A note on minimal essential sets

A completely topological algorithm for determining a minimal essential set (minimum feedback vertex set) of a linear oriented graph is presented. From a logical point of view, the algorithm is a modified version of the well-known McCluskey method for the prime implicant problem of switching theory. From a computational point of view, it avoids the need of the covering table, i.e., the need of generating the set of the elementary circuits of the graph.