Graph Isomorphism Restricted by Lists

The complexity of graph isomorphism (GraphIso) is a famous unresolved problem in theoretical computer science. For graphs G and H, it asks whether they are the same up to a relabeling. In 1981, Lubiw proved that list restricted graph isomorphism (ListIso) is NP-complete: for each u ∈ V (G), we are given a list L(u) ⊆ V (H) of possible images of u. After 35 years, we revive the study of this problem and consider which results for GraphIso translate to ListIso. We prove the following: 1) When GraphIso is GI-complete for a class of graphs, it translates into NP-completeness of ListIso. 2) Combinatorial algorithms for GraphIso translate into algorithms for ListIso: for trees, planar graphs, interval graphs, circle graphs, permutation graphs, bounded genus graphs, and bounded treewidth graphs. 3) Algorithms based on group theory do not translate: ListIso remains NP-complete for cubic colored graphs with sizes of color classes bounded by 8.