Large 2-Independent Sets of Regular Graphs

Abstract We present a simple, yet efficient, heuristic for finding a large 2-independent set of regular graphs. We analyse the average-case performance of this heuristic, which is a randomised greedy algorithm, by analysing its performance on random regular graphs using differential equations. In this way, we prove lower bounds on the expected size of a largest 2-independent set of random regular graphs. Our results compare favourably with corresponding known upper bounds.