The complexity of classical computational problems in graph classes defined by forbidding induced subgraphs is one of the central topics of algorithmic graph theory. Recently, there has been a growing interest in the complexity of such problems in ordered graphs, i.e., graphs with a fixed linear ordering of vertices. Such an approach allows us to investigate the boundary of tractability more closely. However, most results so far concern coloring problems. In this paper, we focus on the complexity of the Maximum Weight Independent Set (MWIS) problem in classes of ordered graphs. For every ordered graph H, we classify the complexity of MWIS in ordered graphs that exclude H as an induced subgraph into one of the following cases: (1) solvable in polynomial time, (2) solvable in quasipolynomial time, (3) solvable in subexponential time, and (4) NP-hard. Notably, case (3) contains only one well-structured family of H obtained from two nested edges by adding isolated vertices in a specific way. Thus, our results yield an almost complete complexity dichotomy for MWIS in classes of ordered graphs defined by a single forbidden induced subgraph into cases solvable in quasipolynomial time and those that are NP-hard.

In the List k-Coloring problem we are given a graph whose every vertex is equipped with a list, which is a subset of {1,…,k}. We need to decide if G admits a proper coloring, where every vertex receives a color from its list. The complexity of the problem in classes defined by forbidding induced subgraphs is a widely studied topic in algorithmic graph theory. Recently, Hajebi, Li, and Spirkl [SIAM J. Discr. Math. 38 (2024)] initiated the study of List 3-Coloring in ordered graphs, i.e., graphs with fixed linear ordering of vertices. Forbidding ordered induced subgraphs allows us to investigate the boundary of tractability more closely. We continue this direction of research, focusing mostly on the case of List 4-Coloring. We present several algorithmic and hardness results, which altogether provide an almost complete dichotomy for classes defined by forbidding one fixed ordered graph: our investigations leave one minimal open case.

We study the problem of fair division of a set of indivisible goods with connectivity constraints. Specifically, we assume that the goods are represented as vertices of a connected graph, and sets of goods allocated to the agents are connected subgraphs of this graph. We focus on the widely-studied maximin share criterion of fairness. It has been shown that an allocation satisfying this criterion may not exist even without connectivity constraints, i.e., if the graph of goods is complete. In view of this, it is natural to seek approximate allocations that guarantee each agent a connected bundle of goods with value at least a constant fraction of the maximin share value to the agent. It is known that for some classes of graphs, such as complete graphs, cycles, and d-claw-free graphs for any fixed d, such approximate allocations indeed exist. However, it is an open problem whether they exist for the class of all graphs. In this paper, we continue the systematic study of the existence of approximate allocations on restricted graph classes. In particular, we show that such allocations exist for several well-studied classes, including block graphs, cacti, complete multipartite graphs, and split graphs.

A homomorphism from a graph G to a graph H is an edge-preserving mapping from V(G) to V(H). In the graph homomorphism problem, denoted by Hom(H), the graph H is fixed and we need to determine if there exists a homomorphism from an instance graph G to H. We study the complexity of the problem parameterized by the cutwidth of G, i.e., we assume that G is given along with a linear ordering v_1,…,v_n of V(G) such that, for each i ∈ {1,…,n-1}, the number of edges with one endpoint in {v_1,…,v_i} and the other in {v_{i+1},…,v_n} is at most k. We aim, for each H, for algorithms for Hom(H) running in time c_H^k n^𝒪(1) and matching lower bounds that exclude c_H^{k⋅o(1)} n^𝒪(1) or c_H^{k(1-Ω(1))} n^𝒪(1) time algorithms under the (Strong) Exponential Time Hypothesis. In the paper we introduce a new parameter that we call mimsup(H). Our main contribution is strong evidence of a close connection between c_H and mimsup(H): - an information-theoretic argument that the number of states needed in a natural dynamic programming algorithm is at most mimsup(H)^k, - lower bounds that show that for almost all graphs H indeed we have c_H ≥ mimsup(H), assuming the (Strong) Exponential-Time Hypothesis, and - an algorithm with running time exp(𝒪(mimsup(H)⋅k log k)) n^𝒪(1). In the last result we do not need to assume that H is a fixed graph. Thus, as a consequence, we obtain that the problem of deciding whether G admits a homomorphism to H is fixed-parameter tractable, when parameterized by cutwidth of G and mimsup(H). The parameter mimsup(H) can be thought of as the p-th root of the maximum induced matching number in the graph obtained by multiplying p copies of H via a certain graph product, where p tends to infinity. It can also be defined as an asymptotic rank parameter of the adjacency matrix of H. Such parameters play a central role in, among others, algebraic complexity theory and additive combinatorics. Our results tightly link the parameterized complexity of a problem to such an asymptotic matrix parameter for the first time.

For graphs G and H, an H-coloring of G is an edge-preserving mapping from V(G) to V(H). In the H-Coloring problem the graph H is fixed and we ask whether an instance graph G admits an H-coloring. A generalization of this problem is H-ColoringExt, where some vertices of G are already mapped to vertices of H and we ask if this partial mapping can be extended to an H-coloring. We study the complexity of variants of H-Coloring in F-free graphs, i.e., graphs excluding a fixed graph F as an induced subgraph. For integers a,b,c ⩾ 1, by S_{a,b,c} we denote the graph obtained by identifying one endvertex of three paths on a+1, b+1, and c+1 vertices, respectively. For odd k ⩾ 5, by W_k we denote the graph obtained from the k-cycle by adding a universal vertex. As our main algorithmic result we show that W_5-ColoringExt is polynomial-time solvable in S_{2,1,1}-free graphs. This result exhibits an interesting non-monotonicity of H-ColoringExt with respect to taking induced subgraphs of H. Indeed, W_5 contains a triangle, and K_3-Coloring, i.e., classical 3-coloring, is NP-hard already in claw-free (i.e., S_{1,1,1}-free) graphs. Our algorithm is based on two main observations: 1) W_5-ColoringExt in S_{2,1,1}-free graphs can be in polynomial time reduced to a variant of the problem of finding an independent set intersecting all triangles, and 2) the latter problem can be solved in polynomial time in S_{2,1,1}-free graphs. We complement this algorithmic result with several negative ones. In particular, we show that W_5-Coloring is NP-hard in P_t-free graphs for some constant t and W_5-ColoringExt is NP-hard in S_{3,3,3}-free graphs of bounded degree. This is again uncommon, as usually problems that are NP-hard in S_{a,b,c}-free graphs for some constant a,b,c are already hard in claw-free graphs

We study the 3-Coloring problem in graphs with small diameter. In 2013, Mertzios and Spirakis showed that for $n$-vertex diameter-2 graphs this problem can be solved in subexponential time $2^{\mathcal{O}(\sqrt{n \log n})}$. Whether the problem can be solved in polynomial time remains a well-known open question in the area of algorithmic graph theory. In this paper we present an algorithm that solves 3-Coloring in $n$-vertex diameter-2 graphs in time $2^{\mathcal{O}(n^{1/3} \log^{2} n)}$. This is the first improvement upon the algorithm of Mertzios and Spirakis in the general case, i.e., without putting any further restrictions on the instance graph. In addition to standard branchings and reducing the problem to an instance of 2-Sat, the crucial building block of our algorithm is a combinatorial observation about 3-colorable diameter-2 graphs, which is proven using a probabilistic argument. As a side result, we show that 3-Coloring can be solved in time $2^{\mathcal{O}( (n \log n)^{2/3})}$ in $n$-vertex diameter-3 graphs. This is the first algorithm for 3-Coloring which works in subexponential time for all diameter-3 graphs. We also discuss generalizations of our results to the weighted variant of 3-Coloring.

We study the 3-Coloring problem in graphs with small diameter. In 2013, Mertzios and Spirakis showed that for n-vertex diameter-2 graphs this problem can be solved in subexponential time 2^{𝒪(√{n log n})}. Whether the problem can be solved in polynomial time remains a well-known open question in the area of algorithmic graphs theory. In this paper we present an algorithm that solves 3-Coloring in n-vertex diameter-2 graphs in time 2^{𝒪(n^{1/3} log² n)}. This is the first improvement upon the algorithm of Mertzios and Spirakis in the general case, i.e., without putting any further restrictions on the instance graph. In addition to standard branchings and reducing the problem to an instance of 2-Sat, the crucial building block of our algorithm is a combinatorial observation about 3-colorable diameter-2 graphs, which is proven using a probabilistic argument. As a side result, we show that 3-Coloring can be solved in time 2^{𝒪((n log n)^{2/3})} in n-vertex diameter-3 graphs. We also generalize our algorithms to the problem of finding a list homomorphism from a small-diameter graph to a cycle.

For graphs G,H, a homomorphism from G to H is an edge-preserving mapping from V(G) to V(H). In the list homomorphism problem, denoted by LHom(H), we are given a graph G, whose every vertex v is equipped with a list L(v) ⊆ V(H), and we need to determine whether there exists a homomorphism from G to H which additionally respects the lists L. List homomorphisms are a natural generalization of (list) colorings. Very recently Okrasa, Piecyk, and Rzążewski [ESA 2020] studied the fine-grained complexity of the problem, parameterized by the treewidth of the instance graph G. They defined a new invariant i^*(H), and proved that for every relevant graph H, i.e., such that LHom(H) is NP-hard, this invariant is the correct base of the exponent in the running time of any algorithm solving the LHom(H) problem. In this paper we continue this direction and study the complexity of the problem under different parameterizations. As the first result, we show that i^*(H) is also the right complexity base if the parameter is the size of a minimum feedback vertex set of G, denoted by fvs(G). In particular, for every relevant graph H, the LHom(H) problem - can be solved in time i^*(H)^fvs(G) ⋅ |V(G)|^𝒪(1), if a minimum feedback vertex set of G is given, - cannot be solved in time (i^*(H) - ε)^fvs(G) ⋅ |V(G)|^𝒪(1), for any ε > 0, unless the SETH fails. Then we turn our attention to a parameterization by the cutwidth ctw(G) of G. Jansen and Nederlof [TCS 2019] showed that List k-Coloring (i.e., LHom(K_k)) can be solved in time c^ctw(G) ⋅ |V(G)|^𝒪(1) for an absolute constant c, i.e., the base of the exponential function does not depend on the number of colors. Jansen asked whether this behavior extends to graph homomorphisms. As the main result of the paper, we answer the question in the negative. We define a new graph invariant mim^*(H), closely related to the size of a maximum induced matching in H, and prove that for all relevant graphs H, the LHom(H) problem cannot be solved in time (mim^*(H)-ε)^{ctw(G)}⋅ |V(G)|^𝒪(1) for any ε > 0, unless the SETH fails. In particular, this implies that, assuming the SETH, there is no constant c, such that for every odd cycle the non-list version of the problem can be solved in time c^ctw(G) ⋅ |V(G)|^𝒪(1).

A homomorphism from a graph $G$ to a graph $H$ is an edge-preserving mapping from $V(G)$ to $V(H)$. Let $H$ be a fixed graph with possible loops. In the list homomorphism problem, denoted by LHom($H$), we are given a graph $G$, whose every vertex $v$ is assigned with a list $L(v)$ of vertices of $H$. We ask whether there exists a homomorphism $h$ from $G$ to $H$, which respects lists $L$, i.e., for every $v \in V(G)$ it holds that $h(v) \in L(v)$. The complexity dichotomy for LHom($H$) was proven by Feder, Hell, and Huang [JGT 2003]. We are interested in the complexity of the problem, parameterized by the treewidth of the input graph. This problem was investigated by Egri, Marx, and Rzążewski [STACS 2018], who obtained tight complexity bounds for the special case of reflexive graphs $H$. In this paper we extend and generalize their results for \emph{all} relevant graphs $H$, i.e., those, for which the LHom{H} problem is NP-hard. For every such $H$ we find a constant $k = k(H)$, such that LHom($H$) on instances with $n$ vertices and treewidth $t$ * can be solved in time $k^{t} \cdot n^{\mathcal{O}(1)}$, provided that the input graph is given along with a tree decomposition of width $t$, * cannot be solved in time $(k-\varepsilon)^{t} \cdot n^{\mathcal{O}(1)}$, for any $\varepsilon >0$, unless the SETH fails. For some graphs $H$ the value of $k(H)$ is much smaller than the trivial upper bound, i.e., $|V(H)|$. Obtaining matching upper and lower bounds shows that the set of algorithmic tools we have discovered cannot be extended in order to obtain faster algorithms for LHom($H$) in bounded-treewidth graphs. Furthermore, neither the algorithm, nor the proof of the lower bound, is very specific to treewidth. We believe that they can be used for other variants of LHom($H$), e.g. with different parameterizations.