Restrained domination in signed graphs

Abstract A signed graph Σ is a graph with positive or negative signs attatched to each of its edges. A signed graph Σ is balanced if each of its cycles has an even number of negative edges. Restrained dominating set D in Σ is a restrained dominating set of its underlying graph where the subgraph induced by the edges across Σ[D : V \ D] and within V \ D is balanced. The set D having least cardinality is called minimum restrained dominating set and its cardinality is the restrained domination number of Σ denoted by γr(Σ). The ability to communicate rapidly within the network is an important application of domination in social networks. The main aim of this paper is to initiate a study on restrained domination in the realm of different classes of signed graphs.