Length-Bounded Cuts: Proper Interval Graphs and Structural Parameters

Abstract

In the presented paper, we study the Length-Bounded Cut problem for special graph classes as well as from a parameterized-complexity viewpoint. Here, we are given a graph G, two vertices s and t, and positive integers β and λ. The task is to find a set F of edges of size at most β such that every s-t-path of length at most λ in G contains some edge in F. Bazgan et al. [Networks, 2019] conjectured that Length-Bounded Cut admits a polynomial-time algorithm if the input graph G is a proper interval graph. We confirm this conjecture by providing a dynamic-programming based polynomial-time algorithm. Moreover, we strengthen the W[1]-hardness result of Dvořak and Knop [Algorithmica, 2018] for Length-Bounded Cut parameterized by pathwidth. Our reduction is shorter, and the target of the reduction has stronger structural properties. Consequently, we give W[1]-hardness for the combined parameter pathwidth and maximum degree of the input graph. Finally, we prove that Length-Bounded Cut is W[1]-hard for the feedback vertex number. Both our hardness results complement known XP algorithms.