The maximum corank of graphs with a 2-separation

For a graph G=(V,E) with vertex-set V={1,2,…,n}, which is allowed to have parallel edges, and for a field F, let S(G;F) be the set of all F-valued symmetric n×n matrices A which represent G. The maximum corank of a graph G is the maximum possible corank over all A∈S(G;F). If (G₁,G₂) is a (?2)-separation, we give a formula which relates the maximum corank of G to the maximum corank of some small variations of G₁ and G₂.     

Multiplicative mappings at some points on matrix algebras

Let M_n be the algebra of all n×n matrices, and let φ:M_n→M_n be a linear mapping. We say that φ is a multiplicative mapping at G if φ(ST)=φ(S)φ(T) for any S,T∈M_n with ST=G. Fix G∈M_n, we say that G is an all-multiplicative point if every multiplicative linear bijection φ at G with φ(I_n)=I_n is a multiplicative mapping in M_n, where I_n is the unit matrix in M_n. We mainly show in this paper the following two results: (1) If G∈M_n with detG=0, then G is an all-multiplicative point in M_n; (2) If φ is an multiplicative mapping at I_n, then there exists an invertible matrix P∈M_n such that either φ(S)=PSP^-1 for any S∈M_n or φ(T)=PT^trP^-1 for any T∈M_n.     

Eigenvalues and degree deviation in graphs

Let G be a graph with n vertices and m edges and let μ(G) = μ₁(G) ? ? ? μ_n(G) be the eigenvalues of its adjacency matrix. Set s(G)=∑_u∈V(G)∣d(u)-2m/n∣. We prove that

     

The eccentric connectivity index of nanotubes and nanotori

Let G be a molecular graph. The eccentric connectivity index ξ^c(G) is defined as ξ^c(G)=∑_u∈V(G)deg_G(u)ε_G(u), where deg_G(u) denotes the degree of vertex u and ε_G(u) is the largest distance between u and any other vertex v of G. In this paper exact formulas for the eccentric connectivity index of TUC₄C₈(S) nanotube and TC₄C₈(S) nanotorus are given.     

The inertia set of the join of graphs

Let G=(V,E) be a graph with V={1,2,…,n}. Denote by S(G) the set of all real symmetric n×n matrices A=[a_i,j] with a_i,j≠0, i≠j if and only if ij is an edge of G. Denote by I^↗(G) the set of all pairs (p,q) of natural numbers such that there exists a matrix A∈S(G) with at most p positive and q negative eigenvalues. We show that if G is the join of G₁ and G₂, then I^↗(G)?{(1,1)}=I^↗(G₁∨K₁)∩I^↗(G₂∨K₁)?{(1,1)}. Further, we show that if G is a graph with s isolated vertices, then , where denotes the graph obtained from G be removing all isolated vertices, and we give a combinatorial characterization of graphs G with (1,1)∈I^↗(G). We use these results to determine I^↗(G) for every complete multipartite graph G.     

On the nullity and the matching number of unicyclic graphs

Let G be a graph with n vertices and ν(G) be the matching number of G. Let η(G) denote the nullity of G (the multiplicity of the eigenvalue zero of G). It is well known that if G is a tree, then η(G)=n-2ν(G). Tan and Liu [X. Tan, B. Liu, On the nullity of unicyclic graphs, Linear Alg. Appl. 408 (2005) 212-220] proved that the nullity set of all unicyclic graphs with n vertices is {0,1,…,n-4} and characterized the unicyclic graphs with η(G)=n-4. In this paper, we characterize the unicyclic graphs with η(G)=n-5, and we prove that if G is a unicyclic graph, then η(G) equals , or n-2ν(G)+2. We also give a characterization of these three types of graphs. Furthermore, we determine the unicyclic graphs G with η(G)=0, which answers affirmatively an open problem by Tan and Liu.     

Zeta functions of line, middle, total graphs of a graph and their coverings

We consider the (Ihara) zeta functions of line graphs, middle graphs and total graphs of a regular graph and their (regular or irregular) covering graphs. Let L(G), M(G) and T(G) denote the line, middle and total graph of G, respectively. We show that the line, middle and total graph of a (regular and irregular, respectively) covering of a graph G is a (regular and irregular, respectively) covering of L(G), M(G) and T(G), respectively. For a regular graph G, we express the zeta functions of the line, middle and total graph of any (regular or irregular) covering of G in terms of the characteristic polynomial of the covering. Also, the complexities of the line, middle and total graph of any (regular or irregular) covering of G are computed. Furthermore, we discuss the L-functions of the line, middle and total graph of a regular graph G.     

Maximum generic nullity of a graph

For a graph G of order n, the maximum nullity of G is defined to be the largest possible nullity 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. Maximum nullity and the related parameter minimum rank of the same set of matrices have been studied extensively. A new parameter, maximum generic nullity, is introduced. Maximum generic nullity provides insight into the structure of the null-space of a matrix realizing maximum nullity of a graph. It is shown that maximum generic nullity is bounded above by edge connectivity and below by vertex connectivity. Results on random graphs are used to show that as n goes to infinity almost all graphs have equal maximum generic nullity, vertex connectivity, edge connectivity, and minimum degree.     

Connected graphs with maximal Q-index: The one-dominating-vertex case

By the signless Laplacian of a (simple) graph G we mean the matrix Q(G)=D(G)+A(G), where A(G),D(G) denote respectively the adjacency matrix and the diagonal matrix of vertex degrees of G. For every pair of positive integers n,k, it is proved that if 3?k?n-3, then H_n,k, the graph obtained from the star K_1,n-1 by joining a vertex of degree 1 to k+1 other vertices of degree 1, is the unique connected graph that maximizes the largest signless Laplacian eigenvalue over all connected graphs with n vertices and n+k edges.     

Bijective linear maps on semimodules spanned by Boolean matrices of fixed rank

Let M_m,n(B) be the semimodule of all m×n Boolean matrices where B is the Boolean algebra with two elements. Let k be a positive integer such that 2?k?min(m,n). Let B(m,n,k) denote the subsemimodule of M_m,n(B) spanned by the set of all rank k matrices. We show that if T is a bijective linear mapping on B(m,n,k), then there exist permutation matrices P and Q such that T(A)=PAQ for all A∈B(m,n,k) or m=n and T(A)=PA^tQ for all A∈B(m,n,k). This result follows from a more general theorem we prove concerning the structure of linear mappings on B(m,n,k) that preserve both the weight of each matrix and rank one matrices of weight k². Here the weight of a Boolean matrix is the number of its nonzero entries.     

Extremal problems on detectable colorings of trees

Let G be a connected graph of order 3 or more and let be a coloring of the edges of G (where adjacent edges may be colored the same). For each vertex v of G, the color code of v is the k-tuple c(v)=(a₁,a₂,…,a_k), where a_i is the number of edges incident with v that are colored i (1?i?k). The coloring c is called detectable if distinct vertices have distinct color codes; while the detection number det(G) of G is the minimum positive integer k for which G has a detectable k-coloring. For each integer n?3, let D_T(n) be the maximum detection number among all trees of order n and d_T(n) the minimum detection number among all trees of order n. The numbers D_T(n) and d_T(n) are determined for all integers n?3. Furthermore, it is shown that for integers k?2 and n?3, there exists a tree T of order n having det(T)=k if and only if d_T(n)?k?D_T(n).     

Independence and coloring properties of direct products of some vertex-transitive graphs

Let α(G) and χ(G) denote the independence number and chromatic number of a graph G, respectively. Let G×H be the direct product graph of graphs G and H. We show that if G and H are circular graphs, Kneser graphs, or powers of cycles, then α(G×H)=max{α(G)|V(H)|,α(H)|V(G)|} and χ(G×H)=min{χ(G),χ(H)}.     

Greedy F-colorings of graphs

Let G=(V,E) be a connected graph. For a symmetric, integer-valued function δ on V×V, where K is an integer constant, N₀ is the set of nonnegative integers, and Z is the set of integers, we define a C-mapping by F(u,v,m)=δ(u,v)+m−K. A coloring c of G is an F-coloring if F(u,v,|c(u)−c(v)|)?0 for every two distinct vertices u and v of G. The maximum color assigned by c to a vertex of G is the value of c, and the F-chromatic number F(G) is the minimum value among all F-colorings of G. For an ordering of the vertices of G, a greedy F-coloring c of s is defined by (1) c(v₁)=1 and (2) for each i with 1?i<n, c(v_i+1) is the smallest positive integer p such that F(v_j,v_i+1,|c(v_j)−p|)?0, for each j with 1?j?i. The greedy F-chromatic number gF(s) of s is the maximum color assigned by c to a vertex of G. The greedy F-chromatic number of G is gF(G)=min{gF(s)} over all orderings s of V. The Grundy F-chromatic number is GF(G)=max{gF(s)} over all orderings s of V. It is shown that gF(G)=F(G) for every graph G and every F-coloring defined on G. The parameters gF(G) and GF(G) are studied and compared for a special case of the C-mapping F on a connected graph G, where δ(u,v) is the distance between u and v and .     

Good distance graphs and the geometry of matrices

Denote by G=(V,∼) a graph which V is the vertex set and ∼ is an adjacency relation on a subset of V×V. In this paper, the good distance graph is defined. Let (V,∼) and (V^′,∼^′) be two good distance graphs, and φ:V→V^′ be a map. The following theorem is proved: φ is a graph isomorphism ⇔φ is a bounded distance preserving surjective map in both directions ⇔φ is a distance k preserving surjective map in both directions (where k<diam(G)/2 is a positive integer), etc. Let D be a division ring with an involution such that both |F∩Z_D|?3 and D is not a field of characteristic 2 with D=F, where and Z_D is the center of D. Let H_n(n?2) be the set of n×n Hermitian matrices over D. It is proved that (H_n,∼) is a good distance graph, where A∼B⇔rank(A-B)=1 for all A,B∈H_n.     

New upper bounds on the spectral radius of unicyclic graphs

Let G=(V(G),E(G)) be a unicyclic simple undirected graph with largest vertex degree Δ. Let C_r be the unique cycle of G. The graph G-E(C_r) is a forest of r rooted trees T₁,T₂,…,T_r with root vertices v₁,v₂,…,v_r, respectively. Let

     

On entropy-preserving stochastic averages

When an n×n doubly stochastic matrix A acts on Rⁿ on the left as a linear transformation and P is an n-long probability vector, we refer to the new probability vector AP as the stochastic average of the pair (A,P). Let Γ_n denote the set of pairs (A,P) whose stochastic average preserves the entropy of P:H(AP)=H(P). Γ_n is a subset of B_n×Σ_n where B_n is the Birkhoff polytope and Σ_n is the probability simplex.We characterize Γ_n and determine its geometry, topology,and combinatorial structure. For example, we find that (A,P)∈Γ_n if and only if A^tAP=P. We show that for any n, Γ_n is a connected set, and is in fact piecewise-linearly contractible in B_n×Σ_n. We write Γ_n as a finite union of product subspaces, in two distinct ways. We derive the geometry of the fibers (A,·) and (·,P) of Γ_n. Γ₃ is worked out in detail. Our analysis exploits the convexity of xlogx and the structure of an efficiently computable bipartite graph that we associate to each ds-matrix. This graph also lets us represent such a matrix in a permutation-equivalent, block diagonal form where each block is doubly stochastic and fully indecomposable.     

Steiner intervals and Steiner geodetic numbers in distance-hereditary graphs

A Steiner tree for a set S of vertices in a connected graph G is a connected subgraph of G with a smallest number of edges that contains S. The Steiner interval I(S) of S is the union of all the vertices of G that belong to some Steiner tree for S. If S={u,v}, then I(S)=I[u,v] is called the interval between u and v and consists of all vertices that lie on some shortest u-v path in G. The smallest cardinality of a set S of vertices such that ?_u,v∈SI[u,v]=V(G) is called the geodetic number and is denoted by g(G). The smallest cardinality of a set S of vertices of G such that I(S)=V(G) is called the Steiner geodetic number of G and is denoted by sg(G). We show that for distance-hereditary graphs g(G)?sg(G) but that g(G)/sg(G) can be arbitrarily large if G is not distance hereditary. An efficient algorithm for finding the Steiner interval for a set of vertices in a distance-hereditary graph is described and it is shown how contour vertices can be used in developing an efficient algorithm for finding the Steiner geodetic number of a distance-hereditary graph.     

Geodetic and Steiner geodetic sets in 3-Steiner distance hereditary graphs

Let G be a connected graph and S⊆V(G). Then the Steiner distance of S, denoted by d_G(S), is the smallest number of edges in a connected subgraph of G containing S. Such a subgraph is necessarily a tree called a Steiner tree for S. The Steiner interval for a set S of vertices in a graph, denoted by I(S) is the union of all vertices that belong to some Steiner tree for S. If S={u,v}, then I(S) is the interval I[u,v] between u and v. A connected graph G is 3-Steiner distance hereditary (3-SDH) if, for every connected induced subgraph H of order at least 3 and every set S of three vertices of H, d_H(S)=d_G(S). The eccentricity of a vertex v in a connected graph G is defined as e(v)=max{d(v,x)|x∈V(G)}. A vertex v in a graph G is a contour vertex if for every vertex u adjacent with v, e(u)?e(v). The closure of a set S of vertices, denoted by I[S], is defined to be the union of intervals between pairs of vertices of S taken over all pairs of vertices in S. A set of vertices of a graph G is a geodetic set if its closure is the vertex set of G. The smallest cardinality of a geodetic set of G is called the geodetic number of G and is denoted by g(G). A set S of vertices of a connected graph G is a Steiner geodetic set for G if I(S)=V(G). The smallest cardinality of a Steiner geodetic set of G is called the Steiner geodetic number of G and is denoted by sg(G). We show that the contour vertices of 3-SDH and HHD-free graphs are geodetic sets. For 3-SDH graphs we also show that g(G)?sg(G). An efficient algorithm for finding Steiner intervals in 3-SDH graphs is developed.     

To what extent is a large space of matrices not closed under product?

Let (K) be a field. Given an arbitrary linear subspace V of M_n(K) of codimension less than n-1, a classical result states that V generates the (K)-algebra M_n(K). Here, we strengthen this statement in three ways: we show that M_n(K) is spanned by the products of the form AB with (A,B)∈V²; we prove that every matrix in M_n(K) can be decomposed into a product of matrices of V; finally, when V is a linear perplane of M_n(K) and n>2, we show that every matrix in M_n(K) is a product of two elements of V.     

Isospectral flows that preserve matrix structure

The matrix A = (a_ij) ∈ S_n is said to lie on a strict undirected graph G if a_ij = 0 (i ≠ j) whenever (i, j) is not in E(G). If S is skew-symmetric, the isospectral flow maintains the spectrum of A. We consider isospectral flows that maintain a matrix A(t) on a given graph G. We review known results for a graph G that is a (generalised) path, and construct isospectral flows for a (generalised) ring, and a star, and show how a flow may be constructed for a general graph. The analysis may be applied to the isospectral problem for a lumped-mass finite element model of an undamped vibrating system. In that context, it is important that the flow maintain other properties such as irreducibility or positivity, and we discuss whether they are maintained.