In this paper we show an O(n^(3/2) log^2 n) time algorithm for finding a maximum flow in a planar graph with multiple sources and multiple sinks. This is the fastest algorithm whose running time depends only on the number of vertices in the graph. For general (non-planar) graphs the multiple-source multiple-sink version of the maximum flow problem is as difficult as the standard single-source single-sink version. However, the standard reduction does not preserve the planarity of the graph, and it is not known how to generalize existing maximum flow algorithms for planar graphs to the multiple-source multiple-sink maximum flow problem.
We give an $O(n^{1.5}\log n)$ time algorithm for finding the maximum flow in a directed planar graph with multiple sources and a single sink. The techniques generalize to a subquadratic time algorithm for bounded genus graphs.
We give an $O(n^{1.5} \log n)$ algorithm that, given a directed planar graph with arc capacities, a set of source nodes and a single sink node, finds a maximum flow from the sources to the sink . This is the first subquadratic-time strongly polynomial algorithm for the problem.
We give an O(n log^3 n) algorithm that, given an n-node directed planar graph with arc capacities, a set of source nodes, and a set of sink nodes, finds a maximum flow from the sources to the sinks. Previously, the fastest algorithms known for this problem were those for general graphs.
We give an $O(n^{1.5} \log n)$ algorithm that, given a directed planar graph with arc capacities, a set of source nodes and a set of sink nodes, finds a maximum flow from the sources to the sinks.
We develop a new technique for computing maximum flow in directed planar graphs with multiple sources and a single sink that significantly deviates from previously known techniques for flow problems. This gives rise to an O(diameter*n*log(n)) algorithm for the problem.
Given an edge-weighted undirected graph and a list of k source-sink pairs of vertices, the well-known minimum multicut problem consists in selecting a minimum-weight set of edges whose removal leaves no path between every source and its corresponding sink. We give the first polynomial-time algorithm to solve this problem in planar graphs, when k is fixed. Previously, this problem was known to remain NP-hard in general graphs with fixed k, and in trees with arbitrary k; the most noticeable tractable case known so far was in planar graphs with fixed k and sources and sinks lying on the outer fac…
Given a list of k source-sink pairs in an edge-weighted graph G, the minimum multicut problem consists in selecting a set of edges of minimum total weight in G, such that removing these edges leaves no path from each source to its corresponding sink. To the best of our knowledge, no non-trivial FPT result for special cases of this problem, which is APX-hard in general graphs for any fixed k>2, is known with respect to k only. When the graph G is planar, this problem is known to be polynomial-time solvable if k=O(1), but cannot be FPT with respect to k under the Exponential Time Hypothesis. In …
Network flow interdiction analysis studies by how much the value of a maximum flow in a network can be diminished by removing components of the network constrained to some budget. Although this problem is strongly NP-complete on general networks, pseudo-polynomial algorithms were found for planar networks with a single source and a single sink and without the possibility to remove vertices. In this work we introduce pseudo-polynomial algorithms which overcome some of the restrictions of previous methods. We propose a planarity-preserving transformation that allows to incorporate vertex removal…
We consider the problem of multicommodity flows in planar graphs. Seymour showed that if the union of supply and demand graphs is planar, then the cut condition is sufficient for routing demands. Okamura-Seymour showed that if all demands are incident on one face, then again cut condition is sufficient for routing demands. We consider a common generalization of these settings where the end points of each demand are on the same face of the planar graph. We show that if the source sink pairs on each face of the graph are such that sources and sinks appear contiguously on the cycle bounding the f…
Let G = (V,E) be a planar n-vertex digraph. Consider the problem of computing max st-flow values in G from a fixed source s to all sinks t in V\{s}. We show how to solve this problem in near-linear O(n log^3 n) time. Previously, no better solution was known than running a single-source single-sink max flow algorithm n-1 times, giving a total time bound of O(n^2 log n) with the algorithm of Borradaile and Klein. An important implication is that all-pairs max st-flow values in G can be computed in near-quadratic time. This is close to optimal as the output size is Theta(n^2). We give a quadratic…
Minimum cuts have been closely related to shortest paths in planar graphs via planar duality - so long as the graphs are undirected. Even maximum flows are closely related to shortest paths for the same reason - so long as the source and the sink are on a common face. In this paper, we give a correspondence between maximum flows and shortest paths via duality in directed planar graphs with no constraints on the source and sink. We believe this a promising avenue for developing algorithms that are more practical than the current asymptotically best algorithms for maximum st-flow.
In this paper we present an O(n log n) algorithm for finding a maximum flow in a directed planar graph, where the vertices are subject to capacity constraints, in addition to the arcs. If the source and the sink are on the same face, then our algorithm can be implemented in O(n) time. For general (not planar) graphs, vertex capacities do not make the problem more difficult, as there is a simple reduction that eliminates vertex capacities. However, this reduction does not preserve the planarity of the graph. The essence of our algorithm is a different reduction that does preserve the planarity,…
A graph is 1-planar if it can be drawn on the plane so that each edge is crossed by at most one other edge. In this note we give examples of class two 1-planar graphs with maximum degree six or seven.
A $k$-subcoloring of a graph is a partition of the vertex set into at most $k$ cluster graphs, that is, graphs with no induced $P_3$. 2-subcoloring is known to be NP-complete for comparability graphs and three subclasses of planar graphs, namely triangle-free planar graphs with maximum degree 4, planar perfect graphs with maximum degree 4, and planar graphs with girth 5. We show that 2-subcoloring is also NP-complete for planar comparability graphs with maximum degree 4.
The ($d$,1)-total labelling of graphs was introduced by Havet and Yu. In this paper, we prove that, for planar graph $G$ with maximum degree $Δ\geq12$ and $d=2$, the (2,1)-total labelling number $λ_2^T(G)$ is at most $Δ+2$.
This paper considers the conjecture by Grünbaum that every planar 3-connected graph has a spanning tree $T$ such that both $T$ and its co-tree have maximum degree at most 3. Here, the co-tree of $T$ is the spanning tree of the dual obtained by taking the duals of the non-tree edges. While Grünbaum's conjecture remains open, we show that every planar 3-connected graph has a spanning tree $T$ such that both $T$ and its co-tree have maximum degree at most 5. It can be found in linear time.
We consider the problem of list edge coloring for planar graphs. Edge coloring is the problem of coloring the edges while ensuring that two edges that are incident receive different colors. A graph is k-edge-choosable if for any assignment of k colors to every edge, there is an edge coloring such that the color of every edge belongs to its color assignment. Vizing conjectured in 1965 that every graph is (D+1)-edge-choosable, where D is the maximum degree. In 1990, Borodin solved the conjecture for planar graphs with maximum degree at least 9, and asked whether the bound could be lowered to 8. …
We show that the left/right relation on the set of s-t-paths of a plane graph induces a so-called submodular lattice. If the embedding of the graph is s-t-planar, this lattice is even consecutive. This implies that Ford and Fulkerson's uppermost path algorithm for maximum flow in such graphs is indeed a special case of a two-phase greedy algorithm on lattice polyhedra. We also show that the properties submodularity and consecutivity cannot be achieved simultaneously by any partial order on the paths if the graph is planar but not s-t-planar, thus providing a characterization of this class of g…
We study the \emph{maximum differential coloring problem}, where the vertices of an $n$-vertex graph must be labeled with distinct numbers ranging from $1$ to $n$, so that the minimum absolute difference between two labels of any two adjacent vertices is maximized. As the problem is \NPH for general graphs~\cite{leung1984}, we consider planar graphs and subclasses thereof. We initially prove that the maximum differential coloring problem remains \NPH, even for planar graphs. Then, we present tight bounds for regular caterpillars and spider graphs. Using these new bounds, we prove that the Mill…
Refining a classical proof of Whitney, we show that any $4$-connected planar triangulation can be decomposed into a Hamiltonian path and two trees. Therefore, every $4$-connected planar graph decomposes into three forests, one having maximum degree at most $2$. We use this result to show that any Hamiltonian planar triangulation can be decomposed into two trees and one spanning tree of maximum degree at most $3$. These decompositions improve the result of Gonçalves [Covering planar graphs with forests, one having bounded maximum degree. J. Comb. Theory, Ser. B, 100(6):729--739, 2010] that ever…
The problem of finding the maximum-weight, planar subgraph of a finite, simple graph with nonnegative real edge weights is well known in industrial and electrical engineering, systems biology, sociology and finance. As the problem is known to be NP-hard, much research effort has been devoted over the years to attempt to improve a given approximate solution to the problem by using local moves applied to a planar embedding of the solution. It has long been established that any feasible solution to the problem, a maximal planar graph, can be transformed into any other (having the same vertex set)…
A graph $G$ is $k$-degenerate if it can be transformed into an empty graph by subsequent removals of vertices of degree $k$ or less. We prove that every connected planar graph with average degree $d \ge 2$ has a 4-degenerate induced subgraph containing at least $(38-d)/36$ of its vertices. This shows that every planar graph of order $n$ has a 4-degenerate induced subgraph of order more than $8/9 \cdot n$. We also consider a local variation of this problem and show that in every planar graph with at least 7 vertices, deleting a suitable vertex allows us to subsequently remove at least 6 more ve…
A {\em conflict-free coloring} of a graph {\em with respect to open} (resp., {\em closed}) {\em neighborhood} is a coloring of vertices such that for every vertex there is a color appearing exactly once in its open (resp., closed) neighborhood. Similarly, a {\em unique-maximum coloring} of a graph {\em with respect to open} (resp., {\em closed}) {\em neighborhood} is a coloring of vertices such that for every vertex the maximum color appearing in its open (resp., closed) neighborhood appears exactly once. There is a vast amount of literature on both notions where the colorings need not be prop…
A graph is $(k_1,k_2)$-colorable if its vertex set can be partitioned into a graph with maximum degree at most $k_1$ and and a graph with maximum degree at most $k_2$. We show that every $(C_3,C_4,C_6)$-free planar graph is $(0,6)$-colorable. We also show that deciding whether a $(C_3,C_4,C_6)$-free planar graph is $(0,3)$-colorable is NP-complete.
We consider the problem of coloring the squares of graphs of bounded maximum average degree, that is, the problem of coloring the vertices while ensuring that two vertices that are adjacent or have a common neighbour receive different colors. Borodin et al. proved in 2004 and 2008 that the squares of planar graphs of girth at least seven and sufficiently large maximum degree $Δ$ are list $(Δ+1)$-colorable, while the squares of some planar graphs of girth six and arbitrarily large maximum degree are not. By Euler's Formula, planar graphs of girth at least $6$ are of maximum average degree less …
A graph is outer-1-planar if it can be drawn in the plane so that all vertices are on the outer face and each edge is crossed at most once. It is known that the list edge chromatic number $χ'_l(G)$ of any outer-1-planar graph $G$ with maximum degree $Δ(G)\geq 5$ is exactly its maximum degree. In this paper, we prove $χ'_l(G)=Δ(G)$ for outer-1-planar graphs $G$ with $Δ(G)=4$ and with the crossing distance being at least 3.
We show that the edges of any planar graph of maximum degree at most $9$ can be partitioned into $4$ linear forests and a matching. Combined with known results, this implies that the edges of any planar graph $G$ of odd maximum degree $Δ\ge 9$ can be partitioned into $\tfrac{Δ-1}{2}$ linear forests and one matching. This strengthens well-known results stating that graphs in this class have chromatic index $Δ$ [Vizing, 1965] and linear arboricity at most $\lceil(Δ+1)/2\rceil$ [Wu, 1999].
We consider the Functional Orientation 2-Color problem, which was introduced by Valiant in his seminal paper on holographic algorithms [SIAM J. Comput., 37(5), 2008]. For this decision problem, Valiant gave a polynomial time holographic algorithm for planar graphs of maximum degree 3, and showed that the problem is NP-complete for planar graphs of maximum degree 10. A recent result on defective graph coloring by Corrêa et al. [Australas. J. Combin., 43, 2009] implies that the problem is already hard for planar graphs of maximum degree 8. Together, these results leave open the hardness question…
The bend-number b(G) of a graph G is the minimum k such that G may be represented as the edge intersection graph of a set of grid paths with at most k bends. We confirm a conjecture of Biedl and Stern showing that the maximum bend-number of outerplanar graphs is 2. Moreover we improve the formerly known lower and upper bound for the maximum bend-number of planar graphs from 2 and 5 to 3 and 4, respectively.
