Research on Solution Space of Bipartite Graph Vertex-Cover by Maximum Matchings

Some rigorous results and statistics of the solution space of Vertex-Covers on bipartite graphs are given in this paper. Based on the König’s theorem, an exact solution space expression algorithm is proposed and statistical analysis of the nodes’ states is provided. The statistical results fit well with the algorithmic results until the emergence of the unfrozen core, which makes the fluctuation of statistical quantities and causes the replica symmetric breaking in the solutions. Besides, the entropy of bipartite Vertex-Cover solutions is calculated with the clustering entropy using a cycle simplification technique for the unfrozen core. Furthermore, as generalization of bipartite graphs, bipartite core graph is proposed, the solution space of which can also be easily determined; and based on these results, how to generate a König−Egerváry subgraph is studied by a growth process of adding edges. The investigation of solution space of bipartite graph Vertex-Cover provides intensive understanding and some insights on the solution space complexity, and will produce benefit for finding maximal König−Egerváry subgraphs, solving general graph Vertex-Cover and recognizing the intrinsic hardness of NP-complete problems.