Exploring Subexponential Parameterized Complexity of Completion Problems

Let F be a family of graphs. In the F-Completion problem, we are given an n-vertex graph G and an integer k as input, and asked whether at most k edges can be added to G so that the resulting graph does not contain a graph from F as an induced subgraph. It appeared recently that special cases of F-Completion, the problem of completing into a chordal graph known as "Minimum Fill-in", corresponding to the case of F={C_4,C_5,C_6,...}, and the problem of completing into a split graph, i.e., the case of F={C_4,2K_2,C_5}, are solvable in parameterized subexponential time. The exploration of this phenomenon is the main motivation for our research on F-Completion. In this paper we prove that completions into several well studied classes of graphs without long induced cycles also admit parameterized subexponential time algorithms by showing that: - The problem Trivially Perfect Completion is solvable in parameterized subexponential time, that is F-Completion for F={C_4,P_4}, a cycle and a path on four vertices. - The problems known in the literature as Pseudosplit Completion, the case where F={2K_2,C_4}, and Threshold Completion, where F={2K_2,P_4,C_4}, are also solvable in subexponential time. We complement our algorithms for $F$-Completion with the following lower bounds: - For F={2K_2}, F={C_4}, F={P_4}, and F={2K_2,P_4}, F-Completion cannot be solved in time 2^o(k).n^O(1) unless the Exponential Time Hypothesis (ETH) fails. Our upper and lower bounds provide a complete picture of the subexponential parameterized complexity of F-Completion problems for F contained inside {2K_2,C_4,P_4}.