Graph polynomial

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In mathematics, a graph polynomial is a graph invariant whose values are polynomials. Invariants of this type are studied in algebraic graph theory. [1] Important graph polynomials include:

Graph property

In graph theory, a graph property or graph invariant is a property of graphs that depends only on the abstract structure, not on graph representations such as particular labellings or drawings of the graph.

Polynomial mathematical expression consisting of variables and coefficients

In mathematics, a polynomial is an expression consisting of variables and coefficients, that involves only the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and non-negative integer exponents of variables. An example of a polynomial of a single indeterminate, x, is x2 − 4x + 7. An example in three variables is x3 + 2xyz2 − yz + 1.

Algebraic graph theory branch of mathematics in which algebraic methods are applied to problems about graphs

Algebraic graph theory is a branch of mathematics in which algebraic methods are applied to problems about graphs. This is in contrast to geometric, combinatoric, or algorithmic approaches. There are three main branches of algebraic graph theory, involving the use of linear algebra, the use of group theory, and the study of graph invariants.

In linear algebra, the characteristic polynomial of a square matrix is a polynomial which is invariant under matrix similarity and has the eigenvalues as roots. It has the determinant and the trace of the matrix as coefficients. The characteristic polynomial of an endomorphism of vector spaces of finite dimension is the characteristic polynomial of the matrix of the endomorphism over any base; it does not depend on the choice of a basis. The characteristic equation is the equation obtained by equating to zero the characteristic polynomial.

In graph theory and computer science, an adjacency matrix is a square matrix used to represent a finite graph. The elements of the matrix indicate whether pairs of vertices are adjacent or not in the graph.

Chromatic polynomial polynomial defined from a node-link graph, that counts the number of graph colorings as a function of the number of colors

The chromatic polynomial is a graph polynomial studied in algebraic graph theory, a branch of mathematics. It counts the number of graph colorings as a function of the number of colors and was originally defined by George David Birkhoff to attack the four color problem. It was generalised to the Tutte polynomial by Hassler Whitney and W. T. Tutte, linking it to the Potts model of statistical physics.

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The probabilistic method is a nonconstructive method, primarily used in combinatorics and pioneered by Paul Erdős, for proving the existence of a prescribed kind of mathematical object. It works by showing that if one randomly chooses objects from a specified class, the probability that the result is of the prescribed kind is strictly greater than zero. Although the proof uses probability, the final conclusion is determined for certain, without any possible error.

In graph theory, a branch of mathematics, the (binary) cycle space of an undirected graph is the set of its Eulerian subgraphs.

This is a glossary of graph theory terms. Graph theory is the study of graphs, systems of nodes or vertices connected in pairs by edges.

Graph coloring assignment of labels traditionally called "colors" to elements of a graph

In graph theory, graph coloring is a special case of graph labeling; it is an assignment of labels traditionally called "colors" to elements of a graph subject to certain constraints. In its simplest form, it is a way of coloring the vertices of a graph such that no two adjacent vertices are of the same color; this is called a vertex coloring. Similarly, an edge coloring assigns a color to each edge so that no two adjacent edges are of the same color, and a face coloring of a planar graph assigns a color to each face or region so that no two faces that share a boundary have the same color.

Perfect graph type of graph (mathematical structure)

In graph theory, a perfect graph is a graph in which the chromatic number of every induced subgraph equals the size of the largest clique of that subgraph. Due to the strong perfect graph theorem, perfect graphs are the same as Berge graphs. A graph G is a Berge graph if neither G nor its complement contains an induced cycle of odd length 5 or more.

Hadwiger number

In graph theory, the Hadwiger number of an undirected graph G is the size of the largest complete graph that can be obtained by contracting edges of G. Equivalently, the Hadwiger number h(G) is the largest number k for which the complete graph Kk is a minor of G, a smaller graph obtained from G by edge contractions and vertex and edge deletions. The Hadwiger number is also known as the contraction clique number of G or the homomorphism degree of G. It is named after Hugo Hadwiger, who introduced it in 1943 in conjunction with the Hadwiger conjecture, which states that the Hadwiger number is always at least as large as the chromatic number of G.

In elementary mathematics, a variable is a symbol, commonly a single letter, that represents a number, called the value of the variable, which is either arbitrary, not fully specified, or unknown. Making algebraic computations with variables as if they were explicit numbers allows one to solve a range of problems in a single computation. A typical example is the quadratic formula, which allows one to solve every quadratic equation by simply substituting the numeric values of the coefficients of the given equation for the variables that represent them.

Tutte polynomial

The Tutte polynomial, also called the dichromate or the Tutte–Whitney polynomial, is a graph polynomial. It is a polynomial in two variables which plays an important role in graph theory. It is defined for every undirected graph and contains information about how the graph is connected. It is denoted by .

Claw-free graph

In graph theory, an area of mathematics, a claw-free graph is a graph that does not have a claw as an induced subgraph.

Pseudoforest undirected graph in which every connected component has at most one cycle

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, the De Bruijn–Erdős theorem relates graph coloring of an infinite graph to the same problem on its finite subgraphs. It states that, when all finite subgraphs can be colored with colors, the same is true for the whole graph. The theorem was proved by Nicolaas Govert de Bruijn and Paul Erdős (1951), after whom it is named.

Clebsch graph one of two different regular graphs with 16 vertices

In the mathematical field of graph theory, the Clebsch graph is either of two complementary graphs on 16 vertices, a 5-regular graph with 40 edges and a 10-regular graph with 80 edges. The 80-edge variant is the order-5 halved cube graph; it was called the Clebsch graph name by Seidel (1968) because of its relation to the configuration of 16 lines on the quartic surface discovered in 1868 by the German mathematician Alfred Clebsch. The 40-edge variant is the order-5 folded cube graph; it is also known as the Greenwood–Gleason graph after the work of Robert E. Greenwood and Andrew M. Gleason (1955), who used it to evaluate the Ramsey number R(3,3,3) = 17.

Telephone number (mathematics) mathamatical sequence of integers

In mathematics, the telephone numbers or the involution numbers are a sequence of integers that count the ways n telephone lines can be connected to each other, where each line can be connected to at most one other line. These numbers also describe the number of matchings of a complete graph on n vertices, the number of permutations on n elements that are involutions, the sum of absolute values of coefficients of the Hermite polynomials, the number of standard Young tableaux with n cells, and the sum of the degrees of the irreducible representations of the symmetric group. Involution numbers were first studied in 1800 by Heinrich August Rothe, who gave a recurrence equation by which they may be calculated, giving the values

A mixed graphG = is a mathematical object consisting of a set of vertices V, a set of (undirected) edges E, and a set of directed edges A.

Integer-valued function function that ranges over the integers

In mathematics, an integer-valued function is a function whose values are integers. In other words, it is a function that assigns an integer to each member of its domain.

References

  1. ↑ Shi, Yongtang; Dehmer, Matthias; Li, Xueliang; Gutman, Ivan (2016), Graph Polynomials, Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications, CRC Press, ISBN   9781498755917
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