Wiener Index of Trees: Theory and Applications

The Wiener index W is the sum of distances between all pairs of vertices of a (connected) graph. The paper outlines the results known for W of trees: methods for computation of W and combinatorial expressions for W for various classes of trees, the isomorphism–discriminating power of W, connections between W and the center and centroid of a tree, as well as between W and the Laplacian eigenvalues, results on the Wiener indices of the line graphs of trees, on trees extremal w.r.t. W, and on integers which cannot be Wiener indices of trees. A few conjectures and open problems are mentioned, as well as the applications of W in chemistry, communication theory and elsewhere.     

A new approach to chordal graphs

By a chordal graph is meant a graph with no induced cycle of length ⩾ 4. By a ternary system is meant an ordered pair (W, T), where W is a finite nonempty set, and T ⊆ W × W × W. Ternary systems satisfying certain axioms (A1)–(A5) are studied in this paper; note that these axioms can be formulated in a language of the first-order logic. For every finite nonempty set W, a bijective mapping from the set of all connected chordal graphs G with V(G) = W onto the set of all ternary systems (W, T) satisfying the axioms (A1)–(A5) is found in this paper.     

On signpost systems and connected graphs

By a signpost system we mean an ordered pair (W, P), where W is a finite nonempty set, P W × W × W and the following statements hold: if (u, v, w) P, then (v, u, u) P and (v, u, w) P, for all u, v, w W; if u v; then there exists r W such that (u, r, v) P, for all u, v W. We say that a signpost system (W, P) is smooth if the folowing statement holds for all u, v, x, y, z W: if (u, v, x), (u, v, z), (x, y, z) P, then (u, v, y) P. We say thay a signpost system (W, P) is simple if the following statement holds for all u, v, x, y W: if (u, v, x), (x, y, v) P, then (u, v, y), (x, y, u) P.By the underlying graph of a signpost system (W, P) we mean the graph G with V(G) = W and such that the following statement holds for all distinct u, v W: u and v are adjacent in G if and only if (u, v, v) P. The main result of this paper is as follows: If G is a graph, then the following three statements are equivalent: G is connected; G is the underlying graph of a simple smooth signpost system; G is the underlying graph of a smooth signpost system.Research was supported by Grant Agency of the Czech Republic, grant No. 401/01/0218.     

Partial Parity (g,f )-Factors and Subgraphs Covering Given Vertex Subsets

 Let G be a graph and W a subset of V(G). Let g,f:V(G)→Z be two integer-valued functions such that g(x)≤f(x) for all x∈V(G) and g(y)≡f(y) (mod 2) for all y∈W. Then a spanning subgraph F of G is called a partial parity (g,f)-factor with respect to W if g(x)≤deg _F (x)≤f(x) for all x∈V(G) and deg _F (y)≡f(y) (mod 2) for all y∈W. We obtain a criterion for a graph G to have a partial parity (g,f)-factor with respect to W. Furthermore, by making use of this criterion, we give some necessary and sufficient conditions for a graph G to have a subgraph which covers W and has a certain given property. Received: June 14, 1999?Final version received: August 21, 2000     

On some subclasses of well-covered graphs

A set of points in a graph is independent if no two points in the set are adjacent. A graph is well covered if every maximal independent set is a maximum independent set or, equivalently, if every independent set is contained in a maximum independent set. The well-covered graphs are classified by the W_n property: For a positive integer n, a graph G belongs to class W_n if ≥ n and any n disjoint independent sets are contained in n disjoint maximum independent sets. Constructions are presented that show how to build infinite families of W_n graphs containing arbitrarily large independent sets. A characterization of W_n graphs in terms of well-covered subgraphs is given, as well as bounds for the size of a maximum independent set and the minimum and maximum degrees of points in W_n graphs.     

On the spanning trees of weighted graphs

Given a weighted graph, letW ₁,W ₂,W ₃,... denote the increasing sequence of all possible distinct spanning tree weights. Settling a conjecture due to Kano, we prove that every spanning tree of weightW ₁ is at mostk–1 edge swaps away from some spanning tree of weightW _k . Three other conjectures posed by Kano are proven for two special classes of graphs. Finally, we consider the algorithmic complexity of generating a spanning tree of weightW _k .This work was supported in part by a grant from the AT&T foundation and NSF grant DCR-8351757.Primarily supported by a 1967 Science and Engineering Scholarship from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.     

Conditional Resolvability of Honeycomb and Hexagonal Networks

Given a graph G = (V, E), a set W í V{W \subseteq V} is said to be a resolving set if for each pair of distinct vertices u, v ? V{u, v \in V} there is a vertex x in W such that d(u, x) 1 d(v, x){d(u, x) \neq d(v, x)} . The resolving number of G is the minimum cardinality of all resolving sets. In this paper, conditions are imposed on resolving sets and certain conditional resolving parameters are studied for honeycomb and hexagonal networks.     

The chromatic Ramsey number of odd wheels

We prove that the chromatic Ramsey number of every odd wheel W_{2k+ 1}, k?2 is 14. That is, for every odd wheel W_{2k+ 1}, there exists a 14‐chromatic graph F such that when the edges of F are two‐coloured, there is a monochromatic copy of W_{2k+ 1} in F, and no graph F with chromatic number 13 has the same property. We ask whether a natural extension of odd wheels to the family of generalized Mycielski graphs could help to prove the Burr–Erd?s–Lovász conjecture on the minimum possible chromatic Ramsey number of an n‐chromatic graph. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 69:198‐205, 2012     

Some reducibility properties for pseudovarieties of the form DRH

Let H be a pseudovariety of groups and DRH be the pseudovariety containing all finite semigroups whose regular ?-classes belong to H. We study the relationship between reducibility of H and of DRH with respect to several particular classes of systems of equations. The classes of systems considered (of pointlike, idempotent pointlike and graph equations) are known to play a role in decidability questions concerning pseudovarieties of the forms V?W, V∨W, and V W.