On minimal vertex separators of dually chordal graphs: properties and characterizations

Abstract

Many works related to dually chordal graphs, their cliques and neighborhoods were published by Brandstädt et al. (1998) and Gutierrez (1996). We will undertake a similar study by considering minimal vertex separators and their properties instead. We find a necessary and sufficient condition for every minimal vertex separator to be contained in the closed neighborhood of a vertex and two major characterizations of dually chordal graphs are proved. The first states that a graph is dually chordal if and only if it possesses a spanning tree such that every minimal vertex separator induces a subtree. The second says that a graph is dually chordal if and only if the family of minimal vertex separators is Helly, its intersection graph is chordal and each of its members induces a connected subgraph. We also found adaptations for them, requiring just O(|E(G)|) minimal vertex separators if they are conveniently chosen. We obtain at the end a proof of a known characterization of the class of hereditary dually chordal graphs that relies on the properties of minimal vertex separators.