Elimination Graphs

A graph is chordal if it does not contain any induced cycle of size greater than three. An alternative characterization of chordal graphs is via a perfect elimination ordering, which is an ordering of the vertices such that, for each vertex v, the neighbors of v that occur later than v in the ordering form a clique. Akcoglu et al [2] define an extension of chordal graphs whereby the neighbors of v that occur later than v in the elimination order have at most k independent vertices. We refer to such graphs as sequentially k-independent graphs. Clearly this extension of chordal graphs also extends the class of (k+1)-claw-free graphs. We study properties of such families of graphs, and we show that several natural classes of graphs are sequentially kindependent for small k. In particular, any intersection graph of translates of a convex object in a two dimensional plane is a sequentially 3-independent graph; furthermore, any planar graph is a sequentially 3-independent graph. For any fixe...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2009
• Where: ICALP
• Authors: Yuli Ye, Allan Borodin
• Keywords: Chordal Graphs, ICALP 2009, K-independent Graphs, Sequential Elimination Graphs, Theoretical Computer Science