Parameterized algorithm for 3-path vertex cover

Abstract

In the 3-path vertex cover problem, the input is an undirected graph G and an integer k. The goal is to decide whether there is a set of vertices S of size at most k such that every path with 3 vertices in G contains at least one vertex of S. In this paper we give a parameterized algorithm for 3-path vertex cover whose time complexity is O⁎(1.713k). Our algorithm is faster than previous algorithms for this problem.