Packing parameters in graphs: New bounds and a solution to an open problem

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the packing parameters in graphs. By applying the Mantel's theorem, We give upper bounds on packing and open packing numbers of triangle-free graphs along with characterizing the graphs for which the equalities hold and exhibit sharp Nordhaus-Gaddum type inequalities for packing numbers. We also solve the open problem of characterizing all connected graphs with $\rho_{o}(G)=n-\omega(G)$ posed in [S. Hamid and S. Saravanakumar, {\em Packing parameters in graphs}, Discuss Math. Graph Theory, 35 (2015), 5--16].