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Laurent Beaudou

Publications and source records attributed to Laurent Beaudou.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

Structural parameterizations of Geodetic Set on directed (acyclic) graphs

In DIRECTED GEODETIC SET, we are given a (directed) graph and seek a small solution set $S \subseteq V(G)$ such that every vertex lies on a shortest directed path between two vertices in $S$. It is known that the problem is W[2]-hard when parameterized by the solution size $k$, even on directed acyclic graphs (DAGs). Our first result is a kernel of size $2^{O(vcn)}$ for DIRECTED GEODETIC SET on general digraphs, where $vcn$ denotes the vertex cover number of the underlying (undirected) graph. This implies an algorithm running in time $2^{O(vcn^2)} \cdot n^{O(1)}$. Furthermore, we prove that, assuming the ETH, the problem does not admit an algorithm running in time $2^{o(vcn^2)} \cdot n^{O(1)}$. Next, we show that on general digraphs, DIRECTED GEODETIC SET admits a natural kernel of size $(k\Delta)^{O(rdiam)}$, where $\Delta$ is the maximum degree and $rdiam$ denotes the reachability diameter of the digraph (a natural analogue of diameter of undirected graphs). This yields an algorithm running in time $(k\Delta)^{O(rdiam \cdot k)}\cdot n^{O(1)}$. We further prove that, assuming the ETH, the problem does not admit an algorithm running in time $(k\Delta)^{o(rdiam \cdot k)} \cdot n^{O(1)}$. Finally, we justify the necessity of combining parameters by establishing the following hardness results for DIRECTED GEODETIC SET: - It is W[2]-hard parameterized by $k$, even on digraphs of maximum degree 3. - It is para-NP-hard parameterized by maximum degree and reachability diameter. One can infer that the problem remains W[2]-hard when parameterized by k, even on graphs of reachability diameter 3 from Ara\'ujo and Arraes [DAM 2022]. All our conditional lower bounds and hardness results hold even when the input digraph is restricted to be a DAG.

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arXiv2025

The Canadian Traveller Problem on outerplanar graphs

We study the $k$-Canadian Traveller Problem, where a weighted graph $G=(V,E,ω)$ with a source $s\in V$ and a target $t\in V$ are given. This problem also has a hidden input $E_* \subsetneq E$ of cardinality at most $k$ representing blocked edges. The objective is to travel from $s$ to $t$ with the minimum distance. At the beginning of the walk, the blockages $E_*$ are unknown: the traveller discovers that an edge is blocked when visiting one of its endpoints. Online algorithms, also called strategies, have been proposed for this problem and assessed with the competitive ratio, {\em i.e.}, the ratio between the distance actually traversed by the traveller divided by the distance he would have traversed knowing the blockages in advance. Even though the optimal competitive ratio is $2k+1$ even on unit-weighted planar graphs of treewidth 2, we design a polynomial-time strategy achieving competitive ratio 9 on unit-weighted outerplanar graphs. This value 9 also stands as a lower bound for this family of graphs as we prove that, for any $\varepsilon > 0$, no strategy can achieve a competitive ratio $9-\varepsilon$ on it. This comes actually from a strong connexion with another well-known online problem called the cow-path problem. Finally, we show that it is not possible to achieve a competitive ratio $e^{W(\frac{\ln k}{2})} - 1$ on arbitrarily weighted outerplanar graphs, where $W$ is the Lambert W function. This lower bound is asymptotically greater than $\frac{\ln k}{\ln \ln k}$.

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arXiv2025

Profile and neighbourhood complexity of graphs excluding a minor and tree-structured graphs

The \emph{$r$-neighbourhood complexity} of a graph $G$ is the function counting, for a given integer $k$, the largest possible number, over all vertex-subsets $A$ of size $k$, of subsets of $A$ realized as the intersection between the $r$-neighbourhood of some vertex and $A$. A~refinement of this notion is the \emph{$r$-profile complexity}, that counts the maximum number of distinct distance-vectors from any vertex to the vertices of $A$, ignoring distances larger than~$r$. Typically, in structured graph classes such as graphs of bounded VC-dimension or chordal graphs, these functions are bounded, leading to insights into their structural properties and efficient algorithms. We improve existing bounds on the $r$-profile complexity (and thus on the $r$-neighbourhood complexity) for graphs in several structured graph classes. We show that the $r$-profile complexity of graphs excluding $K_h$ as a minor is in $O_h(r^{3h-3}k)$. For graphs of treewidth at most~$t$, we give a bound in $O_t(r^{t+1}k)$, which is tight up to a function of~$t$ as a factor. These bounds improve results of Joret and Rambaud and answer a question of their paper [Combinatorica, 2024]. We also apply our methods to other classes of bounded expansion such as graphs excluding a fixed complete graph as a subdivision. For outerplanar graphs, we can improve our treewidth bound by a factor of $r$ and conjecture that a similar improvement holds for graphs with bounded simple treewidth. For graphs of treelength at most~$\ell$, we give the upper bound of $O(k(r^2(\ell+1)^k))$, which we improve to $O\left (k\cdot (r 2^k + r^2k^2) \right)$ in the case of chordal graphs and $O(k^2r)$ for interval graphs. Our bounds also imply relations between the order, diameter and metric dimension of graphs in these classes, improving results from [Beaudou et al., SIDMA 2017].

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arXiv2024

Connected greedy colourings of perfect graphs and other classes: the good, the bad and the ugly

The Grundy number of a graph is the maximum number of colours used by the "First-Fit" greedy colouring algorithm over all vertex orderings. Given a vertex ordering $σ= v_1,\dots,v_n$, the "First-Fit" greedy colouring algorithm colours the vertices in the order of $σ$ by assigning to each vertex the smallest colour unused in its neighbourhood. By restricting this procedure to vertex orderings that are connected, we obtain {\em connected greedy colourings}. For some graphs, all connected greedy colourings use exactly $χ(G)$ colours; they are called {\em good graphs}. On the opposite, some graphs do not admit any connected greedy colouring using only $χ(G)$ colours; they are called {\em ugly graphs}. We show that no perfect graph is ugly. We also give simple proofs of this fact for subclasses of perfect graphs (block graphs, comparability graphs), and show that no $K_4$-minor free graph is ugly. Moreover, our proofs are constructive, and imply the existence of polynomial-time algorithms to compute good connected orderings for these graph classes.

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arXiv2023

Density of $3$-critical signed graphs

We say that a signed graph is $k$-critical if it is not $k$-colorable but every one of its proper subgraphs is $k$-colorable. Using the definition of colorability due to Naserasr, Wang, and Zhu that extends the notion of circular colorability, we prove that every $3$-critical signed graph on $n$ vertices has at least $\frac{3n-1}{2}$ edges, and that this bound is asymptotically tight. It follows that every signed planar or projective-planar graph of girth at least $6$ is (circular) $3$-colorable, and for the projective-planar case, this girth condition is best possible. To prove our main result, we reformulate it in terms of the existence of a homomorphism to the signed graph $C_{3}^*$, which is the positive triangle augmented with a negative loop on each vertex.

math.CO↗
arXiv2023

Complexity of conjunctive regular path query homomorphisms

A graph database is a digraph whose arcs are labeled with symbols from a fixed alphabet. A regular graph pattern (RGP) is a digraph whose edges are labeled with regular expressions over the alphabet. RGPs model navigational queries for graph databases called conjunctive regular path queries (CRPQs). A match of a CRPQ in the database is witnessed by a special navigational homomorphism of the corresponding RGP to the database. We study the complexity of deciding the existence of a homomorphism between two RGPs. Such homomorphisms model a strong type of containment between the two corresponding CRPQs. We show that this problem can be solved by an EXPTIME algorithm (while general query containmement in this context is EXPSPACE-complete). We also study the problem for restricted RGPs over a unary alphabet, that arise from some applications like XPath or SPARQL. For this case, homomorphism-based CRPQ containment is in NP. We prove that certain interesting cases are in fact polynomial-time solvable.

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arXiv2022

Smallest $C_{2l+1}$-critical graphs of odd-girth $2k+1$

Given a graph $H$, a graph $G$ is called $H$-critical if $G$ does not admit a homomorphism to $H$, but any proper subgraph of $G$ does. Observe that $K_{k-1}$-critical graphs are the standard $k$-(colour)-critical graphs. We consider questions of extremal nature previously studied for $k$-critical graphs and generalize them to $H$-critical graphs. After complete graphs, the next natural case to consider for $H$ is that of the odd-cycles. Thus, given integers $\ell$ and $k$, $\ell\geq k$, we ask: what is the smallest order of a $C_{2\ell +1}$-critical graph of odd-girth at least $2k+1$? Denoting this value by $η(k,C_{2\ell+1})$, we show that $η(k,C_{2\ell+1})=4k$ for $1\leq\ell\leq k\leq\frac{3\ell+i-3}{2}$ ($2k=i\bmod 3$) and that $η(3,C_5)=15$. The latter means that a smallest graph of odd-girth~$7$ not admitting a homomorphism to the $5$-cycle is of order~$15$. Computational work shows that there are exactly eleven such graphs on $15$~vertices of which only two are $C_5$-critical.

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arXiv2020

Graphs with no induced house nor induced hole have the de Bruijn-Erdős property

A set of n points in the plane which are not all collinear defines at least n distinct lines. Chen and Chvátal conjectured in 2008 that a similar result can be achieved in the broader context of finite metric spaces. This conjecture remains open even for graph metrics. In this article we prove that graphs with no induced house nor induced cycle of length at least~5 verify the desired property. We focus on lines generated by vertices at distance at most 2, define a new notion of ``good pairs'' that might have application in larger families, and finally use a discharging technique to count lines in irreducible graphs.

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arXiv2019

On the multipacking number of grid graphs

In 2001, Erwin introduced broadcast domination in graphs. It is a variant of classical domination where selected vertices may have different domination powers. The minimum cost of a dominating broadcast in a graph $G$ is denoted $γ_b(G)$. The dual of this problem is called multipacking: a multipacking is a set $M$ of vertices such that for any vertex $v$ and any positive integer $r$, the ball of radius $r$ around $v$ contains at most $r$ vertices of $M$ . The maximum size of a multipacking in a graph $G$ is denoted mp(G). Naturally mp(G) $\leq γ_b(G)$. Earlier results by Farber and by Lubiw show that broadcast and multipacking numbers are equal for strongly chordal graphs. In this paper, we show that all large grids (height at least 4 and width at least 7), which are far from being chordal, have their broadcast and multipacking numbers equal.

cs.DM↗
arXiv2019

Broadcast domination and multipacking: bounds and the integrality gap

The dual concepts of coverings and packings are well studied in graph theory. Coverings of graphs with balls of radius one and packings of vertices with pairwise distances at least two are the well-known concepts of domination and independence, respectively. In 2001, Erwin introduced \emph{broadcast domination} in graphs, a covering problem using balls of various radii, where the cost of a ball is its radius. The minimum cost of a dominating broadcast in a graph $G$ is denoted by $γ_b(G)$. The dual (in the sense of linear programming) of broadcast domination is \emph{multipacking}: a multipacking is a set $P \subseteq V(G)$ such that for any vertex $v$ and any positive integer $r$, the ball of radius $r$ around $v$ contains at most $r$ vertices of $P$. The maximum size of a multipacking in a graph $G$ is denoted by $mp(G)$. Naturally, $mp(G) \leq γ_b(G)$. Hartnell and Mynhardt proved that $γ_b(G) \leq 3 mp(G) - 2$ (whenever $mp(G)\geq 2$). In this paper, we show that $γ_b(G) \leq 2mp(G) + 3$. Moreover, we conjecture that this can be improved to $γ_b(G) \leq 2mp(G)$ (which would be sharp).

math.CO↗
arXiv2019

Homomorphism bounds of signed bipartite $K_4$-minor-free graphs and edge-colorings of $2k$-regular $K_4$-minor-free multigraphs

A signed graph $(G, Σ)$ is a graph $G$ and a subset $Σ$ of its edges which corresponds to an assignment of signs to the edges: edges in $Σ$ are negative while edges not in $Σ$ are positive. A closed walk of a signed graph is balanced if the product of the signs of its edges (repetitions included) is positive, and unbalanced otherwise. The unbalanced-girth of a signed graph is the length of a shortest unbalanced closed walk (if such a walk exists). A homomorphism of $(G,Σ)$ to $(H,Π)$ is a homomorphism of $G$ to $H$ which preserves the balance of closed walks. In this work, given a signed bipartite graph $(B, Π)$ of unbalanced-girth $2k$, we give a necessary and sufficient condition for $(B, Π)$ to admit a homomorphism from any signed bipartite graph of unbalanced-girth at least $2k$ whose underlying graph is $K_4$-minor-free. The condition can be checked in polynomial time with respect to the order of $B$. Let $SPC(2k)$ be the signed bipartite graph on vertex set $\mathbb{Z}_2^{2k-1}$ where vertices $u$ and $v$ are adjacent with a positive edge if their difference is in $\{e_1,e_2, \ldots, e_{2k-1}\}$ (where the $e_i$'s form the standard basis), and adjacent with a negative edge if their difference is $J$ (that is, the all-1 vector). As an application of our work, we prove that every signed bipartite $K_4$-minor-free graph of unbalanced-girth $2k$ admits a homomorphism to $SPC(2k)$. This supports a conjecture of Guenin claiming that every signed bipartite planar graph of unbalanced-girth $2k$ admits a homomorphism to $SPC(2k)$ (this would be an extension of the four-color theorem). We also give an application of our work to edge-coloring $2k$-regular $K_4$-minor-free multigraphs.

math.CO↗
arXiv2019

Bisplit graphs satisfy the Chen-Chvátal conjecture

In this paper, we give a lengthy proof of a small result! A graph is bisplit if its vertex set can be partitioned into three stable sets with two of them inducing a complete bipartite graph. We prove that these graphs satisfy the Chen-Chvátal conjecture: their metric space (in the usual sense) has a universal line (in an unusual sense) or at least as many lines as the number of vertices.

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arXiv2018

Bounding the order of a graph using its diameter and metric dimension: a study through tree decompositions and VC dimension

The metric dimension of a graph is the minimum size of a set of vertices such that each vertex is uniquely determined by the distances to the vertices of that set. Our aim is to upper-bound the order $n$ of a graph in terms of its diameter $d$ and metric dimension $k$. In general, the bound $n\leq d^k+k$ is known to hold. We prove a bound of the form $n=\mathcal{O}(kd^2)$ for trees and outerplanar graphs (for trees we determine the best possible bound and the corresponding extremal examples). More generally, for graphs having a tree decomposition of width $w$ and length $\ell$, we obtain a bound of the form $n=\mathcal{O}(kd^2(2\ell+1)^{3w+1})$. This implies in particular that $n=\mathcal{O}(kd^{\mathcal{O}(1)})$ for graphs of constant treewidth and $n=\mathcal{O}(f(k)d^2)$ for chordal graphs, where $f$ is a doubly-exponential function. Using the notion of distance-VC dimension (introduced in 2014 by Bousquet and Thomassé) as a tool, we prove the bounds $n\leq (dk+1)^{t-1}+1$ for $K_t$-minor-free graphs, and $n\leq (dk+1)^{d(3\cdot 2^{r}+2)}+1$ for graphs of rankwidth at most $r$.

math.CO↗
arXiv2018

Homomorphism bounds and edge-colourings of $K_4$-minor-free graphs

We present a necessary and sufficient condition for a graph of odd-girth $2k+1$ to bound the class of $K_4$-minor-free graphs of odd-girth (at least) $2k+1$, that is, to admit a homomorphism from any such $K_4$-minor-free graph. This yields a polynomial-time algorithm to recognize such bounds. Using this condition, we first prove that every $K_4$-minor free graph of odd-girth $2k+1$ admits a homomorphism to the projective hypercube of dimension $2k$. This supports a conjecture of the third author which generalizes the four-color theorem and relates to several outstanding conjectures such as Seymour's conjecture on edge-colorings of planar graphs. Strengthening this result, we show that the Kneser graph $K(2k+1,k)$ satisfies the conditions, thus implying that every $K_4$-minor free graph of odd-girth $2k+1$ has fractional chromatic number exactly $2+\frac{1}{k}$. Knowing that a smallest bound of odd-girth $2k+1$ must have at least ${k+2 \choose 2}$ vertices, we build nearly optimal bounds of order $4k^2$. Furthermore, we conjecture that the suprema of the fractional and circular chromatic numbers for $K_4$-minor-free graphs of odd-girth $2k+1$ are achieved by a same bound of odd-girth $2k+1$. If true, this improves, in the homomorphism order, earlier tight results on the circular chromatic number of $K_4$-minor-free graphs. We support our conjecture by proving it for the first few cases. Finally, as an application of our work, and after noting that Seymour provided a formula for calculating the edge-chromatic number of $K_4$-minor-free multigraphs, we show that stronger results can be obtained in the case of $K_4$-minor-free regular multigraphs.

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arXiv2017

A lower bound on the size of an absorbing set in an arc-coloured tournament

Bousquet, Lochet and Thomassé recently gave an elegant proof that for any integer $n$, there is a least integer $f(n)$ such that any tournament whose arcs are coloured with $n$ colours contains a subset of vertices $S$ of size $f(n)$ with the property that any vertex not in $S$ admits a monochromatic path to some vertex of $S$. In this note we provide a lower bound on the value $f(n)$.

math.CO↗
arXiv2016

Octal Games on Graphs: The game 0.33 on subdivided stars and bistars

Octal games are a well-defined family of two-player games played on heaps of counters, in which the players remove alternately a certain number of counters from a heap, sometimes being allowed to split a heap into two nonempty heaps, until no counter can be removed anymore. We extend the definition of octal games to play them on graphs: heaps are replaced by connected components and counters by vertices. Thus, an octal game on a path P\_n is equivalent to playing the same octal game on a heap of n counters. We study one of the simplest octal games, called 0.33, in which the players can remove one vertex or two adjacent vertices without disconnecting the graph. We study this game on trees and give a complete resolution of this game on subdivided stars and bistars.

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