On (In)approximability of MaxMin Independent Set Reconfiguration

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Main Authors: Hoang, Hung P., Ohsaka, Naoto, Saito, Rin, Tamura, Yuma
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Hoang, Hung P.
Ohsaka, Naoto
Saito, Rin
Tamura, Yuma
author_facet Hoang, Hung P.
Ohsaka, Naoto
Saito, Rin
Tamura, Yuma
contents In the Independent Set Reconfiguration problem under the Token Addition/Removal rule, given a graph $G$ and two independent sets $I$ and $J$ of $G$, we want to transform $I$ into $J$ by adding and removing vertices, such that all the sets throughout the process are independent sets. Its approximate version called MaxMin Independent Set Reconfiguration aims to maximise the minimum size of the independent sets in the process above. We study the (in)approximability of this problem for general graphs as well as restricted graph classes. Firstly, on general graphs, we obtain a polynomial-time $(n / \log n)$-factor approximation algorithm, complementing the $\mathsf{PSPACE}$-hardness of $n^{Ω(1)}$-factor approximation due to Hirahara and Ohsaka [STOC 2024, ICALP 2024] and the $\mathsf{NP}$-hardness of $n^{1-\varepsilon}$-factor approximation due to Ito, Demaine, Harvey, Papadimitriou, Sideri, Uehara, and Uno [TCS 2011]. Secondly, we present a polynomial-time approximation algorithm for degenerate graphs as well as $\mathsf{FPT}$-approximation schemes for bounded-treewidth graphs and $H$-minor-free graphs. Lastly, we extend the above inapproximability results to bounded-degree graphs, graphs of bandwidth $n^{\frac{1}{2}+Θ(1)}$, and bipartite graphs.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_26714
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle On (In)approximability of MaxMin Independent Set Reconfiguration
Hoang, Hung P.
Ohsaka, Naoto
Saito, Rin
Tamura, Yuma
Data Structures and Algorithms
05C69, 68Q17, 68W25, 68Q25
F.2.2; G.2.1; G.2.2
In the Independent Set Reconfiguration problem under the Token Addition/Removal rule, given a graph $G$ and two independent sets $I$ and $J$ of $G$, we want to transform $I$ into $J$ by adding and removing vertices, such that all the sets throughout the process are independent sets. Its approximate version called MaxMin Independent Set Reconfiguration aims to maximise the minimum size of the independent sets in the process above. We study the (in)approximability of this problem for general graphs as well as restricted graph classes. Firstly, on general graphs, we obtain a polynomial-time $(n / \log n)$-factor approximation algorithm, complementing the $\mathsf{PSPACE}$-hardness of $n^{Ω(1)}$-factor approximation due to Hirahara and Ohsaka [STOC 2024, ICALP 2024] and the $\mathsf{NP}$-hardness of $n^{1-\varepsilon}$-factor approximation due to Ito, Demaine, Harvey, Papadimitriou, Sideri, Uehara, and Uno [TCS 2011]. Secondly, we present a polynomial-time approximation algorithm for degenerate graphs as well as $\mathsf{FPT}$-approximation schemes for bounded-treewidth graphs and $H$-minor-free graphs. Lastly, we extend the above inapproximability results to bounded-degree graphs, graphs of bandwidth $n^{\frac{1}{2}+Θ(1)}$, and bipartite graphs.
title On (In)approximability of MaxMin Independent Set Reconfiguration
topic Data Structures and Algorithms
05C69, 68Q17, 68W25, 68Q25
F.2.2; G.2.1; G.2.2
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.26714