Bounds on the game isolation number and exact values for paths and cycles

TL;DR

This paper determines the exact values and bounds for the game isolation number on paths, cycles, and specific graphs, and explores extremal cases and new graph families.

Contribution

It provides exact formulas for paths and cycles, characterizes extremal graphs, and introduces a new graph family with specific game isolation number properties.

Findings

Exact values of the game isolation number for all paths and cycles.

Only two graphs attain the upper bound in the game isolation number for the first player.

Eleven graphs attain the upper bound for the second player.

Abstract

The isolation game is played on a graph $G$ by two players who take turns playing a vertex such that if $X$ is the set of already played vertices, then a vertex can be selected only if it dominates a vertex from a nontrivial component of $G \setminus N_G[X]$, where $N_G[X]$ is the set of vertices in $X$ or adjacent to a vertex in $X$. Dominator wishes to finish the game with the minimum number of played vertices, while Staller has the opposite goal. The game isolation number $\iota_{\rm g}(G)$ is the number of moves in the Dominator-start game where both players play optimally. If Staller starts the game the invariant is denoted by $\iota_{\rm g}'(G)$. In this paper, $\iota_{\rm g}(C_n)$, $\iota_{\rm g}(P_n)$, $\iota_{\rm g}'(C_n)$, and $\iota_{\rm g}'(P_n)$ are determined for all $n$. It is proved that there are only two graphs that attain equality in the upper bound $\iota_{\rm g}(G) \le \frac{1}{2}|V(G)|$, and that there are precisely eleven graphs which attain equality in the upper bound $\iota_{\rm g}'(G) \le \frac{1}{2}|V(G)|$. For trees $T$ of order at least three it is proved that $\iota_{\rm g}(T) \le \frac{5}{11}|V(T)|$. A new infinite family of graphs $G$ is also constructed for which $\iota_{\rm g}(G) = \iota_{\rm g}'(G) = \frac{3}{7}|V(G)|$ holds.