Biconnected component

In graph theory, a biconnected component (sometimes known as a 2-connected component) is a maximal biconnected subgraph. Any connected graph decomposes into a tree of biconnected components called the block-cut tree of the graph. The blocks are attached to each other at shared vertices called cut vertices or articulation points. Specifically, a cut vertex is any vertex whose removal increases the number of connected components. In graph theory, a biconnected component (sometimes known as a 2-connected component) is a maximal biconnected subgraph. Any connected graph decomposes into a tree of biconnected components called the block-cut tree of the graph. The blocks are attached to each other at shared vertices called cut vertices or articulation points. Specifically, a cut vertex is any vertex whose removal increases the number of connected components. The classic sequential algorithm for computing biconnected components in a connected undirected graph is due to John Hopcroft and Robert Tarjan (1973). It runs in linear time, and is based on depth-first search. This algorithm is also outlined as Problem 22-2 of Introduction to Algorithms (both 2nd and 3rd editions).