Clique-Based Separators for Geometric Intersection Graphs

TL;DR

This paper extends the concept of balanced clique-based separators to various geometric intersection graphs, providing bounds on separator weights and implications for efficient algorithms in graph problems.

Contribution

It generalizes previous results to multiple classes of geometric intersection graphs, establishing tight bounds and algorithmic applications.

Findings

Map graphs admit a tight $O(\sqrt{n})$ separator.

Pseudo-disk intersection graphs have an $O(n^{2/3}\log n)$ separator.

Polygonal pseudo-disks with total complexity $O(n)$ have an $O(\sqrt{n}\log n)$ separator.

Abstract

Let $F$ be a set of $n$ objects in the plane and let $G(F)$ be its intersection graph. A balanced clique-based separator of $G(F)$ is a set $S$ consisting of cliques whose removal partitions $G(F)$ into components of size at most $\delta n$, for some fixed constant $\delta<1$. The weight of a clique-based separator is defined as $\sum_{C\in S}\log (|C|+1)$. Recently De Berg et al. (SICOMP 2020) proved that if $S$ consists of convex fat objects, then $G(F)$ admits a balanced clique-based separator of weight $O(\sqrt{n})$. We extend this result in several directions, obtaining the following results. Map graphs admit a balanced clique-based separator of weight $O(\sqrt{n})$, which is tight in the worst case. Intersection graphs of pseudo-disks admit a balanced clique-based separator of weight $O(n^{2/3}\log n)$. If the pseudo-disks are polygonal and of total complexity $O(n)$ then the weight of the separator improves to $O(\sqrt{n}\log n)$. Intersection graphs of geodesic disks inside a simple polygon admit a balanced clique-based separator of weight $O(n^{2/3}\log n)$. Visibility-restricted unit-disk graphs in a polygonal domain with $r$ reflex vertices admit a balanced clique-based separator of weight $O(\sqrt{n}+r\log(n/r))$, which is tight in the worst case. These results immediately imply sub-exponential algorithms for MAXIMUM INDEPENDENT SET (and, hence, VERTEX COVER), for FEEDBACK VERTEX SET, and for $q$-COLORING for constant $q$ in these graph classes.