Free Sets in Planar Graphs: History and Applications

Abstract

A subset $S$ of vertices in a planar graph $G$ is a free set if, for every set $P$ of $|S|$ points in the plane, there exists a straight-line crossing-free drawing of $G$ in which vertices of $S$ are mapped to distinct points in $P$. In this survey, we review - several equivalent definitions of free sets, - results on the existence of large free sets in planar graphs and subclasses of planar graphs, - and applications of free sets in graph drawing. The survey concludes with a list of open problems in this still very active research area.