We give an induced counterpart of the Forest Minor theorem: for any t ≥ 2, the $K_{t,t}$-subgraph-free H-induced-minor-free graphs have bounded pathwidth if and only if H belongs to a class F of forests, which we describe as the induced minors of two (very similar) infinite parameterized families. This constitutes a significant step toward classifying the graphs H for which every weakly sparse H-induced-minor-free class has bounded treewidth. Our work builds on the theory of constellations developed in the Induced Subgraphs and Tree Decompositions series.
This is a joint work with É. Bonnet and R. Hickingbotham.