Packing cycles exactly in polynomial time

Let G=(V,E) be an undirected graph in which every vertex v∈V is assigned a nonnegative integer w(v). A w-packing is a collection of cycles (repetition allowed) in G such that every v∈V is contained at most w(v) times by the members of . Let 〈w〉=2|V|+∑ _v∈V ⌈log (w(v)+1)⌉ denote the binary encoding length (input size) of the vector (w(v): v∈V) ^T . We present an efficient algorithm which finds in O(|V|⁸〈w〉²+|V|¹⁴) time a w-packing of maximum cardinality in G provided packing and covering cycles in G satisfy the ℤ₊-max-flow min-cut property.     

On backbone coloring of graphs

Let G be a graph and H a subgraph of G. A backbone-k-coloring of (G,H) is a mapping f: V(G)→{1,2,…,k} such that |f(u)−f(v)|≥2 if uv∈E(H) and |f(u)−f(v)|≥1 if uv∈E(G)\E(H). The backbone chromatic number of (G,H) is the smallest integer k such that (G,H) has a backbone-k-coloring. In this paper, we characterize the backbone chromatic number of Halin graphs G=T∪C with respect to given spanning trees T. Also we study the backbone coloring for other special graphs such as complete graphs, wheels, graphs with small maximum average degree, graphs with maximum degree 3, etc.     

The total {k}-domatic number of a graph

For a positive integer k, a total {k}-dominating function of a graph G is a function f from the vertex set V(G) to the set {0,1,2,…,k} such that for any vertex v∈V(G), the condition ∑ _u∈N(v) f(u)≥k is fulfilled, where N(v) is the open neighborhood of v. A set {f ₁,f ₂,…,f _d } of total {k}-dominating functions on G with the property that ?_i=1^df_i(v) ￡ k\sum_{i=1}^{d}f_{i}(v)\le k for each v∈V(G), is called a total {k}-dominating family (of functions) on G. The maximum number of functions in a total {k}-dominating family on G is the total {k}-domatic number of G, denoted by d_t^{k}(G)d_{t}^{\{k\}}(G). Note that d_t^{1}(G)d_{t}^{\{1\}}(G) is the classic total domatic number d _t (G). In this paper we initiate the study of the total {k}-domatic number in graphs and we present some bounds for d_t^{k}(G)d_{t}^{\{k\}}(G). Many of the known bounds of d _t (G) are immediate consequences of our results.     

Restrained domination in cubic graphs

Let G=(V,E) be a graph. A set S⊆V is a restrained dominating set if every vertex in V−S is adjacent to a vertex in S and to a vertex in V−S. The restrained domination number of G, denoted γ _r (G), is the smallest cardinality of a restrained dominating set of G. A graph G is said to be cubic if every vertex has degree three. In this paper, we study restrained domination in cubic graphs. We show that if G is a cubic graph of order n, then g_r(G) 3 \fracn4\gamma_{r}(G)\geq \frac{n}{4} , and characterize the extremal graphs achieving this lower bound. Furthermore, we show that if G is a cubic graph of order n, then g_r(G) ￡ \frac5n11.\gamma _{r}(G)\leq \frac{5n}{11}. Lastly, we show that if G is a claw-free cubic graph, then γ _r (G)=γ(G).     

Lower bounds and a tabu search algorithm for the minimum deficiency problem

An edge coloring of a graph G=(V,E) is a function c:E→ℕ that assigns a color c(e) to each edge e∈E such that c(e)≠c(e′) whenever e and e′ have a common endpoint. Denoting S _v (G,c) the set of colors assigned to the edges incident to a vertex v∈V, and D _v (G,c) the minimum number of integers which must be added to S _v (G,c) to form an interval, the deficiency D(G,c) of an edge coloring c is defined as the sum ∑ _v∈V D _v (G,c), and the span of c is the number of colors used in c. The problem of finding, for a given graph, an edge coloring with a minimum deficiency is NP-hard. We give new lower bounds on the minimum deficiency of an edge coloring and on the span of edge colorings with minimum deficiency. We also propose a tabu search algorithm to solve the minimum deficiency problem and report experiments on various graph instances, some of them having a known optimal deficiency.     

The broadcast median problem in heterogeneous postal model

We propose the problem of finding broadcast medians in heterogeneous networks. A heterogeneous network is represented by a graph G=(V,E), in which each edge has a weight that denotes the communication time between its two end vertices. The overall delay of a vertex v∈V(G), denoted as b(v,G), is the minimum sum of the communication time required to send a message from v to all vertices in G. The broadcast median problem consists of finding the set of vertices v∈V(G) with minimum overall delay b(v,G) and determining the value of b(v,G). In this paper, we consider the broadcast median problem following the heterogeneous postal model. Assuming that the underlying graph G is a general graph, we show that computing b(v,G) for an arbitrary vertex v∈V(G) is NP-hard. On the other hand, assuming that G is a tree, we propose a linear time algorithm for the broadcast median problem in heterogeneous postal model.     

Which trees have a differentiating-paired dominating set?

In this paper, we continue the study of paired-domination in graphs introduced by Haynes and Slater (Networks 32 (1998), 199–206). A paired-dominating set of a graph G with no isolated vertex is a dominating set S of vertices whose induced subgraph has a perfect matching. The set S is called a differentiating-paired dominating set if for every pair of distinct vertices u and v in V(G), N[u]∩S≠N[v]∩S, where N[u] denotes the set consisting of u and all vertices adjacent to u. In this paper, we provide a constructive characterization of trees that do not have a differentiating-paired dominating set.     

Efficient Estimation of Models with Conditional Moment Restrictions Containing Unknown Functions

We propose an estimation method for models of conditional moment restrictions, which contain finite dimensional unknown parameters (θ) and infinite dimensional unknown functions (h). Our proposal is to approximate h with a sieve and to estimate θ and the sieve parameters jointly by applying the method of minimum distance. We show that: (i) the sieve estimator of h is consistent with a rate faster than n^‐1/4 under certain metric; (ii) the estimator of θ is √n consistent and asymptotically normally distributed; (iii) the estimator for the asymptotic covariance of the θ estimator is consistent and easy to compute; and (iv) the optimally weighted minimum distance estimator of θ attains the semiparametric efficiency bound. We illustrate our results with two examples: a partially linear regression with an endogenous nonparametric part, and a partially additive IV regression with a link function.     

Set Identified Linear Models

We analyze the identification and estimation of parameters β satisfying the incomplete linear moment restrictions E(z^⊤(xβ−y)) = E(z^⊤u(z)), where z is a set of instruments and u(z) an unknown bounded scalar function. We first provide empirically relevant examples of such a setup. Second, we show that these conditions set identify β where the identified set B is bounded and convex. We provide a sharp characterization of the identified set not only when the number of moment conditions is equal to the number of parameters of interest, but also in the case in which the number of conditions is strictly larger than the number of parameters. We derive a necessary and sufficient condition of the validity of supernumerary restrictions which generalizes the familiar Sargan condition. Third, we provide new results on the asymptotics of analog estimates constructed from the identification results. When B is a strictly convex set, we also construct a test of the null hypothesis, β₀∈B, whose size is asymptotically correct and which relies on the minimization of the support function of the set B− {β₀}. Results of some Monte Carlo experiments are presented.     

The competition number of a graph with?exactly?two?holes

Given an acyclic digraph D, the competition graph C(D) of D is the graph with the same vertex set as D and two distinct vertices x and y are adjacent in C(D) if and only if there is a vertex v in D such that (x,v) and (y,v) are arcs of D. The competition number κ(G) of a graph G is the least number of isolated vertices that must be added to G to form a competition graph. The purpose of this paper is to prove that the competition number of a graph with exactly two holes is at most three.     

Restricted domination parameters in graphs

In a graph G, a vertex dominates itself and its neighbors. A subset S ⊂eqV(G) is an m-tuple dominating set if S dominates every vertex of G at least m times, and an m-dominating set if S dominates every vertex of G−S at least m times. The minimum cardinality of a dominating set is γ, of an m-dominating set is γ _m , and of an m-tuple dominating set is mtupledom. For a property π of subsets of V(G), with associated parameter f_π, the k-restricted π-number r _k (G,f_π) is the smallest integer r such that given any subset K of (at most) k vertices of G, there exists a π set containing K of (at most) cardinality r. We show that for 1< k < n where n is the order of G: (a) if G has minimum degree m, then r _k (G,γ _m ) < (mn+k)/(m+1); (b) if G has minimum degree 3, then r _k (G,γ) < (3n+5k)/8; and (c) if G is connected with minimum degree at least 2, then r _k (G,ddom) < 3n/4 + 2k/7. These bounds are sharp. Research supported in part by the South African National Research Foundation and the University of KwaZulu-Natal.     

Finding the anti-block vital edge of a shortest path between two nodes

Let P _G (s,t) denote a shortest path between two nodes s and t in an undirected graph G with nonnegative edge weights. A detour at a node u∈P _G (s,t)=(s,…,u,v,…,t) is defined as a shortest path P _G−e (u,t) from u to t which does not make use of (u,v). In this paper, we focus on the problem of finding an edge e=(u,v)∈P _G (s,t) whose removal produces a detour at node u such that the ratio of the length of P _G−e (u,t) to the length of P _G (u,t) is maximum. We define such an edge as an anti-block vital edge (AVE for short), and show that this problem can be solved in O(mn) time, where n and m denote the number of nodes and edges in the graph, respectively. Some applications of the AVE for two special traffic networks are shown. This research is supported by NSF of China under Grants 70471035, 70525004, 701210001 and 60736027, and PSF of China under Grant 20060401003.     

Multiple L(j,1)-labeling of the triangular lattice

Let n,j,k be nonnegative integers. An n-fold L(j,k)-labeling of a graph G is an assignment f of sets of nonnegative integers of order n to the vertices of G such that, for any two vertices u,v and any two integers a∈f(u), b∈f(v), |a?b|≥j if uv∈E(G), and |a?b|≥k if u and v are distance two apart. The span of f is the absolute difference between the maximum and minimum integers used by f. The n-fold L(j,k)-labeling number of G is the minimum span over all n-fold L(j,k)-labelings of G. Let n,j,k and m be nonnegative integers. An n-fold circular m-L(j,k)-labeling of a graph G is an assignment f of subsets of {0,1,…,m?1} of order n to the vertices of G such that, for any two vertices u,v and any two integers a∈f(u), b∈f(v), min{|a?b|,m?|a?b|}≥j if uv∈E(G), and min{|a?b|,m?|a?b|}≥k if u and v are distance two apart. The minimum m such that G has an n-fold circular m-L(j,k)-labeling is called the n-fold circular L(j,k)-labeling number of G. This paper provides upper and lower bounds for the n-fold L(j,1)-labeling number and the n-fold circular L(j,1)-labeling number of the triangular lattice and determines the n-fold L(2,1)-labeling number and n-fold circular L(2,1)-labeling number of the triangular lattice for n≥3.     

Approximating the chromatic index of multigraphs

It is well known that if G is a multigraph then χ′(G)≥χ′^*(G):=max {Δ(G),Γ(G)}, where χ′(G) is the chromatic index of G, χ′^*(G) is the fractional chromatic index of G, Δ(G) is the maximum degree of G, and Γ(G)=max {2|E(G[U])|/(|U|−1):U⊆V(G),|U|≥3, |U| is odd}. The conjecture that χ′(G)≤max {Δ(G)+1,⌈Γ(G)⌉} was made independently by Goldberg (Discret. Anal. 23:3–7, 1973), Anderson (Math. Scand. 40:161–175, 1977), and Seymour (Proc. Lond. Math. Soc. 38:423–460, 1979). Using a probabilistic argument Kahn showed that for any c>0 there exists D>0 such that χ′(G)≤χ′^*(G)+c χ′^*(G) when χ′^*(G)>D. Nishizeki and Kashiwagi proved this conjecture for multigraphs G with χ′(G)>⌊(11Δ(G)+8)/10⌋; and Scheide recently improved this bound to χ′(G)>⌊(15Δ(G)+12)/14⌋. We prove this conjecture for multigraphs G with $\chi'(G)>\lfloor\Delta(G)+\sqrt{\Delta(G)/2}\rfloor$\chi'(G)>\lfloor\Delta(G)+\sqrt{\Delta(G)/2}\rfloor , improving the above mentioned results. As a consequence, for multigraphs G with $\chi'(G)>\Delta(G)+\sqrt {\Delta(G)/2}$\chi'(G)>\Delta(G)+\sqrt {\Delta(G)/2} the answer to a 1964 problem of Vizing is in the affirmative.     

A study on cyclic bandwidth sum

Suppose G is a graph of p vertices. A proper labeling f of G is a one-to-one mapping f:V(G)→{1,2,…,p}. The cyclic bandwidth sum of G with respect to f is defined by CBS _f (G)=∑ _uv∈E(G)|f(v)−f(u)| _p , where |x| _p =min {|x|,p−|x|}. The cyclic bandwidth sum of G is defined by CBS(G)=min {CBS _f (G): f is a proper labeling of G}. The bandwidth sum of G with respect to f is defined by BS _f (G)=∑ _uv∈E(G)|f(v)−f(u)|. The bandwidth sum of G is defined by BS(G)=min {BS _f (G): f is a proper labeling of G}. In this paper, we give a necessary and sufficient condition for BS(G)=CBS(G), and use this to show that BS(T)=CBS(T) when T is a tree. We also find cyclic bandwidth sums of complete bipartite graphs. Dedicated to Professor Frank K. Hwang on the occasion of his 65th birthday. Supported in part by the National Science Council under grants NSC91-2115-M-156-001.     

On total weight choosability of graphs

For a graph G with vertex set V and edge set E, a (k,k′)-total list assignment L of G assigns to each vertex v a set L(v) of k real numbers as permissible weights, and assigns to each edge e a set L(e) of k′ real numbers as permissible weights. If for any (k,k′)-total list assignment L of G, there exists a mapping f:V∪E→? such that f(y)∈L(y) for each y∈V∪E, and for any two adjacent vertices u and v, ∑ _y∈N(u) f(uy)+f(u)≠∑ _x∈N(v) f(vx)+f(v), then G is (k,k′)-total weight choosable. It is conjectured by Wong and Zhu that every graph is (2,2)-total weight choosable, and every graph with no isolated edges is (1,3)-total weight choosable. In this paper, it is proven that a graph G obtained from any loopless graph H by subdividing each edge with at least one vertex is (1,3)-total weight choosable and (2,2)-total weight choosable. It is shown that s-degenerate graphs (with s≥2) are (1,2s)-total weight choosable. Hence planar graphs are (1,10)-total weight choosable, and outerplanar graphs are (1,4)-total weight choosable. We also give a combinatorial proof that wheels are (2,2)-total weight choosable, as well as (1,3)-total weight choosable.     

Order Consolidation for Batch Processing

We consider the batch processing of orders where either whole or part of a single order or a specific pair of different orders may be grouped in a batch with a fixed capacity. The problem can be modelled by a graph G = (V,E), where each node v V corresponds to an order, its weight w(v) corresponds to the amount of ordered quantity and a pair of orders, say u and v may be grouped in a batch if there exists the edge (u,v) E. The objective is to maximize the number of batches filled up to its capacity . In this paper, we prove that the problem is NP-hard and, moreover, that no PTAS exists unless P = NP. Then, an optimal algorithm is developed with running time O(|V|log |V|) for the special case when G is a tree.     

Super cyclically edge connected transitive graphs

A cyclic edge-cut of a graph G is an edge set, the removal of which separates two cycles. If G has a cyclic edge-cut, then it is called cyclically separable. For a cyclically separable graph G, the cyclic edge-connectivity λ _c (G) is the cardinality of a minimum cyclic edge-cut of G. We call a graph super cyclically edge-connected, if the removal of any minimum cyclic edge-cut results in a component which is a shortest cycle. In this paper, we show that a connected vertex-transitive or edge-transitive graph is super cyclically edge-connected if either G is cubic with girth g(G)≥7, or G has minimum degree δ(G)≥4 and girth g(G)≥6.     

L(j,k)- and circular L(j,k)-labellings for the products of complete graphs

Let j and k be two positive integers with j≥k. An L(j,k)-labelling of a graph G is an assignment of nonnegative integers to the vertices of G such that the difference between labels of any two adjacent vertices is at least j, and the difference between labels of any two vertices that are at distance two apart is at least k. The minimum range of labels over all L(j,k)-labellings of a graph G is called the λ _j,k -number of G, denoted by λ _j,k (G). A σ(j,k)-circular labelling with span m of a graph G is a function f:V(G)→{0,1,…,m−1} such that |f(u)−f(v)| _m ≥j if u and v are adjacent; and |f(u)−f(v)| _m ≥k if u and v are at distance two apart, where |x| _m =min {|x|,m−|x|}. The minimum m such that there exists a σ(j,k)-circular labelling with span m for G is called the σ _j,k -number of G and denoted by σ _j,k (G). The λ _j,k -numbers of Cartesian products of two complete graphs were determined by Georges, Mauro and Stein ((2000) SIAM J Discret Math 14:28–35). This paper determines the λ _j,k -numbers of direct products of two complete graphs and the σ _j,k -numbers of direct products and Cartesian products of two complete graphs. Dedicated to Professor Frank K. Hwang on the occasion of his 65th birthday. This work is partially supported by FRG, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong; NSFC, China, grant 10171013; and Southeast University Science Foundation grant XJ0607230.     

Min-cost multiflows in node-capacitated undirected networks

We consider an undirected graph G=(VG,EG) with a set T?VG of terminals, and with nonnegative integer capacities c(v) and costs a(v) of nodes v??VG. A path in G is a T-path if its ends are distinct terminals. By a multiflow we mean a function F assigning to each T-path P a nonnegative rational weight F(P), and a multiflow is called feasible if the sum of weights of T-paths through each node v does not exceed c(v). The value of F is the sum of weights F(P), and the cost of F is the sum of F(P) times the cost of P w.r.t. a, over all T-paths P. Generalizing known results on edge-capacitated multiflows, we show that the problem of finding a minimum cost multiflow among the feasible multiflows of maximum possible value admits half-integer optimal primal and dual solutions. Moreover, we devise a strongly polynomial algorithm for finding such optimal solutions.