Graphs with isolation number equal to one third of the order

Abstract

A set $D$ of vertices of a graph $G$ is isolating if the set of vertices not in $D$ or with no neighbor in $D$ is independent. The isolation number of $G$, denoted by $\iota (G)$, is the minimum cardinality of an isolating set of $G$. It is known that $\iota (G)\le n/3$, if $G$ is a connected graph of order $n$, $n\ge 3$, distinct from $C_5$. The main result of this work is the characterisation of unicyclic and block graphs of order $n$ with isolating number equal to $n/3$. Moreover, we provide a family of general graphs attaining this upper bound on the isolation number.