We introduce a new framework of restricted 2-matchings close to Hamilton cycles. For an undirected graph (V,E) and a family U of vertex subsets, a 2-matching F is called U-feasible if, for each setU in U, F contains at most |setU|-1 edges in the subgraph induced by U. Our framework includes C_{<=k}-free 2-matchings, i.e., 2-matchings without cycles of at most k edges, and 2-factors covering prescribed edge cuts, both of which are intensively studied as relaxations of Hamilton cycles. The problem of finding a maximum U-feasible 2-matching is NP-hard. We prove that the problem is tractable when the graph is bipartite and each setU in U induces a Hamilton-laceable graph. This case generalizes the C_{<=4}-free 2-matching problem in bipartite graphs. We establish a min-max theorem, a combinatorial polynomial-time algorithm, and decomposition theorems by extending the theory of C_{<=4}-free 2-matchings. Our result provides the first polynomially solvable case for the maximum C_{<=k}-free 2-matching problem for k >= 5. For instance, in bipartite graphs in which every cycle of length six has at least two chords, our algorithm solves the maximum C_{<=6}-free 2-matching problem in O(n^2 m) time, where n and m are the numbers of vertices and edges, respectively.
@InProceedings{takazawa:LIPIcs.MFCS.2016.87, author = {Takazawa, Kenjiro}, title = {{Finding a Maximum 2-Matching Excluding Prescribed Cycles in Bipartite Graphs}}, booktitle = {41st International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2016)}, pages = {87:1--87:14}, series = {Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)}, ISBN = {978-3-95977-016-3}, ISSN = {1868-8969}, year = {2016}, volume = {58}, editor = {Faliszewski, Piotr and Muscholl, Anca and Niedermeier, Rolf}, publisher = {Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik}, address = {Dagstuhl, Germany}, URL = {https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2016.87}, URN = {urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-64950}, doi = {10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2016.87}, annote = {Keywords: optimization algorithms, matching theory, traveling salesman problem, restricted 2-matchings, Hamilton-laceable graphs} }
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