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1. Max Weight Independent Set in sparse graph with no long claws Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs):41st International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2024)

   https://doi.org/10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2024.4  

   Abrishami, Tara; Chudnovsky, Maria; Pilipczuk, Marcin; Rzążewski, Paweł (January 2024, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik)

   Beyersdorff, Olaf; Kanté, Mamadou Moustapha; Kupferman, Orna; Lokshtanov, Daniel (Ed.)

   We revisit the recent polynomial-time algorithm for the Max Weight Independent Set (MWIS) problem in bounded-degree graphs that do not contain a fixed graph whose every component is a subdivided claw as an induced subgraph [Abrishami, Chudnovsky, Dibek, Rzążewski, SODA 2022]. First, we show that with an arguably simpler approach we can obtain a faster algorithm with running time n^{𝒪(Δ²)}, where n is the number of vertices of the instance and Δ is the maximum degree. Then we combine our technique with known results concerning tree decompositions and provide a polynomial-time algorithm for MWIS in graphs excluding a fixed graph whose every component is a subdivided claw as an induced subgraph, and a fixed biclique as a subgraph. 

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2. Quasi-polynomial time approximation schemes for the Maximum Weight Independent Set Problem in H-free graphs

   https://doi.org/10.1137/1.9781611975994.139  

   Chudnovsky, Maria.; Pillipczuk, Marcin.; Pillipczuk, Mihal; and Thomasse, Stephan. (April 2020, Proceedings of the annual ACMSIAM symposium on discrete algorithms)

   In the Maximum Independent Set problem we are asked to find a set of pairwise nonadjacent vertices in a given graph with the maximum possible cardinality. In general graphs, this classical problem is known to be NP-hard and hard to approximate within a factor of n1−ε for any ε > 0. Due to this, investigating the complexity of Maximum Independent Set in various graph classes in hope of finding better tractability results is an active research direction. In H-free graphs, that is, graphs not containing a fixed graph H as an induced subgraph, the problem is known to remain NP-hard and APX-hard whenever H contains a cycle, a vertex of degree at least four, or two vertices of degree at least three in one connected component. For the remaining cases, where every component of H is a path or a subdivided claw, the complexity of Maximum Independent Set remains widely open, with only a handful of polynomial-time solvability results for small graphs H such as P5, P6, the claw, or the fork. We prove that for every such “possibly tractable” graph H there exists an algorithm that, given an H-free graph G and an accuracy parameter ε > 0, finds an independent set in G of cardinality within a factor of (1 – ε) of the optimum in time exponential in a polynomial of log | V(G) | and ε−1. That is, we show that for every graph H for which Maximum Independent Set is not known to be APX-hard in H-free graphs, the problem admits a quasi-polynomial time approximation scheme in this graph class. Our algorithm works also in the more general weighted setting, where the input graph is supplied with a weight function on vertices and we are maximizing the total weight of an independent set. 

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3. Induced Subgraphs and Tree Decompositions IV. (Even Hole, Diamond, Pyramid)-Free Graphs

   https://doi.org/10.37236/11623  

   Abrishami, Tara; Chudnovsky, Maria; Hajebi, Sepehr; Spirkl, Sophie (April 2023, The Electronic Journal of Combinatorics)

   A hole in a graph $$G$$ is an induced cycle of length at least four, and an even hole is a hole of even length. The diamond is the graph obtained from the complete graph $$K_4$$ by removing an edge. A pyramid is a graph consisting of a vertex $$a$$ called the apex and a triangle $$\{b_1, b_2, b_3\}$$ called the base, and three paths $$P_i$$ from $$a$$ to $$b_i$$ for $$1 \leq i \leq 3$$, all of length at least one, such that for $$i \neq j$$, the only edge between $$P_i \setminus \{a\}$$ and $$P_j \setminus \{a\}$$ is $$b_ib_j$$, and at most one of $$P_1$$, $$P_2$$, and $$P_3$$ has length exactly one. For a family $$\mathcal{H}$$ of graphs, we say a graph $$G$$ is $$\mathcal{H}$$-free if no induced subgraph of $$G$$ is isomorphic to a member of $$\mathcal{H}$$. Cameron, da Silva, Huang, and Vušković proved that (even hole, triangle)-free graphs have treewidth at most five, which motivates studying the treewidth of even-hole-free graphs of larger clique number. Sintiari and Trotignon provided a construction of (even hole, pyramid, $$K_4$$)-free graphs of arbitrarily large treewidth. Here, we show that for every $$t$$, (even hole, pyramid, diamond, $$K_t$$)-free graphs have bounded treewidth. The graphs constructed by Sintiari and Trotignon contain diamonds, so our result is sharp in the sense that it is false if we do not exclude diamonds. Our main result is in fact more general, that treewidth is bounded in graphs excluding certain wheels and three-path-configurations, diamonds, and a fixed complete graph. The proof uses “non-crossing decompositions” methods similar to those in previous papers in this series. In previous papers, however, bounded degree was a necessary condition to prove bounded treewidth. The result of this paper is the first to use the method of “non-crossing decompositions” to prove bounded treewidth in a graph class of unbounded maximum degree. 

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4. Even pairs in Berge graphs with no balanced skew-partitions

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.disc.2024.114388  

   Abrishami, Tara; Chudnovsky, Maria; Tang, Yaqian (May 2025, Discrete Mathematics)

   Let G be a Berge graph that has no odd prism and no antihole of length at least six as an induced subgraph. We show that every such graph G with no balanced skew-partition is either complete or has an even pair. 

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5. Tree Independence Number IV. Even-hole-free graphs

   https://doi.org/10.1137/1.9781611978322.151  

   Chudnovsky, Maria; Gartland, Peter; Hajebi, Sepehr; Lokshtanov, Daniel; Spirkl, Sophie (January 2025, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics - Symposium on Discrete Algorithms)

   We prove that the tree independence number of every even-hole-free graph is at most polylogarithmic in its number of vertices. More explicitly, we prove that there exists a constant c > 0 such that for every integer n > 1 every n-vertex even-hole-free graph has a tree decomposition where each bag has stability (independence) number at most clog10 n. This implies that the Maximum Weight Independent Set problem, as well as several other natural algorithmic problems that are known to be NP-hard in general, can be solved in quasipolynomial time if the input graph is even-hole-free. The quasi-polynomial complexity will remain the same even if the exponent of the logarithm is reduced to 1 (which would be asymptotically best possible). 

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