Nowhere dense graph classes and algorithmic applications. A tutorial at Highlights of Logic, Games and Automata 2019

Abstract: The notion of nowhere dense graph classes was introduced by Ne\v{s}et\v{r}il and Ossona de Mendez and provides a robust concept of uniform sparseness of graph classes. Nowhere dense classes generalize many familiar classes of sparse graphs such as classes that exclude a fixed graph as a minor or topological minor. They admit several seemingly unrelated natural characterizations that lead to strong algorithmic applications. In particular, the model-checking problem for first-order logic is fixed-parameter tractable over these classes. These notes, prepared for a tutorial at Highlights of Logic, Games and Automata 2019, are a brief introduction to the theory of nowhere denseness, driven by algorithmic applications.