Matching preclusion

Last updated

In graph theory, a branch of mathematics, the matching preclusion number of a graph G (denoted mp(G)) is the minimum number of edges whose deletion results in the elimination of all perfect matchings or near-perfect matchings (matchings that cover all but one vertex in a graph with an odd number of vertices). [1] Matching preclusion measures the robustness of a graph as a communications network topology for distributed algorithms that require each node of the distributed system to be matched with a neighboring partner node. [2]

In many graphs, mp(G) is equal to the minimum degree of any vertex in the graph, because deleting all edges incident to a single vertex prevents that vertex from being matched. This set of edges is called a trivial matching preclusion set. [2] A variant definition, the conditional matching preclusion number, asks for the minimum number of edges the deletion of which results in a graph that has neither a perfect or near-perfect matching nor any isolated vertices. [3] [4]

It is NP-complete to test whether the matching preclusion number of a given graph is below a given threshold. [5]

The strong matching preclusion number (or simply, SMP number) is a generalization of the matching preclusion number; the SMP number of a graph G, smp(G) is the minimum number of vertices and/or edges whose deletion results in a graph that has neither perfect matchings nor almost-perfect matchings. [6]

Other numbers defined in a similar way by edge deletion in an undirected graph include the edge connectivity, the minimum number of edges to delete in order to disconnect the graph, and the cyclomatic number, the minimum number of edges to delete in order to eliminate all cycles.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minimum spanning tree</span> Least-weight tree connecting graph vertices

A minimum spanning tree (MST) or minimum weight spanning tree is a subset of the edges of a connected, edge-weighted undirected graph that connects all the vertices together, without any cycles and with the minimum possible total edge weight. That is, it is a spanning tree whose sum of edge weights is as small as possible. More generally, any edge-weighted undirected graph has a minimum spanning forest, which is a union of the minimum spanning trees for its connected components.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bipartite graph</span> Graph divided into two independent sets

In the mathematical field of graph theory, a bipartite graph is a graph whose vertices can be divided into two disjoint and independent sets and , that is, every edge connects a vertex in to one in . Vertex sets and are usually called the parts of the graph. Equivalently, a bipartite graph is a graph that does not contain any odd-length cycles.

This is a glossary of graph theory. Graph theory is the study of graphs, systems of nodes or vertices connected in pairs by lines or edges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Random graph</span> Graph generated by a random process

In mathematics, random graph is the general term to refer to probability distributions over graphs. Random graphs may be described simply by a probability distribution, or by a random process which generates them. The theory of random graphs lies at the intersection between graph theory and probability theory. From a mathematical perspective, random graphs are used to answer questions about the properties of typical graphs. Its practical applications are found in all areas in which complex networks need to be modeled – many random graph models are thus known, mirroring the diverse types of complex networks encountered in different areas. In a mathematical context, random graph refers almost exclusively to the Erdős–Rényi random graph model. In other contexts, any graph model may be referred to as a random graph.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanning tree</span> Tree which includes all vertices of a graph

In the mathematical field of graph theory, a spanning treeT of an undirected graph G is a subgraph that is a tree which includes all of the vertices of G. In general, a graph may have several spanning trees, but a graph that is not connected will not contain a spanning tree. If all of the edges of G are also edges of a spanning tree T of G, then G is a tree and is identical to T.

In the mathematical discipline of graph theory, a matching or independent edge set in an undirected graph is a set of edges without common vertices. In other words, a subset of the edges is a matching if each vertex appears in at most one edge of that matching. Finding a matching in a bipartite graph can be treated as a network flow problem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perfect graph</span> Graph with tight clique-coloring relation

In graph theory, a perfect graph is a graph in which the chromatic number equals the size of the maximum clique, both in the graph itself and in every induced subgraph. In all graphs, the chromatic number is greater than or equal to the size of the maximum clique, but they can be far apart. A graph is perfect when these numbers are equal, and remain equal after the deletion of arbitrary subsets of vertices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perfect graph theorem</span> An undirected graph is perfect if and only if its complement graph is also perfect

In graph theory, the perfect graph theorem of László Lovász states that an undirected graph is perfect if and only if its complement graph is also perfect. This result had been conjectured by Berge, and it is sometimes called the weak perfect graph theorem to distinguish it from the strong perfect graph theorem characterizing perfect graphs by their forbidden induced subgraphs.

In the mathematical discipline of graph theory, the line graph of an undirected graph G is another graph L(G) that represents the adjacencies between edges of G. L(G) is constructed in the following way: for each edge in G, make a vertex in L(G); for every two edges in G that have a vertex in common, make an edge between their corresponding vertices in L(G).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Critical graph</span> Undirected graph

In graph theory, a critical graph is an undirected graph all of whose proper subgraphs have smaller chromatic number. In such a graph, every vertex or edge is a critical element, in the sense that its deletion would decrease the number of colors needed in a graph coloring of the given graph. The decrease in the number of colors cannot be by more than one.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edge coloring</span> Problem of coloring a graphs edges such that meeting edges do not match

In graph theory, a proper edge coloring of a graph is an assignment of "colors" to the edges of the graph so that no two incident edges have the same color. For example, the figure to the right shows an edge coloring of a graph by the colors red, blue, and green. Edge colorings are one of several different types of graph coloring. The edge-coloring problem asks whether it is possible to color the edges of a given graph using at most k different colors, for a given value of k, or with the fewest possible colors. The minimum required number of colors for the edges of a given graph is called the chromatic index of the graph. For example, the edges of the graph in the illustration can be colored by three colors but cannot be colored by two colors, so the graph shown has chromatic index three.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circuit rank</span> Fewest graph edges whose removal breaks all cycles

In graph theory, a branch of mathematics, the circuit rank, cyclomatic number, cycle rank, or nullity of an undirected graph is the minimum number of edges that must be removed from the graph to break all its cycles, making it into a tree or forest. It is equal to the number of independent cycles in the graph. Unlike the corresponding feedback arc set problem for directed graphs, the circuit rank r is easily computed using the formula

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connectivity (graph theory)</span> Basic concept of graph theory

In mathematics and computer science, connectivity is one of the basic concepts of graph theory: it asks for the minimum number of elements that need to be removed to separate the remaining nodes into two or more isolated subgraphs. It is closely related to the theory of network flow problems. The connectivity of a graph is an important measure of its resilience as a network.

In graph theory, an edge cover of a graph is a set of edges such that every vertex of the graph is incident to at least one edge of the set. In computer science, the minimum edge cover problem is the problem of finding an edge cover of minimum size. It is an optimization problem that belongs to the class of covering problems and can be solved in polynomial time.

In graph theory, a connected graph is k-edge-connected if it remains connected whenever fewer than k edges are removed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kőnig's theorem (graph theory)</span> Theorem showing that maximum matching and minimum vertex cover are equivalent for bipartite graphs

In the mathematical area of graph theory, Kőnig's theorem, proved by Dénes Kőnig (1931), describes an equivalence between the maximum matching problem and the minimum vertex cover problem in bipartite graphs. It was discovered independently, also in 1931, by Jenő Egerváry in the more general case of weighted graphs.

In computer science, graph traversal refers to the process of visiting each vertex in a graph. Such traversals are classified by the order in which the vertices are visited. Tree traversal is a special case of graph traversal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Factor-critical graph</span> Graph of n vertices with a perfect matching for every subgraph of n-1 vertices

In graph theory, a mathematical discipline, a factor-critical graph is a graph with n vertices in which every subgraph of n − 1 vertices has a perfect matching.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Well-covered graph</span> Graph with equal-size maximal independent sets

In graph theory, a well-covered graph is an undirected graph in which every minimal vertex cover has the same size as every other minimal vertex cover. Equivalently, these are the graphs in which all maximal independent sets have equal size. Well-covered graphs were defined and first studied by Michael D. Plummer in 1970.

In graph theory, a balanced hypergraph is a hypergraph that has several properties analogous to that of a bipartite graph.

References

  1. Brigham, Robert C.; Harary, Frank; Violin, Elizabeth C.; Yellen, Jay (2005), "Perfect-matching preclusion", Congressus Numerantium, Utilitas Mathematica Publishing, Inc., 174: 185–192.
  2. 1 2 Cheng, Eddie; Lipták, László (2007), "Matching preclusion for some interconnection networks", Networks, 50 (2): 173–180, doi: 10.1002/net.20187 .
  3. Cheng, Eddie; Lesniak, Linda; Lipman, Marc J.; Lipták, László (2009), "Conditional matching preclusion sets", Information Sciences, 179 (8): 1092–1101, doi:10.1016/j.ins.2008.10.029 .
  4. Park, Jung-Heum; Son, Sang Hyuk (2009), "Conditional matching preclusion for hypercube-like interconnection networks", Theoretical Computer Science, 410 (27–29): 2632–2640, doi: 10.1016/j.tcs.2009.02.041 .
  5. Dourado, Mitre Costa; Meierling, Dirk; Penso, Lucia D.; Rautenbach, Dieter; Protti, Fabio; de Almeida, Aline Ribeiro (2015), "Robust recoverable perfect matchings", Networks, 66 (3): 210–213, doi:10.1002/net.21624 .
  6. Mao, Yaping; Wang, Zhao; Cheng, Eddie; Melekian, Christopher (2018), "Strong matching preclusion number of graphs", Theoretical Computer Science, 713: 11–20, doi: 10.1016/j.tcs.2017.12.035 .