Opuscula Math. 46, no. 2 (2026), 139-152
https://doi.org/10.7494/OpMath.202601201
Opuscula Mathematica
On the existence of independent \((1,k)\)-dominating sets for \(k\in\{1,2\}\) in two products of graphs
Paweł Bednarz
Adrian Michalski
Natalia Paja
Abstract. A subset \(J\) of vertices is said to be a \((1,k)\)-dominating set if every vertex \(v\) not belonging to the set \(J\) has a neighbour in \(J\) and there exists also another vertex in \(J\) within the distance at most \(k\) from \(v\). In this paper, we study the problem of the existence of independent \((1,k)\)-dominating sets for \(k\in\{1,2\}\) in the tensor product and in the strong product of two graphs. We give complete characterisations of these graph products, which have independent \((1,1)\)-dominating sets or independent \((1,2)\)-dominating sets, with respect to the properties of their factors.
Keywords: dominating set, independent set, multiple domination, secondary domination, tensor product, strong product.
Mathematics Subject Classification: 05C69, 05C76.
- Y. Bai, S. Fujita, S. Zhang, Kernels by properly colored paths in arc-colored digraphs, Discrete Math. 341 (2018), 1523-1533. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.disc.2018.02.014
- D.W. Bange, A.E. Barkauskas, P.J. Slater, Efficient dominating sets in graphs, Appl. Discrete Math. 189 (1988), 189-199.
- P. Bednarz, On \((2-d)\)-kernels in the tensor product of graphs, Symmetry 13 (2021), 230. https://doi.org/10.3390/sym13020230
- P. Bednarz, C. Hernández-Cruz, I. Włoch, On the existence and the number of \((2-d)\)-kernels in graphs, Ars Combin. 121 (2015), 341-351.
- P. Bednarz, N. Paja, On \((2-d)\)-kernels in two generalizations of the Petersen graph, Symmetry 13 (2021), 1948.
- P. Bednarz, I. Włoch, An algorithm determining \((2-d)\)-kernels in trees, Util. Math. 102 (2017), 215-222.
- P. Bednarz, I. Włoch, On \((2-d)\)-kernels in the Cartesian product of graphs, Ann. Univ. Mariae Curie-Skłodowska Sect. A 70 (2016), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.17951/a.2016.70.2.1
- U. Bednarz, I. Włoch, Fibonacci numbers in graphs with strong \((1,1,2)\)-kernels, Bol. Soc. Mat. Mex. 27 (2021), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40590-021-00328-0
- C. Berge, Graphs and Hypergraphs, North-Holland Pub. Co., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1973.
- C. Berge, P. Duchet, Perfect graphs and kernels, Bull. Inst. Math. Acad. Sinica 16 (1988), 263-274.
- M. Blidia, M. Chellali, O. Favaron, Independence and 2-domination in trees, Australas. J. Combin. 33 (2005), 317-327.
- M. Borowiecki, M. Kuzak, On the \(k\)-stable and \(k\)-dominating sets of graphs, [in:] Graphs, Hypergraphs and Block System, Proc. Symp., Zielona Góra, 1976.
- M. Chellali, Bounds on the 2-domination number in cactus graphs, Opuscula Math. 26 (2006), 5-12.
- R. Diestel, Graph Theory, Springer, New York, 2005.
- J.F. Fink, M.S. Jacobson, \(n\)-domination in graphs, [in:] Graph Theory with Applications to Algorithms and Computer Science, John Wiley & Sons, New York, USA, 1985, 283-300.
- H. Galeana-Sánchez, C. Hernández-Cruz, On the existence of \((k,l)\)-kernels in digraphs with a given circumference, AKCE Int. J. Graphs Combin 10 (2013), 15-28.
- H. Galeana-Sánchez, C. Hernández-Cruz, On the existence of \((k,l)\)-kernels in infinite digraphs: A survey, Discuss. Math. Graph Theory 34 (2014), 431-466. https://doi.org/10.7151/dmgt.1747
- R. Hammack, W. Imrich, S. Klavžar, Handbook of Product Graphs, 2nd ed., CRC Press, Boca Raton, USA, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1201/b10959
- T.W. Haynes, S. Hedetniemi, P. Slater, Fundamentals of Domination in Graphs, CRC Press, 1998. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781482246582
- S.M. Hedetniemi, S.T. Hedetniemi, J. Knisely, D.F. Rall, Secondary domination in graphs, AKCE Int. J. Graphs Combinator. 5 (2008), 103-115.
- K. Kayathri, S. Vallirani, \((1,2)\)-domination in graphs, [in:] S. Arumugam, J. Bagga, L. Beineke, B. Panda (eds.), Theoretical Computer Science and Discrete Mathematics, ICTCSDM 2016, Springer, Cham, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64419-6_17
- A. Kosiorowska, A. Michalski, I. Włoch, On minimum intersections of certain secondary dominating sets in graphs, Opuscula Math. 43 (2023), 813-827. https://doi.org/10.7494/opmath.2023.43.6.813
- M. Kucharska, On \((k,l)\)-kernel perfectness of special classes of digraphs, Discuss. Math. Graph Theory 25 (2005), 103-119. https://doi.org/10.7151/dmgt.1265
- S.G.H. de la Maza, C. Hernández-Cruz, On the complexity of the \(k\)-kernel problem on cyclically \(k\)-partite digraphs, Theoret. Comput. Sci. 795 (2019), 9-19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tcs.2019.05.031
- A. Meir, J.W. Moon, Relations between packing and covering numbers of a tree, Pacific J. Math. 61 (1975), 225-233. https://doi.org/10.2140/pjm.1975.61.225
- A. Michalski, P. Bednarz, On independent secondary dominating sets in generalized graph products, Symmetry 13 (2021), 2399. https://doi.org/10.3390/sym13122399
- A. Michalski, I. Włoch, On the existence and the number of independent \((1,2)\)-dominating sets in the \(G\)-join of graphs, Appl. Math. Comput. 377 (2020), 125155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amc.2020.125155
- A. Michalski, I. Włoch, M. Dettlaff, M. Lemańska, On proper \((1,2)\)-dominating sets, Math. Methods Appl. Sci. 45(11) (2022), 7050-7057. https://doi.org/10.1002/mma.8223
- O. Morgenstern, J. von Neumann, Theory of Games and Economic Behavior, Princeton University Press, Princeton, USA, 1944.
- J. Raczek, Polynomial algorithm for minimal \((1,2)\)-dominating set in networks, Electronics 11 (2022), 300. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics11030300
- A. Włoch, On 2-dominating kernels in graphs, Australas. J. Combin. 53 (2012), 273-284.
- A. Włoch, I. Włoch, On \((k,l)\)-kernels in generalized products, Discrete Math. 164 (1997), 295-301. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0012-365x(96)00064-7
- A. Włoch, I. Włoch, On \((k,l)\)-kernels in the corona of digraphs, Int. J. Pure Appl. Math. 53 (2009), 571-582.
- I. Włoch, On kernels by monochromatic paths in the corona of digraphs, Open Math. 6 (2008), 537-542. https://doi.org/10.2478/s11533-008-0044-6
- Paweł Bednarz
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1629-0167- Rzeszow University of Technology, The Faculty of Mathematics and Applied Physics, Department of Discrete Mathematics, Al. Powstańców Warszawy 12, 35-029 Rzeszów, Poland
- Adrian Michalski (corresponding author)
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8776-5270- Rzeszow University of Technology, The Faculty of Mathematics and Applied Physics, Department of Discrete Mathematics, Al. Powstańców Warszawy 12, 35-029 Rzeszów, Poland
- Natalia Paja
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0709-6880- Rzeszow University of Technology, The Faculty of Mathematics and Applied Physics, Department of Discrete Mathematics, Al. Powstańców Warszawy 12, 35-029 Rzeszów, Poland
- Communicated by Dalibor Fronček.
- Received: 2025-07-14.
- Revised: 2026-01-16.
- Accepted: 2026-01-20.
- Published online: 2026-04-10.

