Preprint
Jul 2026
Spanning Paths and Cycles: Structural Limitations of the Irrelevant Vertex Technique
A new local structure theorem for annotated graphs of bounded $\mathsf{depth}_2$ with a spanning analogue of the celebrated Vital Linkage Theorem and matching lower bounds showing that beyond bounded $\mathsf{depth}_2$ no irrelevant-vertex rule can exist, even on planar graphs.
D. Thilikos, Sebastian Wiederrecht
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