Abstract
Given a graphG=(V,E) and a positive integerk, an edge modification problem for a graph property Π consists in deciding whether there exists a setF of pairs ofV of size at mostk such that the graph\(H=(V,E\vartriangle F)\) satisfies the property Π. In theΠedge-completion problem, the setF is constrained to be disjoint from E; in theΠedge-deletion problem,F is a subset ofE; no constraint is imposed onF in theΠedge-editing problem. A number of optimization problems can be expressed in terms of graph modification problems which have been extensively studied in the context of parameterized complexity (Cai in Inf. Process. Lett. 58:171–176,1996; Fellows et al. in FCT, pp. 312–321,2007; Heggernes et al. in STOC, pp. 374–381,2007). When parameterized by the sizek of the setF, it has been proved that ifΠ is a hereditary property characterized by a finite set of forbidden induced subgraphs, then the threeΠ edge-modification problems are FPT (Cai in Inf. Process. Lett. 58:171–176,1996). It was then natural to ask (Bodlaender et al. in IWPEC,2006) whether these problems also admit a polynomial kernel. in polynomial time to an equivalent instance (G′,k′) with size bounded by a polynomial ink). Using recent lower bound techniques, Kratsch and Wahlström answered this question negatively (Kratsch and Wahlström in IWPEC, pp. 264–275,2009). However, the problem remains open on many natural graph classes characterized by forbidden induced subgraphs. question to characterize for which type of graph properties, the parameterized edge-modification problems have polynomial kernels. Kratsch and Wahlström asked whether the result holds when the forbidden subgraphs are paths or cycles and pointed out that the problem is already open in the case ofP4-free graphs (i.e. cographs). This paper provides positive and negative results in that line of research. We prove thatParameterized cograph edge-modification problems have cubic vertex kernels whereas polynomial kernels are unlikely to exist for thePl-free edge-deletion and theCl-free edge-deletion problems forl⩾7 andl≥4 respectively. Indeed, if they exist, thenNP⊆coNP/poly.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the anonymous referees for fruitful comments that improved the presentation of this paper. Research supported by the AGAPE project (ANR-09-BLAN-0159).
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Department of Computer Science, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, USA
Sylvain Guillemot
INRIA, CNRS, Université Nice–Sophia-Antipolis, Sophia-Antipolis, France
Frédéric Havet
LIRMM, Université Montpellier II, CNRS, Montpellier, France
Christophe Paul
LIFO, Université d’Orléans, Orleans, France
Anthony Perez
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Guillemot, S., Havet, F., Paul, C.et al. On the (Non-)Existence of Polynomial Kernels forPl-Free Edge Modification Problems.Algorithmica65, 900–926 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00453-012-9619-5
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