Abstract
Let G be a graph with an even number of vertices. The matching preclusion number of G, denoted by mp(G), is the minimum number of edges whose deletion leaves the resulting graph without a perfect matching. We introduced a 0–1 linear program which can be used to find the matching preclusion number of graphs. In this paper, by relaxing of the 0–1 linear program we obtain a linear program and call its optimal objective value as fractional matching preclusion number of graph G, denoted by \(mp_f(G)\). We show \(mp_f(G)\) can be computed in polynomial time for any graph G. By using the perfect matching polytope, we transform it into a new linear program whose optimal value equals the reciprocal of \(mp_f(G)\). For bipartite graph G, we obtain an explicit formula for \(mp_f(G)\) and show that \(\lfloor mp_f(G) \rfloor \) is the maximum integer k such that G has a k-factor. Moreover, for any two bipartite graphs G and H, we show \(mp_f(G \square H) \geqslant mp_f(G)+\lfloor mp_f(H) \rfloor \), where \(G \square H\) is the Cartesian product of G and H.
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This work is supported by NSFC (Grant No. 11871256) and Foundation of Education Department of Fujian Province (Grant No. JAT190417).
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Lin, R., Zhang, H. Fractional matching preclusion number of graphs and the perfect matching polytope. J Comb Optim 39, 915–932 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10878-020-00530-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10878-020-00530-2