On the existence of \((k, l)\)-kernels in digraphs with a given circumference (Q2443409)

From the autors' abstract: Let \(D\) be a digraph, \(V(D)\) and \(A(D)\) will denote the sets of vertices and arcs of \(D\), respectively. A \((k,l)\)-kernel \(N\) of \(D\) is a \(k\)-independent (if \(u,v\in N\), \(u \# v\), then \(d(u,v),d(v,u)\geq k\)) and \(l\)-absorbent (if \(u\in V(D)-N\) then there exists \(v\in N\) such that \(d(u,v)\leq l\)) set of vertices. A \(k\)-kernel is a \((k,k-1)\)-kernel. In a digraph \(D\) which has at least one directed cycle, the length of a longest directed cycle is called its circumference. We propose the following conjecture: If \(D\) is a digraph with circumference \(l\), then \(D\) has an \(l\)-kernel. This conjecture is proved for two families of digraphs and a partial result is obtained for a third family.