Domination of the rectangular queen's graph

TL;DR

This paper determines the domination and independent domination numbers of rectangular queen's graphs for boards up to 18x18, providing exact values, bounds, and minimal dominating sets, with some non-monotonicity observed.

Contribution

It offers the first comprehensive calculations of domination and independent domination numbers for these graphs within the specified size range, including minimal sets and bounds.

Findings

Exact domination numbers for boards up to 18x18.

Bounds on domination numbers based on board dimensions.

Identification of non-monotonicity in domination parameters.

Abstract

The queen's graph $Q_{m \times n}$ has the squares of the $m \times n$ chessboard as its vertices; two squares are adjacent if they are in the same row, column, or diagonal of the board. A set $D$ of squares of $Q_{m \times n}$ is a dominating set for $Q_{m \times n}$ if every square of $Q_{m \times n}$ is either in $D$ or adjacent to a square in $D$. The minimum size of a dominating set of $Q_{m \times n}$ is the domination number, denoted by $\gamma(Q_{m \times n})$. Values of $\gamma(Q_{m \times n}), \, 4 \leq m \leq n \leq 18, \,$ are given here, in each case with a file of minimum dominating sets (often all of them, up to symmetry) in an online appendix at https://www.combinatorics.org/ojs/index.php/eljc/article/view/v26i4p45/HTML. In these ranges for $m$ and $n$, monotonicity fails once: $\gamma(Q_{8 \times 11}) = 6 > 5 = \gamma(Q_{9 \times 11}) = \gamma(Q_{10 \times 11}) = \gamma(Q_{11 \times 11})$. Lower bounds on $\gamma(Q_{m \times n})$ are given. In particular, if $m \leq n$ then $\gamma(Q_{m \times n}) \geq \min \{ m, \lceil (m+n-2)/4 \rceil \}$. A set of squares is independent if no two of its squares are adjacent. The minimum size of an independent dominating set of $Q_{m \times n}$ is the independent domination number, denoted by $i(Q_{m \times n})$. Values of $i(Q_{m \times n}), \, 4 \leq m \leq n \leq 18, \,$ are given here, in each case with some minimum dominating sets. In these ranges for $m$ and $n$, monotonicity fails twice: $i(Q_{8 \times 11}) = 6 > 5 = i(Q_{9 \times 11}) = i(Q_{10 \times 11}) = i(Q_{11 \times 11})$, and $i(Q_{11 \times 18}) = 9 > 8 = i(Q_{12 \times 18})$.