Vertex and edge metric dimensions of cacti (Q2166219)

In a graph \(G\), a vertex (resp. an edge) metric generator is a set of vertices \(S\) such that any pair of vertices (resp. edges) from \(G\) is distinguished by at least one vertex from \(S\). The cardinality of the smallest vertex (resp. edge) metric generator is the vertex (resp. edge) metric dimension of \(G\). In a previous paper, the same authors [ibid. 314, 81--92 (2022; Zbl 1486.05078)] determined the vertex (resp. edge) metric dimension of unicyclic graphs which takes its value from two consecutive integers. Therein, several cycle configurations were introduced and the vertex (resp. edge) metric dimension takes the greater of the two consecutive values only if any of these configurations are present in the graph. In this paper, the authors extend the result to cactus graphs, i.e. graphs in which all cycles are pairwise edge-disjoint. They do so by defining a unicyclic subgraph of \(G\) for every cycle of \(G\) and applying the already introduced approach for unicyclic graphs which involves the configurations. The obtained results enable the authors to prove the cycle rank conjecture for cacti graphs. They also yield a simple upper bound on metric dimensions of cacti graphs and conclude the paper by conjecturing that the same upper bound holds in general. The paper may be of interest to metric graph theorists.