The Edit Distance Function and Symmetrization

  • Ryan R. Martin
Keywords: edit distance, hereditary properties, symmetrization, cycles, colored regularity graphs, quadratic programming

Abstract

The edit distance between two graphs on the same labeled vertex set is the size of the symmetric difference of the edge sets.  The distance between a graph, G, and a hereditary property, ℋ, is the minimum of the distance between G and each G'∈ℋ.  The edit distance function of ℋ is a function of p∈[0,1] and is the limit of the maximum normalized distance between a graph of density p and ℋ.

This paper utilizes a method due to Sidorenko [Combinatorica 13(1), pp. 109-120], called "symmetrization", for computing the edit distance function of various hereditary properties.  For any graph H, Forb(H) denotes the property of not having an induced copy of H.  This paper gives some results regarding estimation of the function for an arbitrary hereditary property. This paper also gives the edit distance function for Forb(H), where H is a cycle on 9 or fewer vertices.

Author Biography

Ryan R. Martin, Iowa State University
Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics
Published
2013-08-30
Article Number
P26