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Tara Abrishami

Publications and source records attributed to Tara Abrishami.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2025

Locally chordal graphs

In this paper we study locally chordal graphs, i.e. graphs where every small-radius ball is chordal. We prove four characterizations of locally chordal graphs. Two are counterparts of the classic descriptions of chordal graphs via induced subgraphs and via minimal separators. For the latter, we rely on the local separators introduced in [CJKK25]. Another characterization is via the local covering, which was introduced in [DJKK22] to study local-global characteristics of graphs using coverings from topology. Our final characterization of locally chordal graphs is in terms of their binary cycle spaces. This gives a new characterization of chordal graphs as wheel-free graphs whose binary cycle space is generated by triangles. Together, these results demonstrate the potential of local-global tools to uncover rich new properties. Our results in this paper also form the basis of our local-global analysis of locally chordal graphs [AKb], where we develop a local-global perspective into structural characterizations.

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arXiv2025

Locally interval graphs are circular-arc graphs

Circular-arc graphs are graphs that can be represented as intersection graphs of subpaths of a cycle. Interval graphs are graphs that can be represented as intersection graphs of subpaths of a path. Since cycles are locally paths, every circular-arc graph is locally interval. In this paper, we prove that the converse holds as well: every locally interval graph is a circular-arc graph. This result and its proofs are connected to a recent broader study of structural local-global theory and build on previous work on locally chordal graphs.

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arXiv2025

The global structure of locally chordal graphs

A graph is locally chordal if each of its small-radius balls is chordal. In an earlier work [AKK25], the authors and Kobler proved that locally chordal graphs can be characterized by having chordal local covers, by forbidding short cycles and wheels as induced subgraphs, and by the property that each of their minimal local separators is a clique. In this paper, we address the global structure of locally chordal graphs. The global structure of chordal graphs is given by the following characterizations: a graph is chordal if and only if it is the intersection graph of subtrees of a tree, if and only if it admits a tree-decomposition into cliques. We prove a local analog of this characterization, which essentially says that a graph is locally chordal if and only if it is the intersection graph of special subtrees of a high-girth graph, if and only if it admits a special graph-decomposition over a high-girth graph into cliques. We also prove that these global representations of locally chordal graphs can be efficiently computed. This paper has two major contributions. The first is to exhibit for locally chordal graphs an ideal "local to global" analysis: given a graph class defined by restricted local structure, we fully describe the global structure of graphs in the class. The second is to develop the theory of graph-decompositions. Much of the work in this paper is devoted to properties of graph-decompositions that represent the global structure of graphs. This theory will be useful to find global decompositions for graph classes beyond locally chordal graphs.

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arXiv2025

A structure theorem for rooted connectivity in bidirected graphs

Recently, bidirected graphs have received increasing attention from the graph theory community with both structural and algorithmic results. Bidirected graphs are a generalization of directed graphs, consisting of an undirected graph together with a map assigning each endpoint of every edge either sign $+$ or $-$. The connectivity properties of bidirected graphs are more complex than those of directed graphs and not yet well understood. In this paper, we show a structure theorem about rooted connectivity in bidirected graphs in terms of directed graphs. As applications, we prove Lovász' flame theorem, Pym's theorem and a strong variant of Menger's theorem for a class of bidirected graphs and provide counterexamples in the general case.

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arXiv2025

On coarse tree decompositions and coarse balanced separators

It is known that there is a linear dependence between the treewidth of a graph and its balanced separator number: the smallest integer $k$ such that for every weighing of the vertices, the graph admits a balanced separator of size at most $k$. We investigate whether this connection can be lifted to the setting of coarse graph theory, where both the bags of the considered tree decompositions and the considered separators should be coverable by a bounded number of bounded-radius balls. As the first result, we prove that if an $n$-vertex graph $G$ admits balanced separators coverable by $k$ balls of radius $r$, then $G$ also admits tree decompositions ${\cal T}_1$ and ${\cal T}_2$ such that: - in ${\cal T}_1$, every bag can be covered by $O(k\log n)$ balls of radius $r$; and - in ${\cal T}_2$, every bag can be covered by $O(k^2\log k)$ balls of radius $r(\log k+\log\log n+O(1))$. As the second result, we show that if we additionally assume that $G$ has doubling dimension at most $m$, then the functional equivalence between the existence of small balanced separators and of tree decompositions of small width can be fully lifted to the coarse setting. Precisely, we prove that for a positive integer $r$ and a graph $G$ of doubling dimension at most $m$, the following conditions are equivalent, with constants $k_1,k_2,k_3,k_4,Δ_3,Δ_4$ depending on each other and on $m$: - $G$ admits balanced separators consisting of $k_1$ balls of radius $r$; - $G$ has a tree decomposition with bags coverable by $k_2$ balls of radius $r$; - $G$ has a tree-partition of maximum degree $\leq Δ_3$ with bags coverable by $k_3$ balls of radius $r$; - $G$ is quasi-isometric to a graph of maximum degree $\leq Δ_4$ and tree-partition width $\leq k_4$.

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arXiv2025

Burling graphs in graphs with large chromatic number

A graph class is $χ$-bounded if the only way to force large chromatic number in graphs from the class is by forming a large clique. In the 1970s, Erdős conjectured that intersection graphs of straight-line segments in the plane are $χ$-bounded, but this was disproved by Pawlik et al. (2014), who showed another way to force large chromatic number in this class -- by triangle-free graphs $B_k$ with $χ(B_k)=k$ constructed by Burling (1965). This also disproved the celebrated conjecture of Scott (1997) that classes of graphs excluding induced subdivisions of a fixed graph are $χ$-bounded. We prove that in broad classes of graphs excluding induced subdivisions of a fixed graph, including the increasingly more general classes of segment intersection graphs, string graphs, region intersection graphs, and hereditary classes of graphs with finite asymptotic dimension, large chromatic number can be forced only by large cliques or large graphs $B_k$. One corollary is that the hereditary closure of $\{B_k\colon k\geq 1\}$ forms a minimal hereditary graph class with unbounded chromatic number -- the second known graph class with this property after the class of complete graphs. Another corollary is that the decision variant of approximate coloring in the aforementioned graph classes can be solved in polynomial time by exhaustively searching for a sufficiently large clique or copy of $B_k$. We also discuss how our results along with some results of Chudnovsky, Scott, and Seymour on the existence of colorings can be turned into polynomial-time algorithms for the search variant of approximate coloring in string graphs (with intersection model in the input) and other aforementioned graph classes. Such an algorithm has not yet been known for any graph class that is not $χ$-bounded.

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arXiv2025

Periodic colorings and orientations in infinite graphs

We study the existence of periodic colorings and orientations in locally finite graphs. A coloring or orientation of a graph $G$ is periodic if the resulting colored or oriented graph is quasi-transitive, meaning that $V(G)$ has finitely many orbits under the action of the group of automorphisms of $G$ preserving the coloring or the orientation. When such a periodic coloring or orientation of $G$ exists, $G$ itself must be quasi-transitive and it is natural to investigate when quasi-transitive graphs have such periodic colorings or orientations. We provide examples of Cayley graphs with no periodic orientation or non-trivial coloring, and examples of quasi-transitive graphs of treewidth 2 without periodic orientation or proper coloring. On the other hand we show that every quasi-transitive graph $G$ of bounded pathwidth has a periodic proper coloring with $χ(G)$ colors and a periodic orientation. We relate these problems with techniques and questions from symbolic dynamics and distributed computing and conclude with a number of open problems.

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arXiv2025

Induced subgraphs and tree decompositions X. Towards logarithmic treewidth for even-hole-free graphs

A generalized $t$-pyramid is a graph obtained from a certain kind of tree (a subdivided star or a subdivided cubic caterpillar) and the line graph of a subdivided cubic caterpillar by identifying simplicial vertices. We prove that for every integer $t$ there exists a constant $c(t)$ such that every $n$-vertex even-hole-free graph with no clique of size $t$ and no induced subgraph isomorphic to a generalized $t$-pyramid has treewidth at most $c(t)\log{n}$. This settles a special case of a conjecture of Sintiari and Trotignon; this bound is also best possible for the class. It follows that several \textsf{NP}-hard problems such as \textsc{Stable Set}, \textsc{Vertex Cover}, \textsc{Dominating Set} and \textsc{Coloring} admit polynomial-time algorithms on this class of graphs. Results from this paper are also used in later papers of the series, in particular to solve the full version of the Sintiari-Trotignon conjecture.

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arXiv2024

Excluding a clique or a biclique in graphs of bounded induced matching treewidth

For a tree decomposition $\mathcal{T}$ of a graph $G$, let $μ(\mathcal{T})$ denote the maximum size of an induced matching in $G$ with the property that some bag of $\mathcal{T}$ contains at least one endpoint of every edge of the matching. The induced matching treewidth of a graph $G$ is the minimum value of $μ(\mathcal{T})$ over all tree decompositions $\mathcal{T}$ of $G$. Classes of graphs with bounded induced matching treewidth admit polynomial-time algorithms for a number of problems, including INDEPENDENT SET, $k$-COLORING, ODD CYCLE TRANSVERSAL, and FEEDBACK VERTEX SET. In this paper, we focus on combinatorial properties of such classes. First, we show that graphs with bounded induced matching treewidth that exclude a fixed biclique as an induced subgraph have bounded tree-independence number, which is another well-studied parameter defined in terms of tree decompositions. This sufficient condition about excluding a biclique is also necessary, as bicliques have unbounded tree-independence number. Second, we show that graphs with bounded induced matching treewidth that exclude a fixed clique have bounded chromatic number, that is, classes of graphs with bounded induced matching treewidth are $χ$-bounded. The two results confirm two conjectures due to Lima et al. [ESA 2024].

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arXiv2024

Induced subgraphs and tree decompositions VI. Graphs with 2-cutsets

This paper continues a series of papers investigating the following question: which hereditary graph classes have bounded treewidth? We call a graph $t$-clean if it does not contain as an induced subgraph the complete graph $K_t$, the complete bipartite graph $K_{t, t}$, subdivisions of a $(t \times t)$-wall, and line graphs of subdivisions of a $(t \times t)$-wall. It is known that graphs with bounded treewidth must be $t$-clean for some $t$; however, it is not true that every $t$-clean graph has bounded treewidth. In this paper, we show that three types of cutsets, namely clique cutsets, 2-cutsets, and 1-joins, interact well with treewidth and with each other, so graphs that are decomposable by these cutsets into basic classes of bounded treewidth have bounded treewidth. We apply this result to two hereditary graph classes, the class of ($ISK_4$, wheel)-free graphs and the class of graphs with no cycle with a unique chord. These classes were previously studied and decomposition theorems were obtained for both classes. Our main results are that $t$-clean ($ISK_4$, wheel)-free graphs have bounded treewidth and that $t$-clean graphs with no cycle with a unique chord have bounded treewidth.

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arXiv2024

Tree independence number I. (Even hole, diamond, pyramid)-free graphs

The tree-independence number tree-$α$, first defined and studied by Dallard, Milanič and Štorgel, is a variant of treewidth tailored to solving the maximum independent set problem. Over a series of papers, Abrishami et al. developed the so-called central bag method to study induced obstructions to bounded treewidth. Among others, they showed that, in a certain superclass $\mathcal C$ of (even hole, diamond, pyramid)-free graphs, treewidth is bounded by a function of the clique number. In this paper, we relax the bounded clique number assumption, and show that $\mathcal C$ has bounded tree-$α$. Via existing results, this yields a polynomial time algorithm for the maximum independent set problem in this class. Our result also corroborates, for this class of graphs, a conjecture of Dallard, Milanič and Štorgel that in a hereditary graph class, tree-$α$ is bounded if and only if the treewidth is bounded by a function of the clique number.

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arXiv2024

Max Weight Independent Set in sparse graphs with no long claws

We revisit the recent polynomial-time algorithm for the MAX WEIGHT INDEPENDENT SET (MWIS) problem in bounded-degree graphs that do not contain a fixed graph whose every component is a subdivided claw as an induced subgraph [Abrishami, Dibek, Chudnovsky, Rzążewski, SODA 2022]. First, we show that with an arguably simpler approach we can obtain a faster algorithm with running time $n^{\mathcal{O}(Δ^2)}$, where $n$ is the number of vertices of the instance and $Δ$ is the maximum degree. Then we combine our technique with known results concerning tree decompositions and provide a polynomial-time algorithm for MWIS in graphs excluding a fixed graph whose every component is a subdivided claw as an induced subgraph, and a fixed biclique as a subgraph.

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arXiv2024

Submodular functions and perfect graphs

We give a combinatorial polynomial-time algorithm to find a maximum weight independent set in perfect graphs of bounded degree that do not contain a prism or a hole of length four as an induced subgraph. An even pair in a graph is a pair of vertices all induced paths between which are even. An even set is a set of vertices every two of which are an even pair. We show that every perfect graph that does not contain a prism or a hole of length four as an induced subgraph has a balanced separator which is the union of a bounded number of even sets, where the bound depends only on the maximum degree of the graph. This allows us to solve the maximum weight independent set problem using the well-known submodular function minimization algorithm.

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arXiv2023

Induced subgraphs and tree-decompositions VII. Basic obstructions in $H$-free graphs

We say a class $\mathcal{C}$ of graphs is clean if for every positive integer $t$ there exists a positive integer $w(t)$ such that every graph in $\mathcal{C}$ with treewidth more than $w(t)$ contains an induced subgraph isomorphic to one of the following: the complete graph $K_t$, the complete bipartite graph $K_{t,t}$, a subdivision of the $(t\times t)$-wall or the line graph of a subdivision of the $(t \times t)$-wall. In this paper, we adapt a method due to Lozin and Razgon (building on earlier ideas of Weißauer) to prove that the class of all $H$-free graphs (that is, graphs with no induced subgraph isomorphic to a fixed graph $H$) is clean if and only if $H$ is a forest whose components are subdivided stars. Their method is readily applied to yield the above characterization. However, our main result is much stronger: for every forest $H$ as above, we show that forbidding certain connected graphs containing $H$ as an induced subgraph (rather than $H$ itself) is enough to obtain a clean class of graphs. Along the proof of the latter strengthening, we build on a result of Davies and produce, for every positive integer $η$, a complete description of unavoidable connected induced subgraphs of a connected graph $G$ containing $η$ vertices from a suitably large given set of vertices in $G$. This is of independent interest, and will be used in subsequent papers in this series.

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arXiv2023

Induced subgraphs and tree decompositions II. Toward walls and their line graphs in graphs of bounded degree

This paper is motivated by the following question: what are the unavoidable induced subgraphs of graphs with large treewidth? Aboulker et al. made a conjecture which answers this question in graphs of bounded maximum degree, asserting that for all $k$ and $Δ$, every graph with maximum degree at most $Δ$ and sufficiently large treewidth contains either a subdivision of the $(k\times k)$-wall or the line graph of a subdivision of the $(k\times k)$-wall as an induced subgraph. We prove two theorems supporting this conjecture, as follows. 1. For $t\geq 2$, a $t$-theta is a graph consisting of two nonadjacent vertices and three internally disjoint paths between them, each of length at least $t$. A $t$-pyramid is a graph consisting of a vertex $v$, a triangle $B$ disjoint from $v$ and three paths starting at $v$ and disjoint otherwise, each joining $v$ to a vertex of $B$, and each of length at least $t$. We prove that for all $k,t$ and $Δ$, every graph with maximum degree at most $Δ$ and sufficiently large treewidth contains either a $t$-theta, or a $t$-pyramid, or the line graph of a subdivision of the $(k\times k)$-wall as an induced subgraph. This affirmatively answers a question of Pilipczuk et al. asking whether every graph of bounded maximum degree and sufficiently large treewidth contains either a theta or a triangle as an induced subgraph (where a theta means a $t$-theta for some $t\geq 2$). 2. A subcubic subdivided caterpillar is a tree of maximum degree at most three whose all vertices of degree three lie on a path. We prove that for every $Δ$ and subcubic subdivided caterpillar $T$, every graph with maximum degree at most $Δ$ and sufficiently large treewidth contains either a subdivision of $T$ or the line graph of a subdivision of $T$ as an induced subgraph.

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arXiv2023

Graphs with no even holes and no sector wheels are the union of two chordal graphs

Sivaraman conjectured that if $G$ is a graph with no induced even cycle then there exist sets $X_1, X_2 \subseteq V(G)$ satisfying $V(G) = X_1 \cup X_2$ such that the induced graphs $G[X_1]$ and $G[X_2]$ are both chordal. We prove this conjecture in the special case where $G$ contains no sector wheel, namely, a pair $(H, w)$ where $H$ is an induced cycle of $G$ and $w$ is a vertex in $V(G) \setminus V(H)$ such that $N(w) \cap H$ is either $V(H)$ or a path with at least three vertices.

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