Partial Star Products: A Local Covering Approach for the Recognition of Approximate Cartesian Product Graphs

Abstract: This paper is concerned with the recognition of approximate graph products with respect to the Cartesian product. Most graphs are prime, although they can have a rich product-like structure. The proposed algorithms are based on a local approach that covers a graph by small subgraphs, so-called partial star products, and then utilizes this information to derive the global factors and an embedding of the graph under investigation into Cartesian product graphs.