The Degree Preserving Spanning Tree Problem: Valid Inequalities and Branch-and-cut method

Given a connected undirected graph G, the Degree Preserving Spanning Tree Problem (DPSTP) consists in finding a spanning tree T of G that maximizes the number of vertices that have the same degree in T and in G. In this paper, we introduce Integer Programming formulations, valid inequalities and a Branch-and-cut algorithm for the DPSTP. Reinforced with new valid inequalities, the upper bounds provided by the formulation behind our Branch-and-cut method dominate previous DPSTP bounds in the literature.