Almost-linear time parameterized algorithm for rankwidth via dynamic rankwidth

We give an algorithm that given a graph $G$ with $n$ vertices and $m$ edges and an integer $k$, in time $O_k(n^{1+o(1)}) + O(m)$ either outputs a rank decomposition of $G$ of width at most $k$ or determines that the rankwidth of $G$ is larger than $k$; the $O_k(\cdot)$-notation hides factors depending on $k$. Our algorithm returns also a $(2^{k+1}-1)$-expression for cliquewidth, yielding a $(2^{k+1}-1)$-approximation algorithm for cliquewidth with the same running time. This improves upon the $O_k(n^2)$ time algorithm of Fomin and Korhonen [STOC 2022]. The main ingredient of our algorithm is a fully dynamic algorithm for maintaining rank decompositions of bounded width: We give a data structure that for a dynamic $n$-vertex graph $G$ that is updated by edge insertions and deletions maintains a rank decomposition of $G$ of width at most $4k$ under the promise that the rankwidth of $G$ never grows above $k$. The amortized running time of each update is $O_k(2^{\sqrt{\log n} \log \log n})$. The data structure furthermore can maintain whether $G$ satisfies some fixed ${\sf CMSO}_1$ property within the same running time. We also give a framework for performing ``dense'' edge updates inside a given set of vertices $X$, where the new edges inside $X$ are described by a given ${\sf CMSO}_1$ sentence and vertex labels, in amortized $O_k(|X| \cdot 2^{\sqrt{\log n} \log \log n})$ time. Our dynamic algorithm generalizes the dynamic treewidth algorithm of Korhonen, Majewski, Nadara, Pilipczuk, and Sokołowski [FOCS 2023].