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Complexity of the List Homomorphism Problem in Hereditary Graph Classes Okrasa, Karolina Rzążewski, Paweł list homomorphism fine-grained complexity hereditary graph classes A homomorphism from a graph G to a graph H is an edge-preserving mapping from V(G) to V(H). For a fixed graph H, in the list homomorphism problem, denoted by LHom(H), we are given a graph G, whose every vertex v is equipped with a list L(v) ⊆ V(H). We ask if there exists a homomorphism f from G to H, in which f(v) ∈ L(v) for every v ∈ V(G). Feder, Hell, and Huang [JGT 2003] proved that LHom(H) is polynomial time-solvable if H is a so-called bi-arc-graph, and NP-complete otherwise. We are interested in the complexity of the LHom(H) problem in F-free graphs, i.e., graphs excluding a copy of some fixed graph F as an induced subgraph. It is known that if F is connected and is not a path nor a subdivided claw, then for every non-bi-arc graph the LHom(H) problem is NP-complete and cannot be solved in subexponential time, unless the ETH fails. We consider the remaining cases for connected graphs F. If F is a path, we exhibit a full dichotomy. We define a class called predacious graphs and show that if H is not predacious, then for every fixed t the LHom(H) problem can be solved in quasi-polynomial time in P_t-free graphs. On the other hand, if H is predacious, then there exists t, such that the existence of a subexponential-time algorithm for LHom(H) in P_t-free graphs would violate the ETH. If F is a subdivided claw, we show a full dichotomy in two important cases: for H being irreflexive (i.e., with no loops), and for H being reflexive (i.e., where every vertex has a loop). Unless the ETH fails, for irreflexive H the LHom(H) problem can be solved in subexponential time in graphs excluding a fixed subdivided claw if and only if H is non-predacious and triangle-free. On the other hand, if H is reflexive, then LHom(H) cannot be solved in subexponential time whenever H is not a bi-arc graph. Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik Karolina Okrasa and Paweł Rzążewski 2021 Is Part Of LIPIcs, Volume 187, 38th International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2021) InProceedings Text doc-type:ResearchArticle publishedVersion application/pdf doi:10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2021.54 urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-136990 https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2021.54 eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode