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Vadim E. Levit

Publications and source records attributed to Vadim E. Levit.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2008

On Duality between Local Maximum Stable Sets of a Graph and its Line-Graph

G is a Koenig-Egervary graph provided alpha(G)+ mu(G)=|V(G)|, where mu(G) is the size of a maximum matching and alpha(G) is the cardinality of a maximum stable set. S is a local maximum stable set of G if S is a maximum stable set of the closed neighborhood of S. Nemhauser and Trotter Jr. proved that any local maximum stable set is a subset of a maximum stable set of G. In this paper we demonstrate that if S is a local maximum stable set, the subgraph H induced by the closed neighborhood of S is a Koenig-Egervary graph, and M is a maximum matching in H, then M is a local maximum stable set in the line graph of G.

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arXiv2008

Duality between quasi-concave functions and monotone linkage functions

A function $F$ defined on all subsets of a finite ground set $E$ is quasi-concave if $F(X\cup Y)\geq\min\{F(X),F(Y)\}$ for all $X,Y\subset E$. Quasi-concave functions arise in many fields of mathematics and computer science such as social choice, theory of graph, data mining, clustering and other fields. The maximization of quasi-concave function takes, in general, exponential time. However, if a quasi-concave function is defined by associated monotone linkage function then it can be optimized by the greedy type algorithm in a polynomial time. Quasi-concave functions defined as minimum values of monotone linkage functions were considered on antimatroids, where the correspondence between quasi-concave and bottleneck functions was shown (Kempner & Levit, 2003). The goal of this paper is to analyze quasi-concave functions on different families of sets and to investigate their relationships with monotone linkage functions.

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arXiv2008

Geometry of antimatroidal point sets

The notion of "antimatroid with repetition" was conceived by Bjorner, Lovasz and Shor in 1991 as a multiset extension of the notion of antimatroid. When the underlying set consists of only two elements, such two-dimensional antimatroids correspond to point sets in the plane. In this research we concentrate on geometrical properties of antimatroidal point sets in the plane and prove that these sets are exactly parallelogram polyominoes. Our results imply that two-dimensional antimatroids have convex dimension 2. The second part of the research is devoted to geometrical properties of three-dimensional antimatroids closed under intersection.

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arXiv2004

The Intersection of All Maximum Stable Sets of a Tree and its Pendant Vertices

One theorem of Nemhauser and Trotter ensures that, under certain conditions, a stable set of a graph G can be enlarged to a maximum stable set of this graph. For example, any stable set consisting of only simplicial vertices is contained in a maximum stable set of G. In this paper we demonstrate that an inverse assertion is true for trees of order greater than one, where, in fact, all the simplicial vertices are pendant. Namely, we show that any maximum stable set of such a tree contains at least one pendant vertex. Moreover, we prove that if T does not own a perfect matching, then a stable set, consisting of at least two pendant vertices, is included in the intersection of all its maximum stable sets. For trees, the above assertion is also a strengthening of one result of Hammer, Hansen, and Simeone, stating that if half of order of G is less than the cardinality of a maximum stable set of G, then the intersection of all its maximum stable sets is non-empty.

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arXiv2004

Very well-covered graphs with log-concave independence polynomials

If for any $k$ the $k$-th coefficient of a polynomial $I(G;x)$ is equal to the number of stable sets of cardinality $k$ in the graph $G$, then it is called the independence polynomial of $G$ (Gutman and Harary, 1983). Alavi, Malde, Schwenk and Erdos (1987) conjectured that $I(G;x)$ is unimodal, whenever $G$ is a forest, while Brown, Dilcher and Nowakowski (2000) conjectured that $I(G;x)$ is unimodal for any well-covered graph G. Michael and Traves (2003) showed that the assertion is false for well-covered graphs with $a(G)$ > 3 ($a(G)$ is the size of a maximum stable set of the graph $G$), while for very well-covered graphs the conjecture is still open. In this paper we give support to both conjectures by demonstrating that if $a(G)$ < 4, or $G$ belongs to ${K_{1,n}, P_{n}: n > 0}$, then $I(G*;x)$ is log-concave, and, hence, unimodal (where $G*$ is the very well-covered graph obtained from $G$ by appending a single pendant edge to each vertex).

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arXiv2004

Quasi-concave functions on antimatroids

In this paper we consider quasi-concave set functions defined on antimatroids. There are many equivalent axiomatizations of antimatroids, that may be separated into two categories: antimatroids defined as set systems and antimatroids defined as languages. An algorthmic characterization of antimatroids, that considers them as set systems, was given in (Kempner, Levit 2003). This characterization is based on the idea of optimization using set functions defined as minimum values of linkages between a set and the elements from the set complement. Such set functions are quasi-concave. Their behavior on antimatroids was studied in (Kempner, Muchnik 2003), where they were applied to constraint clustering. In this work we investigate a duality between quasi-concave set functions and linkage functions. Our main finding is that quasi-concave set functions on an antimatroid may be represented as minimum values of some monotone linkage functions.

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arXiv2004

Very well-covered graphs and the unimodality conjecture

If for any $k$ the $k$-th coefficient of a polynomial I(G;x) is equal to the number of stable sets of cardinality $k$ in the graph $G$, then it is called the independence polynomial of $G$ (Gutman and Harary, 1983). Let $a$ be the size of a maximum stable set. Alavi, Malde, Schwenk and Erdos (1987)conjectured that I(T,x) is unimodal for any tree T, while, in general, they proved that for any permutation $p$ of {1,2,...,a} there is a graph such that s_{p(1)} =...>=s_{a-1}>=s_{a} are valid for any (a) bipartite graph $G$; (b) quasi-regularizable graph $G$ on $2a$ vertices. In particular, we infer that this is true for (a) trees, thus doing a step in an attempt to prove Alavi et al.' conjecture; (b) very well-covered graphs. Consequently, for this case, the unconstrained subsequence appearing in the roller-coaster conjecture can be shorten to (s_{a/2},s_{a/2+1},...,s_{(2a-1)/3}). We also show that the independence polynomial of a very well-covered graph $G$ is unimodal for a<10, and is log-concave whenever a<6.

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arXiv2003

Independence polynomials of well-covered graphs: generic counterexamples for the unimodality conjecture

A graph $G$ is well-covered if all its maximal stable sets have the same size, denoted by alpha(G) (M. D. Plummer, 1970). If for any $k$ the $k$-th coefficient of a polynomial I(G;x) is equal to the number of stable sets of cardinality $k$ in graph $G$, then it is called the independence polynomial of $G$ (Gutman and Harary, 1983). J. I. Brown, K. Dilcher and R. J. Nowakowski (2000) conjectured that I(G;x) is unimodal (that is, there exists an index $k$ such that the part of the sequence of coefficients from the first to $k$-th is non-decreasing while the other part of coefficients is non-increasing) for any well-covered graph $G$. T. S. Michael and W. N. Traves (2002) proved that this assertion is true for alpha(G) < 4, while for alpha(G) from the set {4,5,6,7} they provided counterexamples. In this paper we show that for any integer $alpha$ > 7, there exists a (dis)connected well-covered graph $G$ with $alpha$ = alpha(G), whose independence polynomial is not unimodal. In addition, we present a number of sufficient conditions for a graph $G$ with alpha(G) < 7 to have unimodal independence polynomial.

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arXiv2003

A Family of Well-Covered Graphs with Unimodal Independence Polynomials

If for any $k$ the $k$-th coefficient of a polynomial I(G;x) is equal to the number of stable sets of cardinality $k$ in graph $G$, then it is called the independence polynomial of $G$ (Gutman and Harary, 1983). J. I. Brown, K. Dilcher and R. J. Nowakowski (2000) conjectured that the independence polynomial of a well-covered graph $G$ (i.e., a graph whose all maximal independent sets are of the same size) is unimodal, that is, there exists an index $k$ such that the part of the sequence of coefficients from the first to $k$-th is non-decreasing while the other part of coefficients is non-increasing. T. S. Michael and N. Traves (2002) provided examples of well-covered graphs whose independence polynomials are not unimodal. A. Finbow, B. Hartnell and R. J. Nowakowski (1993) proved that under certain conditions, any well-covered graph equals G* for some $G$, where G* is the graph obtained from $G$ by appending a single pendant edge to each vertex of $G$. Y. Alavi, P. J. Malde, A. J. Schwenk and P. Erdös (1987) asked whether for trees the independence polynomial is unimodal. V. E. Levit and E. Mandrescu (2002) validated the unimodality of the independence polynomials of some well-covered trees (e.g., $P_{n}^{*},K_{1,n}^{*}$, where $P_{n}$ is the path on $n$ vertices and $K_{1,n}$ is the $n$-star graph). In this paper we show that for any graph $G$ with the stability number alpha(G) < 5, the independence polynomial of G* is unimodal.

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arXiv2003

Correspondence Between Two Antimatroid Algorithmic Characterizations

The basic distinction between already known algorithmic characterizations of matroids and antimatroids is in the fact that for antimatroids the ordering of elements is of great importance. While antimatroids can also be characterized as set systems, the question whether there is an algorithmic description of antimatroids in terms of sets and set functions was open for some period of time. This article provides a selective look at classical material on algorithmic characterization of antimatroids, i.e., the ordered version, and a new unordered version. Moreover we empathize formally the correspondence between these two versions.

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arXiv2003

On the Roots of Independence Polynomials of Almost All Very Well-Covered Graphs

If for any k the k-th coefficient of a polynomial I(G;x)is equal to the number of stable sets of cardinality k in graph G, then it is called the independence polynomial of G (Gutman and Harary, 1983). A graph G is very well-covered (Favaron, 1982) if it has no isolated vertices, its order equals 2*alpha(G), where alpha(G) is the size of a maximum stable set, and it is well-covered (i.e., all its maximal independent sets are of the same size, Plummer, 1970). For instance, appending a single pendant edge to each vertex of G yields a very well-covered graph, which we denote by G*. Under certain conditions, any well-covered graph equals G* for some G (Finbow, Hartnell and Nowakowski, 1993). The root of the smallest modulus of the independence polynomial of any graph is real (Brown, Dilcher, and Nowakowski, 2000). The location of the roots of the independence polynomial in the complex plane, and the multiplicity of the root of the smallest modulus are investigated in a number of articles. In this paper we establish formulae connecting the coefficients of I(G;x) and I(G*;x), which allow us to show that the number of roots of I(G;x) is equal to the number of roots of I(G*;x) different from -1, which appears as a root of multiplicity alpha(G*)- alpha(G) for I(G*;x). We also prove that the real roots of I(G*;x) are in [-1,-1/(2*alpha(G*)), while for a general graph of order n we show that its roots lie in |z| > 1/(2n-1). Using the properties of the roots of the independence polynomial, we demonstrate that the independence polynomial distinguishes well-covered spiders (well-covered trees with at most one vertex of degree greater than two) among general well-covered trees.

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arXiv2002

On Unimodality of Independence Polynomials of some Well-Covered Trees

The number of stable sets of cardinality $k$ in graph $G$ is the $k$-th coefficient of the independence polynomial of $G$ (I. Gutman and F. Harary, 1983). In 1990, Y. O. Hamidoune proved that for any claw-free graph, its independence polynomial is unimodal, i.e., there exists a coefficient $k$ such that the part of the sequence of coefficients from the first to $k$-th is non-decreasing while the second part of coefficients is non-increasing. Y. Alavi, P. J. Malde, A. J. Schwenk and P. Erdös (1987) asked whether for trees (or perhaps forests) the independence polynomial is unimodal. J. I. Brown, K. Dilcher and R. J. Nowakowski (2000) conjectured that it is true for any well-covered graph (a graph whose all maximal independent sets have the same size). V. E. Levit and E. Mandrescu (1999) demonstrated that every well-covered tree can be obtained as a join of a number of well-covered spiders, where a spider is a tree having at most one vertex of degree at least three. In this paper we show that the independence polynomial of any well-covered spider is unimodal. In addition, we introduce some graph transformations respecting independence polynomials. They allow us to reduce several types of well-covered trees to claw-free graphs, and, consequently, to prove that their independence polynomials are unimodal.

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arXiv2000

Bipartite graphs with uniquely restricted maximum matchings and their corresponding greedoids

A maximum stable set in a graph G is a stable set of maximum size. S is a local maximum stable set if it is a maximum stable set of the subgraph of G spanned by the union of S and N(S), where N(S) is the neighborhood of S. A matching M is uniquely restricted if its saturated vertices induce a subgraph which has a unique perfect matching, namely M itself. One theorem of Nemhauser and Trotter Jr., working as a useful sufficient local optimality condition for the weighted maximum stable set problem, ensures that any local maximum stable set of G can be enlarged to a maximum stable set of G. In one of our previous papers it is proven that the family of all local maximum stable sets of a forest forms a greedoid on its vertex set. In this paper we obtain a generalization of this assertion claiming that the family of all local maximum stable sets of a bipartite graph G is a greedoid if and only if all maximum matchings of G are uniquely restricted.

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arXiv2000

The Intersection of All Maximum Stable Sets of a Tree and its Pendant Vertices

A stable set in a graph G is a set of mutually non-adjacent vertices, alpha(G) is the size of a maximum stable set of G, and core(G) is the intersection of all its maximum stable sets. In this paper we demonstrate that in a tree T, of order n greater than 1, any stable set of size greater or equal to n/2 contains at least one pendant vertex. Hence, we deduce that any maximum stable set in a tree contains at least one pendant vertex. Our main finding is the theorem claiming that if T does not own a perfect matching, then at least two pendant vertices an even distance apart belong to core(T). While it is proved by Levit and Mandrescu that if G is a connected bipartite graph of order at least 2, then the size of core(G) is different from 1, our new statement reveals an additional structure of the intersection of all maximum stable sets of a tree. The above assertions give refining of one result of Hammer, Hansen and Simeone, stating that if a graph G is of order less than 2*alpha(G), then core(G) is non-empty, and also of a result of Jamison, Gunter, Hartnel and Rall, and Zito, saying that for a tree T of order at least two, the size of core(G) is different from 1.

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arXiv2000

On $α^{++}$-Stable Graphs

The stability number of a graph G, denoted by alpha(G), is the cardinality of a stable set of maximum size in G. A graph is well-covered if every maximal stable set has the same size. G is a Koenig-Egervary graph if its order equals alpha(G) + mu(G), where mu(G) is the cardinality of a maximum matching in G. In this paper we characterize $α^{++}$-stable graphs, namely, the graphs whose stability numbers are invariant to adding any two edges from their complements. We show that a König-Egerváry graph is $α^{++}$-stable if and only if it has a perfect matching consisting of pendant edges and no four vertices of the graph span a cycle. As a corollary it gives necessary and sufficient conditions for $α^{++}$-stability of bipartite graphs and trees. For instance, we prove that a bipartite graph is $α^{++}$-stable if and only if it is well-covered and C4-free.

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arXiv2000

On $α$-Critical Edges in König-Egerváry Graphs

The stability number of a graph G, denoted by alpha(G), is the cardinality of a stable set of maximum size in G. If alpha(G-e) > alpha(G), then e is an alpha-critical edge, and if mu(G-e) < mu(G), then e is a mu-critical edge, where mu(G) is the cardinality of a maximum matching in G. G is a Koenig-Egervary graph if alpha(G) + mu(G) equals its order. Beineke, Harary and Plummer have shown that the set of alpha-critical edges of a bipartite graph is a matching. In this paper we generalize this statement to Koenig-Egervary graphs. We also prove that in a Koenig-Egervary graph alpha-critical edges are also mu-critical, and that they coincide in bipartite graphs. We obtain that for any tree its stability number equals the sum of the cardinality of the set of its alpha-critical vertices and the size of the set of its alpha-critical edges. Eventually, we characterize the Koenig-Egervary graphs enjoying this property.

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arXiv1999

On $α$-Square-Stable Graphs

The stability number of a graph G, denoted by alpha(G), is the cardinality of a maximum stable set, and mu(G) is the cardinality of a maximum matching in G. If alpha(G) + mu(G) equals its order, then G is a Koenig-Egervary graph. We call G an $α$-square-stable graph, shortly square-stable, if alpha(G) = alpha(G*G), where G*G denotes the second power of G. These graphs were first investigated by Randerath and Wolkmann. In this paper we obtain several new characterizations of square-stable graphs. We also show that G is an square-stable Koenig-Egervary graph if and only if it has a perfect matching consisting of pendant edges. Moreover, we find that well-covered trees are exactly square-stable trees. To verify this result we give a new proof of one Ravindra's theorem describing well-covered trees.

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arXiv1999

A New Greedoid: The Family of Local Maximum Stable Sets of a Forest

A maximum stable set in a graph G is a stable set of maximum cardinality. S is a local maximum stable set if it is a maximum stable set of the subgraph of G spanned by the union of S and N(S), where N(S) is the neighborhood of S. One theorem of Nemhauser and Trotter Jr., working as a useful sufficient local optimality condition for the weighted maximum stable set problem, ensures that any local maximum stable set of G can be enlarged to a maximum stable set of G. In this paper we demonstrate that an inverse assertion is true for forests. Namely, we show that for any non-empty local maximum stable set S of a forest T there exists a local maximum stable set S1 of T, such that S1 is included in S and |S1| = |S| - 1. Moreover, as a further strengthening of both the theorem of Nemhauser and Trotter Jr. and its inverse, we prove that the family of all local maximum stable sets of a forest forms a greedoid on its vertex set.

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