Minimally Non-Preperfect Graphs of Small Maximum Degree

Abstract.

 A graph G is called preperfect if each induced subgraph G ^′⊆G of order at least 2 has two vertices x, y such that either all maximum cliques of G ^′ containing x contain y, or all maximum independent sets of G ^′ containing y contain x, too. Giving a partial answer to a problem of Hammer and Maffray [Combinatorica 13 (1993), 199–208], we describe new classes of minimally non-preperfect graphs, and prove the following characterizations:

(i) A graph of maximum degree 4 is minimally non-preperfect if and only if it is an odd cycle of length at least 5, or the complement of a cycle of length 7, or the line graph of a 3-regular 3-connected bipartite graph.

(ii) If a graph G is not an odd cycle and has no isolated vertices, then its line graph is minimally non-preperfect if and only if G is bipartite, 3-edge-connected, regular of degree d for some d≥3, and contains no 3-edge-connected d ^′-regular subgraph for any 3≤d ^′<d.