When quoting this document, please refer to the following
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2010.2491
URN: urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-24918
URL: http://drops.dagstuhl.de/opus/volltexte/2010/2491/
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### Construction Sequences and Certifying 3-Connectedness

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### Abstract

Given two $3$-connected graphs $G$ and $H$, a \emph{construction sequence} constructs $G$ from $H$ (e.\,g. from the $K_4$) with three basic operations, called the \emph{Barnette-Gr\"unbaum operations}. These operations are known to be able to construct all $3$-connected graphs. We extend this result by identifying every intermediate graph in the construction sequence with a subdivision in $G$ and showing under some minor assumptions that there is still a construction sequence to $G$ when we start from an \emph{arbitrary prescribed} $H$-subdivision. This leads to the first algorithm that computes a construction sequence in time $O(|V(G)|^2)$. As an application, we develop a certificate for the $3$-connectedness of graphs that can be easily computed and verified. Based on this, a certifying test on $3$-connectedness is designed.%Finding certifying algorithms is a major goal for problems where the efficient solutions known are complicated. Tutte proved that every $3$-connected graph on more than $4$ nodes has a \emph{contractible edge}. Barnette and Gr\"unbaum proved the existence of a \emph{removable edge} in the same setting. We show that the sequence of contractions and the sequence of removals from $G$ to the $K_4$ can be computed in $O(|V|^2)$ time by extending Barnette and Gr\"unbaum's theorem. As an application, we derive a certificate for the $3$-connectedness of graphs that can be easily computed and verified.

### BibTeX - Entry

@InProceedings{schmidt:LIPIcs:2010:2491,
author =	{Jens M. Schmidt},
title =	{{Construction Sequences and Certifying 3-Connectedness}},
booktitle =	{27th International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science},
pages =	{633--644},
series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
ISBN =	{978-3-939897-16-3},
ISSN =	{1868-8969},
year =	{2010},
volume =	{5},
editor =	{Jean-Yves Marion and Thomas Schwentick},
publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl--Leibniz-Zentrum fuer Informatik},