On a Conjecture about Inverse Domination in Graphs

Abstract

Let \(G = (V, E)\) be a graph with no isolated vertex. A classical observation in domination theory is that if \(D\) is a minimum dominating set of \(G\), then \(V \setminus D\) is also a dominating set of \(G\). A set \(D’\) is an inverse dominating set of \(G\) if \(D’\) is a dominating set of \(G\) and \(D’ \subseteq V \setminus D\) for some minimum dominating set \(D\) of \(G\). The inverse domination number of \(G\) is the minimum cardinality among all inverse dominating sets of \(G\). The independence number of \(G\) is the maximum cardinality of an independent set of vertices in \(G\). Domke, Dunbar, and Markus (Ars Combin. \(72 (2004), 149-160)\) conjectured that the inverse domination number of \(G\) is at most the independence number of \(G\). We prove this conjecture for special families of graphs, including claw-free graphs, bipartite graphs, split graphs, very well covered graphs, chordal graphs, and cactus graphs.