MFCS Conference 2018 Conference Paper
Interval-Like Graphs and Digraphs
- Pavol Hell
- Jing Huang 0007
- Ross M. McConnell
- Arash Rafiey
We unify several seemingly different graph and digraph classes under one umbrella. These classes are all, broadly speaking, different generalizations of interval graphs, and include, in addition to interval graphs, adjusted interval digraphs, threshold graphs, complements of threshold tolerance graphs (known as `co-TT' graphs), bipartite interval containment graphs, bipartite co-circular arc graphs, and two-directional orthogonal ray graphs. (The last three classes coincide, but have been investigated in different contexts.) This common view is made possible by introducing reflexive relationships (loops) into the analysis. We also show that all the above classes are united by a common ordering characterization, the existence of a min ordering. We propose a common generalization of all these graph and digraph classes, namely signed-interval digraphs, and show that they are precisely the digraphs that are characterized by the existence of a min ordering. We also offer an alternative geometric characterization of these digraphs. For most of the above graph and digraph classes, we show that they are exactly those signed-interval digraphs that satisfy a suitable natural restriction on the digraph, like having a loop on every vertex, or having a symmetric edge-set, or being bipartite. For instance, co-TT graphs are precisely those signed-interval digraphs that have each edge symmetric. We also offer some discussion of future work on recognition algorithms and characterizations.