44
Views
0
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Articles

On the existence of (k, l)-kernels in digraphs with a given circumference

, & (Communicated by:)
Pages 15-28 | Received 26 Feb 2011, Accepted 29 Oct 2012, Published online: 10 Mar 2020
 

Abstract

Let D be a digraph, V(D) and A(D) will denote the sets of vertices and arcs of D, respectively.

A (k, l)-kernel N of D is a k-independent (if u, vN then d(u, v), d(v, u) ≥ k) and l-absorbent (if uV(D) - N then there exists vN such that d(u, v) ≤ l) set of vertices. A k-kernel is a (k, k - 1)-kernel. For a strong digraph D, a set SV(D) is a separator if D \ S is not strong, D is σ-strong if |V(D)| ≥ σ + 1 and has no separator with less than σ vertices. A digraph D is locally in(out)-semicomplete if whenever (v, u), (w, u) ∊ A(D) ((u, v), (u, w) ∊ A(D)), then (v, w) ∊ A(D) or (w, v) ∊ A(D). A digraph D is k-quasitransitive if the existence of a directed path (v0, v1, …, vk) in D implies that (v0, vk) ∊ A(D) or (vk, v0) ∊ A(D). In a digraph D which has at least one directed cycle, the length of a longest directed cycle is called its circumference.

We propose the following conjecture, if D is a digraph with circumference l, then D has a l-kernel. This conjecture is proved for two families of digraphs and a partial result is obtained for a third family. In this article we prove that if D is a σ-strong digraph with circumference l, then D has a (k, (l - 1) + (l - σ) )-kernel for every k ≥ 2. Also, that if D is a locally in/out-semicomplete digraph such that, for a fixed integer l ≥ 1, (u, v) ∊ A(D) implies d(v, u) ≤ l, then D has a (k, l)-kernel for every k ≥ 2. As a consequence of this theorems we have that every (l - 1)-strong digraph with circumference l and every locally out-semicomplete digraph with circumference l have an l-kernel, and every locally in-semicomplete digraph with circumference l has an l-solution. Also, we prove that every k-quasi-transitive digraph with circumference lk has an n-kernel for every nk.

2010 Mathematics Subject Classification:

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.