Paired-Domination in Subdivided Star-Free Graphs

A set S of vertices in a graph G is a paired-dominating set of G if every vertex of G is adjacent to some vertex in S and if the subgraph induced by S contains a perfect matching. The paired-domination number of G, denoted by gamma (pr)(G), is the minimum cardinality of a paired-dominating set of G. In [Dorbec P, Gravier S, Henning MA, J Comb Optim 14(1):1-7, 2007], the authors gave tight bounds for paired-dominating sets of generalized claw-free graphs. Yet, the critical cases are not claws but subdivided stars. We here give a bound for graphs containing no induced subdivided stars, depending on the size of the star.