The Complexity of Distance-$r$ Dominating Set Reconfiguration

Abstract: For a fixed integer $r \geq 1$, a distance-$r$ dominating set (D$r$DS) of a graph $G = (V, E)$ is a vertex subset $D \subseteq V$ such that every vertex in $V$ is within distance $r$ from some member of $D$. Given two D$r$DSs $D_s, D_t$ of $G$, the Distance-$r$ Dominating Set Reconfiguration (D$r$DSR) problem asks if there is a sequence of D$r$DSs that transforms $D_s$ into $D_t$ (or vice versa) such that each intermediate member is obtained from its predecessor by applying a given reconfiguration rule exactly once. The problem for $r = 1$ has been well-studied in the literature. We consider D$r$DSR for $r \geq 2$ under two well-known reconfiguration rules: Token Jumping ($\mathsf{TJ}$, which involves replacing a member of the current D$r$DS by a non-member) and Token Sliding ($\mathsf{TS}$, which involves replacing a member of the current D$r$DS by an adjacent non-member). It is known that under any of $\mathsf{TS}$ and $\mathsf{TJ}$, the problem on split graphs is $\mathtt{PSPACE}$-complete for $r = 1$. We show that for $r \geq 2$, the problem is in $\mathtt{P}$, resulting in an interesting complexity dichotomy. Along the way, we prove some non-trivial bounds on the length of a shortest reconfiguration sequence on split graphs when $r = 2$ which may be of independent interest. Additionally, we design a linear-time algorithm under $\mathsf{TJ}$ on trees. On the negative side, we show that D$r$DSR for $r \geq 1$ on planar graphs of maximum degree three and bounded bandwidth is $\mathtt{PSPACE}$-complete, improving the degree bound of previously known results. We also show that the known $\mathtt{PSPACE}$-completeness results under $\mathsf{TS}$ and $\mathsf{TJ}$ for $r = 1$ on bipartite graphs and chordal graphs can be extended for $r \geq 2$.