On $α^{+}$-Stable Koenig-Egervary Graphs

Abstract

The stability number of a graph G, is the cardinality of a stable set of maximum size in G. If the stability number of G remains the same upon the addition of any edge, then G is called $α^{+}$-stable. G is a König-Egervary graph if its order equals the sum of its stability number and the cardinality of a maximum matching. In this paper we characterize $α^{+}$-stable König-Egervary graphs, generalizing some previously known results on bipartite graphs and trees. Namely, we prove that a König-Egervary graph is $α^{+}$-stable if and only if either the set of vertices belonging to no maximum stable set is empty, or the cardinality of this set equals one, and G has a perfect matching. Using this characterization we obtain several new findings on general König-Egervary graphs, for example, the equality between the cardinalities of the set of vertices belonging to all maximum stable sets and the set of vertices belonging to no maximum stable set of G is a necessary and sufficient condition for a König-Egervary graph G to have a perfect matching.