Pathwidth of 2-Layer $k$-Planar Graphs

Abstract

A bipartite graph $G=(X\cup Y,E)$ is a 2-layer $k$-planar graph if it admits a drawing on the plane such that the vertices in $X$ and $Y$ are placed on two parallel lines respectively, edges are drawn as straight-line segments, and every edge involves at most $k$ crossings. Angelini, Da Lozzo, Förster, and Schneck [GD 2020; Comput. J., 2024] showed that every 2-layer $k$-planar graph has pathwidth at most $k+1$. In this paper, we show that this bound is sharp by giving a 2-layer $k$-planar graph with pathwidth $k+1$ for every $k\ge 0$. This improves their lower bound of $(k+3)/2$.

7 pages, 5 figures