11

Courcelle's theorem states that every graph property definable in monadic second-order logic can be decided in linear time on graphs of bounded treewidth. This is one of the most well-known algorithmic meta-theorems.

Motivated by Courcelle's theorem, I made the following conjecture :

Conjecture : Let $\psi$ be any MSO-definable property. If $\psi$ is solvable in polynomial-time on planar graphs, then $\psi$ is solvable in polynomial-time on all classes of minor-free graphs.

I want to know if the above conjecture is obviously false i.e., is there an MSO-definable property that is polynomial-time solvable on planar graphs but NP-hard on some class of minor-free graphs ?

This is the motivation behind my earlier question : Are there any problems that are polynomially solvable on graphs of genus g but NP-hard on graphs of genus > g.

Shiva Kintali
  • 10,578
  • 41
  • 74

1 Answers1

18

Being 4-colorable? Certainly MSO, and trivial on planar graphs. It's NP-complete for a large enough forbidden clique minor, by reduction to planar 3-colorability.

mic
  • 336
  • 3
  • 7
  • 1
    More explicitly, 4-colorability is NP-complete on the minor-closed family of apex graphs, by reduction to planar 3-colorability. – David Eppstein Aug 29 '14 at 20:25