Comparing Width Parameters on Graph Classes

TL;DR

This paper compares various width parameters across different special graph classes, revealing equivalences and bounds, and explores how these parameters behave under graph powers, with implications for structural graph theory.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive comparison of width parameters on specific graph classes, extending previous results and proving new bounds and equivalences.

Findings

Treewidth, clique-width, mim-width, sim-width, and tree-independence number are equivalent on $K_{t,t}$-subgraph-free graphs.

On line graphs, clique-width, mim-width, sim-width, and tree-independence number are equivalent and bounded by the root graph's treewidth.

Bounded mim-width in $K_{t,t}$-free graphs implies bounded tree-independence number.

Abstract

We study how the relationship between non-equivalent width parameters changes once we restrict to some special graph class. As width parameters, we consider treewidth, clique-width, twin-width, mim-width, sim-width and tree-independence number, whereas as graph classes we consider $K_{t,t}$-subgraph-free graphs, line graphs and their common superclass, for $t \geq 3$, of $K_{t,t}$-free graphs. We first provide a complete comparison when restricted to $K_{t,t}$-subgraph-free graphs, showing in particular that treewidth, clique-width, mim-width, sim-width and tree-independence number are all equivalent. This extends a result of Gurski and Wanke (2000) stating that treewidth and clique-width are equivalent for the class of $K_{t,t}$-subgraph-free graphs. Next, we provide a complete comparison when restricted to line graphs, showing in particular that, on any class of line graphs, clique-width, mim-width, sim-width and tree-independence number are all equivalent, and bounded if and only if the class of root graphs has bounded treewidth. This extends a result of Gurski and Wanke (2007) stating that a class of graphs ${\cal G}$ has bounded treewidth if and only if the class of line graphs of graphs in ${\cal G}$ has bounded clique-width. We then provide an almost-complete comparison for $K_{t,t}$-free graphs, leaving one missing case. Our main result is that $K_{t,t}$-free graphs of bounded mim-width have bounded tree-independence number. This result has structural and algorithmic consequences. In particular, it proves a special case of a conjecture of Dallard, Milani\v{c} and \v{S}torgel. Finally, we consider the question of whether boundedness of a certain width parameter is preserved under graph powers. We show that the question has a positive answer for sim-width precisely in the case of odd powers.