A Survey on the <i>k</i>-Path Vertex Cover Problem

Abstract

Given an integer k ≥ 2, a k-path is a path on k vertices. A set of vertices in a graph G is called a k-path vertex cover if it includes at least one vertex of every k-path of G. A minimum k-path vertex cover in G is a k-path vertex cover having the smallest possible number of vertices and its cardinality is called the k-path vertex cover number of G. In the k-path vertex cover problem, the goal is to find a minimum k-path vertex cover in a given graph. In this paper, we present a brief survey of the current state of the art in the study of the k-path vertex cover problem and the k-path vertex cover number.

Keywords

• <i>k</i>-path vertex cover problem
• <i>k</i>-path vertex cover number
• exact algorithm
• approximation algorithm
• parameterized algorithm