In graph theory, a tree is an undirected graph in which any two vertices are connected by exactly one path, or equivalently a connected acyclic undirected graph. A forest is an undirected graph in which any two vertices are connected by at most one path, or equivalently an acyclic undirected graph, or equivalently a disjoint union of trees.
In graph theory, a cycle in a graph is a non-empty trail in which only the first and last vertices are equal. A directed cycle in a directed graph is a non-empty directed trail in which only the first and last vertices are equal.
In the mathematical field of graph theory, a Hamiltonian path is a path in an undirected or directed graph that visits each vertex exactly once. A Hamiltonian cycle is a cycle that visits each vertex exactly once. A Hamiltonian path that starts and ends at adjacent vertices can be completed by adding one more edge to form a Hamiltonian cycle, and removing any edge from a Hamiltonian cycle produces a Hamiltonian path. The computational problems of determining whether such paths and cycles exist in graphs are NP-complete; see Hamiltonian path problem for details.
This is a glossary of graph theory. Graph theory is the study of graphs, systems of nodes or vertices connected in pairs by lines or edges.
In discrete mathematics, particularly in graph theory, a graph is a structure consisting of a set of objects where some pairs of the objects are in some sense "related". The objects are represented by abstractions called vertices and each of the related pairs of vertices is called an edge. Typically, a graph is depicted in diagrammatic form as a set of dots or circles for the vertices, joined by lines or curves for the edges.
In graph theory, an Eulerian trail is a trail in a finite graph that visits every edge exactly once. Similarly, an Eulerian circuit or Eulerian cycle is an Eulerian trail that starts and ends on the same vertex. They were first discussed by Leonhard Euler while solving the famous Seven Bridges of Königsberg problem in 1736. The problem can be stated mathematically like this:
In graph theory, a path in a graph is a finite or infinite sequence of edges which joins a sequence of vertices which, by most definitions, are all distinct. A directed path in a directed graph is a finite or infinite sequence of edges which joins a sequence of distinct vertices, but with the added restriction that the edges be all directed in the same direction.
In discrete mathematics, and more specifically in graph theory, a vertex or node is the fundamental unit of which graphs are formed: an undirected graph consists of a set of vertices and a set of edges, while a directed graph consists of a set of vertices and a set of arcs. In a diagram of a graph, a vertex is usually represented by a circle with a label, and an edge is represented by a line or arrow extending from one vertex to another.
In the mathematical field of graph theory, the distance between two vertices in a graph is the number of edges in a shortest path connecting them. This is also known as the geodesic distance or shortest-path distance. Notice that there may be more than one shortest path between two vertices. If there is no path connecting the two vertices, i.e., if they belong to different connected components, then conventionally the distance is defined as infinite.
In graph theory, a bridge, isthmus, cut-edge, or cut arc is an edge of a graph whose deletion increases the graph's number of connected components. Equivalently, an edge is a bridge if and only if it is not contained in any cycle. For a connected graph, a bridge can uniquely determine a cut. A graph is said to be bridgeless or isthmus-free if it contains no bridges.
In mathematics and computer science, connectivity is one of the basic concepts of graph theory: it asks for the minimum number of elements that need to be removed to separate the remaining nodes into two or more isolated subgraphs. It is closely related to the theory of network flow problems. The connectivity of a graph is an important measure of its resilience as a network.
In graph theory, a biconnected component or block is a maximal biconnected subgraph. Any connected graph decomposes into a tree of biconnected components called the block-cut tree of the graph. The blocks are attached to each other at shared vertices called cut vertices or separating vertices or articulation points. Specifically, a cut vertex is any vertex whose removal increases the number of connected components. A block containing at most one cut vertex is called a leaf block, it corresponds to a leaf vertex in the block-cut tree.
In graph theory, a connected graph G is said to be k-vertex-connected if it has more than k vertices and remains connected whenever fewer than k vertices are removed.
In graph theory, the strongly connected components of a directed graph may be found using an algorithm that uses depth-first search in combination with two stacks, one to keep track of the vertices in the current component and the second to keep track of the current search path. Versions of this algorithm have been proposed by Purdom (1970), Munro (1971), Dijkstra (1976), Cheriyan & Mehlhorn (1996), and Gabow (2000); of these, Dijkstra's version was the first to achieve linear time.
In graph theory, a peripheral cycle in an undirected graph is, intuitively, a cycle that does not separate any part of the graph from any other part. Peripheral cycles were first studied by Tutte (1963), and play important roles in the characterization of planar graphs and in generating the cycle spaces of nonplanar graphs.
In graph theory, a pseudoforest is an undirected graph in which every connected component has at most one cycle. That is, it is a system of vertices and edges connecting pairs of vertices, such that no two cycles of consecutive edges share any vertex with each other, nor can any two cycles be connected to each other by a path of consecutive edges. A pseudotree is a connected pseudoforest.
In graph theory, a branch of mathematics, a clique sum is a way of combining two graphs by gluing them together at a clique, analogous to the connected sum operation in topology. If two graphs G and H each contain cliques of equal size, the clique-sum of G and H is formed from their disjoint union by identifying pairs of vertices in these two cliques to form a single shared clique, and then deleting all the clique edges or possibly deleting some of the clique edges. A k-clique-sum is a clique-sum in which both cliques have exactly k vertices. One may also form clique-sums and k-clique-sums of more than two graphs, by repeated application of the clique-sum operation.
In mathematics, and more specifically in graph theory, a directed graph is a graph that is made up of a set of vertices connected by directed edges, often called arcs.
In graph theory, a branch of combinatorial mathematics, a block graph or clique tree is a type of undirected graph in which every biconnected component (block) is a clique.
In the mathematics of infinite graphs, an end of a graph represents, intuitively, a direction in which the graph extends to infinity. Ends may be formalized mathematically as equivalence classes of infinite paths, as havens describing strategies for pursuit–evasion games on the graph, or as topological ends of topological spaces associated with the graph.
A biconnected graph on four vertices and four edges
A graph that is not biconnected. The removal of vertex x would disconnect the graph.
A biconnected graph on five vertices and six edges
A graph that is not biconnected. The removal of vertex x would disconnect the graph.
