deciding whether we can turn $G$ into a graph with the property $Π$ by adding at most $k$ edges to $G$. The $Π$-completion problem is known to be NP-hard for general graphs when $Π$ is the property of being a proper interval graph (PIG). In this work, we study the PIG-completion problem %when $Π$ is the class of proper interval graphs (PIG) within different subclasses of chordal graphs. We show that the problem remains NP-complete even when restricted to split graphs. We then turn our attention to positive results and present polynomial time algorithms to solve the PIG-completion problem when the input is restricted to caterpillar and threshold graphs. We also present an efficient algorithm for the minimum co-bipartite-completion for quasi-threshold graphs, which provides a lower bound for the PIG-completion problem within this graph class.

cs.DM↗
arXiv2022

Gap-ETH-Tight Approximation Schemes for Red-Green-Blue Separation and Bicolored Noncrossing Euclidean Travelling Salesman Tours

In this paper, we study problems of connecting classes of points via noncrossing structures. Given a set of colored terminal points, we want to find a graph for each color that connects all terminals of its color with the restriction that no two graphs cross each other. We consider these problems both on the Euclidean plane and in planar graphs. On the algorithmic side, we give a Gap-ETH-tight EPTAS for the two-colored traveling salesman problem as well as for the red-blue-green separation problem (in which we want to separate terminals of three colors with two noncrossing polygons of minimum length), both on the Euclidean plane. This improves the work of Arora and Chang (ICALP 2003) who gave a slower PTAS for the simpler red-blue separation problem. For the case of unweighted plane graphs, we also show a PTAS for the two-colored traveling salesman problem. All these results are based on our new patching procedure that might be of independent interest. On the negative side, we show that the problem of connecting terminal pairs with noncrossing paths is NP-hard on the Euclidean plane, and that the problem of finding two noncrossing spanning trees is NP-hard in plane graphs.

cs.DS↗
arXiv2022

Generalising the achromatic number to Zaslavsky's colourings of signed graphs

The chromatic number, which refers to the minimum number of colours required to colour the vertices of graphs properly, is one of the most central notions of the graph chromatic theory. Several of its aspects of interest have been investigated in the literature, including variants for modifications of proper colourings. These variants include, notably, the achromatic number of graphs, which is the maximum number of colours required to colour the vertices of graphs properly so that each possible combination of distinct colours is assigned along some edge. The behaviours of this parameter have led to many investigations of interest, bringing to light both similarities and discrepancies with the chromatic number. This work takes place in a recent trend aiming at extending the chromatic theory of graphs to the realm of signed graphs, and, in particular, at investigating how classic results adapt to the signed context. Most of the works done in that line to date are with respect to two main generalisations of proper colourings of signed graphs, attributed to Zaslavsky and Guenin. Generalising the achromatic number to signed graphs was initiated recently by Lajou, his investigations being related to Guenin's colourings. We here pursue this line of research, but with taking Zaslavsky's colourings as our notion of proper colourings. We study the general behaviour of our resulting variant of the achromatic number, mainly by investigating how known results on the classic achromatic number generalise to our context. Our results cover, notably, bounds, standard operations on graphs, and complexity aspects.

cs.DM↗
arXiv2021

Tree pivot-minors and linear rank-width

Tree-width and its linear variant path-width play a central role for the graph minor relation. In particular, Robertson and Seymour (1983) proved that for every tree~$T$, the class of graphs that do not contain $T$ as a minor has bounded path-width. For the pivot-minor relation, rank-width and linear rank-width take over the role from tree-width and path-width. As such, it is natural to examine if for every tree~$T$, the class of graphs that do not contain $T$ as a pivot-minor has bounded linear rank-width. We first prove that this statement is false whenever $T$ is a tree that is not a caterpillar. We conjecture that the statement is true if $T$ is a caterpillar. We are also able to give partial confirmation of this conjecture by proving: (1) for every tree $T$, the class of $T$-pivot-minor-free distance-hereditary graphs has bounded linear rank-width if and only if $T$ is a caterpillar; (2) for every caterpillar $T$ on at most four vertices, the class of $T$-pivot-minor-free graphs has bounded linear rank-width. To prove our second result, we only need to consider $T=P_4$ and $T=K_{1,3}$, but we follow a general strategy: first we show that the class of $T$-pivot-minor-free graphs is contained in some class of $(H_1,H_2)$-free graphs, which we then show to have bounded linear rank-width. In particular, we prove that the class of $(K_3,S_{1,2,2})$-free graphs has bounded linear rank-width, which strengthens a known result that this graph class has bounded rank-width.

math.CO↗
arXiv2021

Powers of paths in tournaments

In this short note we prove that every tournament contains the $k$-th power of a directed path of linear length. This improves upon recent results of Yuster and of Girão. We also give a complete solution for this problem when $k=2$, showing that there is always a square of a directed path of length $\lceil 2n/3 \rceil-1$, which is best possible.

math.CO↗
arXiv2019

Jones' Conjecture in subcubic graphs

We confirm Jones' Conjecture for subcubic graphs. Namely, if a subcubic planar graph does not contain $k+1$ vertex-disjoint cycles, then it suffices to delete $2k$ vertices to obtain a forest.

math.CO↗
arXiv2019

Complexity of planar signed graph homomorphisms to cycles

We study homomorphism problems of signed graphs. A signed graph is an undirected graph where each edge is given a sign, positive or negative. An important concept for signed graphs is the operation of switching at a vertex, which is to change the sign of each incident edge. A homomorphism of a graph is a vertex-mapping that preserves the adjacencies; in the case of signed graphs, we also preserve the edge-signs. Special homomorphisms of signed graphs, called s-homomorphisms, have been studied. In an s-homomorphism, we allow, before the mapping, to perform any number of switchings on the source signed graph. This concept has been extensively studied, and a full complexity classification (polynomial or NP-complete) for s-homomorphism to a fixed target signed graph has recently been obtained. Such a dichotomy is not known when we restrict the input graph to be planar (not even for non-signed graph homomorphisms). We show that deciding whether a (non-signed) planar graph admits a homomorphism to the square $C_t^2$ of a cycle with $t\ge 6$, or to the circular clique $K_{4t/(2t-1)}$ with $t\ge2$, are NP-complete problems. We use these results to show that deciding whether a planar signed graph admits an s-homomorphism to an unbalanced even cycle is NP-complete. (A cycle is unbalanced if it has an odd number of negative edges). We deduce a complete complexity dichotomy for the planar s-homomorphism problem with any signed cycle as a target. We also study further restrictions involving the maximum degree and the girth of the input signed graph. We prove that planar s-homomorphism problems to signed cycles remain NP-complete even for inputs of maximum degree~$3$ (except for the case of unbalanced $4$-cycles, for which we show this for maximum degree~$4$). We also show that for a given integer $g$, the problem for signed bipartite planar inputs of girth $g$ is either trivial or NP-complete.

cs.DS↗
arXiv2019

Note on 3-Choosability of Planar Graphs with Maximum Degree 4

Deciding whether a planar graph (even of maximum degree $4$) is $3$-colorable is NP-complete. Determining subclasses of planar graphs being $3$-colorable has a long history, but since Grötzsch's result that triangle-free planar graphs are such, most of the effort was focused to solving Havel's and Steinberg's conjectures. In this paper, we prove that every planar graph of maximum degree $4$ obtained as a subgraph of the medial graph of any bipartite plane graph is $3$-choosable. These graphs are allowed to have close triangles (even incident), and have no short cycles forbidden, hence representing an entirely different class than the graphs inferred by the above mentioned conjectures.

math.CO↗
arXiv2019

The structure of graphs with given number of blocks and the maximum Wiener index

The Wiener index (the distance) of a connected graph is the sum of distances between all pairs of vertices. In this paper, we study the maximum possible value of this invariant among graphs on $n$ vertices with fixed number of blocks $p$. It is known that among graphs on $n$ vertices that have just one block, the $n$-cycle has the largest Wiener index. And the $n$-path, which has $n-1$ blocks, has the maximum Wiener index in the class of graphs on $n$ vertices. We show that among all graphs on $n$ vertices which have $p\ge 2$ blocks, the maximum Wiener index is attained by a graph composed of two cycles joined by a path (here we admit that one or both cycles can be replaced by a single edge, as in the case $p=n-1$ for example).

cs.DM↗
arXiv2019

Graphs with the second and third maximum Wiener index over the 2-vertex connected graphs

Wiener index, defined as the sum of distances between all unordered pairs of vertices, is one of the most popular molecular descriptors. It is well known that among 2-vertex connected graphs on $n\ge 3$ vertices, the cycle $C_n$ attains the maximum value of Wiener index. We show that the second maximum graph is obtained from $C_n$ by introducing a new edge that connects two vertices at distance two on the cycle if $n\ne 6$. If $n\ge 11$, the third maximum graph is obtained from a $4$-cycle by connecting opposite vertices by a path of length $n-3$. We completely describe also the situation for $n\le 10$.

cs.DM↗
arXiv2019

Partitioning sparse graphs into an independent set and a graph with bounded size components

We study the problem of partitioning the vertex set of a given graph so that each part induces a graph with components of bounded order; we are also interested in restricting these components to be paths. In particular, we say a graph $G$ admits an $({\cal I}, {\cal O}_k)$-partition if its vertex set can be partitioned into an independent set and a set that induces a graph with components of order at most $k$. We prove that every graph $G$ with $\operatorname{mad}(G)<\frac 52$ admits an $({\cal I}, {\cal O}_3)$-partition. This implies that every planar graph with girth at least $10$ can be partitioned into an independent set and a set that induces a graph whose components are paths of order at most 3. We also prove that every graph $G$ with $\operatorname{mad}(G) < \frac{8k}{3k+1} = \frac{8}{3}\left( 1 - \frac{1}{3k+1} \right)$ admits an $({\cal I}, {\cal O}_k)$-partition. This implies that every planar graph with girth at least $9$ can be partitioned into an independent set and a set that induces a graph whose components are paths of order at most 9.

cs.DM↗
arXiv2018

On the unavoidability of oriented trees

A digraph is {\it $n$-unavoidable} if it is contained in every tournament of order $n$. We first prove that every arborescence of order $n$ with $k$ leaves is $(n+k-1)$-unavoidable. We then prove that every oriented tree of order $n$ ($n\geq 2$) with $k$ leaves is $(\frac{3}{2}n+\frac{3}{2}k -2)$-unavoidable and $(\frac{9}{2}n -\frac{5}{2}k -\frac{9}{2})$-unavoidable, and thus $(\frac{21}{8} n- \frac{47}{16})$-unavoidable. Finally, we prove that every oriented tree of order $n$ with $k$ leaves is $(n+ 144k^2 - 280k + 124)$-unavoidable.

cs.DM↗
arXiv2017

Vertex partitions of $(C_3,C_4,C_6)$-free planar graphs

A graph is $(k_1,k_2)$-colorable if its vertex set can be partitioned into a graph with maximum degree at most $k_1$ and and a graph with maximum degree at most $k_2$. We show that every $(C_3,C_4,C_6)$-free planar graph is $(0,6)$-colorable. We also show that deciding whether a $(C_3,C_4,C_6)$-free planar graph is $(0,3)$-colorable is NP-complete.

cs.DM↗