Connected coalitions in graphs

TL;DR

This paper introduces the concept of connected coalition partitions in graphs, characterizes graphs with such partitions, and provides algorithms to determine the maximum size of these partitions.

Contribution

It defines the connected coalition number, characterizes graphs with connected coalition partitions, and offers polynomial-time algorithms to compute this number.

Findings

Characterized all graphs with connected coalition partitions.

Proved that for certain graphs, the connected coalition number is less than the order.

Developed algorithms to determine if the connected coalition number is n or n-1.

Abstract

The connected coalition in a graph $G=(V,E)$ consists of two disjoint sets of vertices $V_{1}$ and $V_{2}$, neither of which is a connected dominating set but whose union $V_{1}\cup V_{2}$, is a connected dominating set. A connected coalition partition in a graph $G$ of order $n=|V|$ is a vertex partition $\psi$ = $\{V_1, V_2,..., V_k \}$ such that every set $V_i \in \psi$ either is a connected dominating set consisting of a single vertex of degree $n-1$, or is not a connected dominating set but forms a connected coalition with another set $V_j\in \psi$ which is not a connected dominating set. The connected coalition number, denoted by $CC(G)$, is the maximum cardinality of a connected coalition partition of $G$. In this paper, we initiate the study of connected coalition in graphs and present some basic results. Precisely, we characterize all graphs that have a connected coalition partition. Moreover, we show that for any graph $G$ of order $n$ with $\delta(G)=1$ and with no full vertex, it holds that $CC(G)<n$. Furthermore, we show that for any tree $T$, $CC(T)=2$. Finally, we present two polynomial-time algorithms that for a given connected graph $G$ of order $n$ determine whether $CC(G)=n$ or $CC(G)=n-1$.