On the complexity of distance-d independent set reconfiguration

Abstract

For a fixed positive integer d≥2, a distance-d independent set (DdIS) of a graph is a vertex-subset whose distance between any two members is at least d. Imagine that there is a token placed on each member of a DdIS. Two DdISs are adjacent under Token Sliding (TS) if one can be obtained from the other by moving a token from one vertex to one of its unoccupied adjacent vertices. Under Token Jumping (TJ), the target vertex needs not to be adjacent to the original one. The Distance-dIndependent Set Reconfiguration (DdISR) problem under TS/TJ asks if there is a corresponding sequence of adjacent DdISs that transforms one given DdIS into another. The problem for d=2, also known as the Independent Set Reconfiguration problem, has been well-studied in the literature and its computational complexity on several graph classes has been known. In this paper, we study the computational complexity of DdISR on different graphs under TS and TJ for any fixed d≥3. On chordal graphs, we show that DdISR under TJ is in P when d is even and PSPACE-complete when d is odd. On split graphs, there is an interesting complexity dichotomy: DdISR is PSPACE-complete for d=2 but in P for d=3 under TS, while under TJ it is in P for d=2 but PSPACE-complete for d=3. Additionally, certain well-known hardness results for d=2 on perfect graphs and planar graphs of maximum degree three and bounded bandwidth can be extended for d≥3.