Improved Approximation Bounds for Edge Dominating Set in Dense Graphs

We analyze the simple greedy algorithm that iteratively removes the endpoints of a maximum-degree edge in a graph, where the degree of an edge is the sum of the degrees of its endpoints. This algorithm provides a 2-approximation to the minimum edge dominating set and minimum maximal matching problems. We refine its analysis and give an expression of the approximation ratio that is strictly less than 2 in the cases where the input graph has n vertices and at least 2 ` n 2 ́ edges, for 2 > 1/2. This ratio is shown to be asymptotically tight for 2 > 1/2.