A (2 + ?)-Factor Approximation Algorithm for Split Vertex Deletion

In the Split Vertex Deletion (SVD) problem, the input is an n-vertex undirected graph G and a weight function w: V(G) ? ?, and the objective is to find a minimum weight subset S of vertices such that G-S is a split graph (i.e., there is bipartition of V(G-S) = C ? I such that C is a clique and I is an independent set in G-S). This problem is a special case of 5-Hitting Set and consequently, there is a simple factor 5-approximation algorithm for this. On the negative side, it is easy to show that the problem does not admit a polynomial time (2-?)-approximation algorithm, for any fixed ? > 0, unless the Unique Games Conjecture fails. We start by giving a simple quasipolynomial time (n^O(log n)) factor 2-approximation algorithm for SVD using the notion of clique-independent set separating collection. Thus, on the one hand SVD admits a factor 2-approximation in quasipolynomial time, and on the other hand this approximation factor cannot be improved assuming UGC. It naturally leads to the following question: Can SVD be 2-approximated in polynomial time? In this work we almost close this gap and prove that for any ? > 0, there is a n^O(log 1/(?))-time 2(1+?)-approximation algorithm.