Improved (In-)Approximability Bounds for d-Scattered Set

In the $d$-Scattered Set problem we are asked to select at least $k$ vertices of a given graph, so that the distance between any pair is at least $d$. We study the problem's (in-)approximability and offer improvements and extensions of known results for Independent Set, of which the problem is a generalization. Specifically, we show: - A lower bound of $Δ^{\lfloor d/2\rfloor-ε}$ on the approximation ratio of any polynomial-time algorithm for graphs of maximum degree $Δ$ and an improved upper bound of $O(Δ^{\lfloor d/2\rfloor})$ on the approximation ratio of any greedy scheme for this problem. - A polynomial-time $2\sqrt{n}$-approximation for bipartite graphs and even values of $d$, that matches the known lower bound by considering the only remaining case. - A lower bound on the complexity of any $ρ$-approximation algorithm of (roughly) $2^{\frac{n^{1-ε}}{ρd}}$ for even $d$ and $2^{\frac{n^{1-ε}}{ρ(d+ρ)}}$ for odd $d$ (under the randomized ETH), complemented by $ρ$-approximation algorithms of running times that (almost) match these bounds.