The upper traceable number of a graph

For a nontrivial connected graph G of order n and a linear ordering s: v ₁, v ₂, …, v _n of vertices of G, define . The traceable number t(G) of a graph G is t(G) = min{d(s)} and the upper traceable number t ⁺(G) of G is t ⁺(G) = max{d(s)}, where the minimum and maximum are taken over all linear orderings s of vertices of G. We study upper traceable numbers of several classes of graphs and the relationship between the traceable number and upper traceable number of a graph. All connected graphs G for which t ⁺(G) − t(G) = 1 are characterized and a formula for the upper traceable number of a tree is established. Research supported by Srinakharinwirot University, the Thailand Research Fund and the Commission on Higher Education, Thailand under the grant number MRG 5080075.