Bipartite Induced Subgraphs and Well-Quasi-Ordering

Abstract

We study bipartite graphs partially ordered by the induced subgraph relation. Our goal is to distinguish classes of bipartite graphs which are or are not well-quasi-ordered (wqo) by this relation. Answering an open question from \cite{Ding92}, we prove that $P_7$-free bipartite graphs are not wqo. On the other hand, we show that $P_6$-free bipartite graphs are wqo. We also obtain some partial results on subclasses of bipartite graphs defined by forbidding more than one induced subgraph.