The minimum rank problem over the finite field of order 2: Minimum rank 3

Our main result is a sharp bound for the number of vertices in a minimal forbidden subgraph for the graphs having minimum rank at most 3 over the finite field of order 2. We also list all 62 such minimal forbidden subgraphs. We conclude by exploring how some of these results over the finite field of order 2 extend to arbitrary fields and demonstrate that at least one third of the 62 are minimal forbidden subgraphs over an arbitrary field for the class of graphs having minimum rank at most 3 in that field.     

On the Sparsity Order of a Graph and Its Deficiency in Chordality

Given a graph G on n nodes, let denote the cone consisting of the positive semidefinite matrices (with real or complex entries) having a zero entry at every off-diagonal position corresponding to a non edge of G. Then, the sparsity order of G is defined as the maximum rank of a matrix lying on an extreme ray of the cone . It is known that the graphs with sparsity order 1 are the chordal graphs and a characterization of the graphs with sparsity order 2 is conjectured in [1] in the real case. We show in this paper the validity of this conjecture. Moreover, we characterize the graphs with sparsity order 2 in the complex case and we give a decomposition result for the graphs with sparsity order in both real and complex cases. As an application, these graphs can be recognized in polynomial time. We also indicate how an inequality from [17] relating the sparsity order of a graph and its minimum fill-in can be derived from a result concerning the dimension of the faces of the cone . Received August 31, 1998/Revised April 26, 2000     

On quasi-strongly regular graphs

We study the quasi-strongly regular graphs, which are a combinatorial generalization of the strongly regular and the distance regular graphs. Our main focus is on quasi-strongly regular graphs of grade 2. We prove a “spectral gap”-type result for them which generalizes Seidel's well-known formula for the eigenvalues of a strongly regular graph. We also obtain a number of necessary conditions for the feasibility of parameter sets and some structural results. We propose the heuristic principle that the quasi-strongly regular graphs can be viewed as a “lower-order approximation” to the distance regular graphs. This idea is illustrated by extending a known result from the distance-regular case to the quasi-strongly regular case. Along these lines, we propose a number of conjectures and open problems. Finally, we list the all the proper connected quasi-strongly graphs of grade 2 with up to 12 vertices.     

Algebraic connectivity of directed graphs

We consider a generalization of Fiedler's notion of algebraic connectivity to directed graphs. We show that several properties of Fiedler's definition remain valid for directed graphs and present properties peculiar to directed graphs. We prove inequalities relating the algebraic connectivity to quantities such as the bisection width, maximum directed cut and the isoperimetric number. Finally, we illustrate an application to the synchronization in networks of coupled chaotic systems.     

Explaining the Gentzen–Takeuti reduction steps: a second-order system

Using the concept of notations for infinitary derivations we give an explanation of Takeuti's reduction steps on finite derivations (used in his consistency proof for Π¹ ₁-CA) in terms of the more perspicious infinitary approach from [BS88]. Received: 27 April 1999 / Published online: 21 March 2001     

Minimum rank of skew-symmetric matrices described by a graph

The minimum (symmetric) rank of a simple graph G over a field F is the smallest possible rank among all symmetric matrices over F whose ijth entry (for i≠j) is nonzero whenever {i,j} is an edge in G and is zero otherwise. The problem of determining minimum (symmetric) rank has been studied extensively. We define the minimum skew rank of a simple graph G to be the smallest possible rank among all skew-symmetric matrices over F whose ijth entry (for i≠j) is nonzero whenever {i,j} is an edge in G and is zero otherwise. We apply techniques from the minimum (symmetric) rank problem and from skew-symmetric matrices to obtain results about the minimum skew rank problem.     

An upper bound for the minimum rank of a graph

For a graph G of order n, the minimum rank of G is defined to be the smallest possible rank over all real symmetric n×n matrices A whose (i,j)th entry (for i≠j) is nonzero whenever {i,j} is an edge in G and is zero otherwise. We prove an upper bound for minimum rank in terms of minimum degree of a vertex is valid for many graphs, including all bipartite graphs, and conjecture this bound is true over for all graphs, and prove a related bound for all zero-nonzero patterns of (not necessarily symmetric) matrices. Most of the results are valid for matrices over any infinite field, but need not be true for matrices over finite fields.     

Techniques for determining the minimum rank of a small graph

The minimum rank of a simple graph G is defined to be the smallest possible rank over all symmetric real matrices whose ijth entry (for i≠j) is nonzero whenever {i,j} is an edge in G and is zero otherwise. Minimum rank is a difficult parameter to compute. However, there are now a number of known reduction techniques and bounds that can be programmed on a computer; we have developed a program using the open-source mathematics software Sage to implement several techniques. We have also established several additional strategies for computation of minimum rank. These techniques have been used to determine the minimum ranks of all graphs of order 7.     

Classes of graphs with minimum skew rank 4

The minimum skew rank of a simple graph G   is the smallest possible rank among all real skew-symmetric matrices whose (i,j)$(i,j)$-entry is nonzero if and only if the edge joining i and j is in G. It is known that a graph has minimum skew rank 2 if and only if it consists of a complete multipartite graph and some isolated vertices. Some necessary conditions for a graph to have minimum skew rank 4 are established, and several families of graphs with minimum skew rank 4 are given. Linear algebraic techniques are developed to show that complements of trees and certain outerplanar graphs have minimum skew rank 4.     

Functional centrality in graphs

In this article, we introduce the functional centrality as a generalization of the subgraph centrality. We propose a general method for characterizing nodes in the graph according to the number of closed walks starting and ending at the node. Closed walks are appropriately weighted according to the topological features that we need to measure.     

Some relations between rank of a graph and its complement

Let G be a graph of order n and rank(G) denotes the rank of its adjacency matrix. Clearly, . In this paper we characterize all graphs G such that or n + 2. Also for every integer n ? 5 and any k, 0 ? k ? n, we construct a graph G of order n, such that .     

Zero-term rank preservers

We obtain characterizations of those linear operators that preserve zero-term rank on the m×n matrices over antinegative semirings. That is, a linear operator T preserves zero-term rank if and only if it has the form T(X)=P(B∘X)Q, where P, Q are permutation matrices and B∘X is the Schur product with B whose entries are all nonzero and not zero-divisors.     

The inverse inertia problem for graphs: Cut vertices, trees, and a counterexample

Let G be an undirected graph on n vertices and let S(G) be the set of all real symmetric n×n matrices whose nonzero off-diagonal entries occur in exactly the positions corresponding to the edges of G. The inverse inertia problem for G asks which inertias can be attained by a matrix in S(G). We give a complete answer to this question for trees in terms of a new family of graph parameters, the maximal disconnection numbers of a graph. We also give a formula for the inertia set of a graph with a cut vertex in terms of inertia sets of proper subgraphs. Finally, we give an example of a graph that is not inertia-balanced, which settles an open problem from the October 2006 AIM Workshop on Spectra of Families of Matrices described by Graphs, Digraphs and Sign Patterns. We also determine some restrictions on the inertia set of any graph.     

On the generalized indices of boolean matrices

We characterize completely those Boolean matrices with the largest generalized indices in the class of Boolean matrices and in the class of reducible Boolean matrices and derive a new upper bound for the generalized index in terms of period. We also generalize the upper and lower multiexponents of primitive Boolean matrices to general Boolean matrices.     

On the generalized indices of boolean matrices

We characterize completely those Boolean matrices with the largest generalized indices in the class of Boolean matrices and in the class of reducible Boolean matrices and derive a new upper bound for the generalized index in terms of period. We also generalize the upper and lower multiexponents of primitive Boolean matrices to general Boolean matrices.     

Graph Pairs and their Entropies: Modularity Problems

Received June 24, 1997     

Dimension de Krull,Nullstellensätze et évaluation dynamique

Résumé. Nous démontrons un Nullstellensatz qui établit une équivalence entre l'existence d'une identité algébrique d'un certain type, d'une part, et l'impossibilité de trouver une suite croissante de variétés irréductibles répondant à certaines contraintes d'autre part. De ce point de vue le Nullstellensatz usuel correspond au cas des variétés réduites à un point. Nous établissons aussi un Nullstellensatz formel du même type, en relation avec les suites croissantes d'idéaux premiers. Un cas particulier important est donné par la notion de suite pseudo régulière, plus générale que la notion de suite régulière. Nous obtenons de cette manière une nouvelle caractérisation de la dimension de Krull d'un anneau : un anneau a une dimension de Krull si et seulement si il existe une suite pseudo régulière de longueur dans l'anneau. Dans les cas où ces résultats peuvent avoir une signification constructive précise, nos preuves y aboutissent constructivement. Nous pensons avoir donné ainsi quelques éléments en vue d'une interprétation constructive de la théorie de la dimension de Krull des anneaux commutatifs. Notre méthode utilise la notion de structure algébrique dynamique introduite dans des articles précédents. Received: 4 October 1999; in final form: 11 October 2000 / Published online: 25 June 2001