An algorithm for calculating the independence and vertex-cover polynomials of a graph

The independence polynomial, ω(G,x)=∑w_kx^k, of a graph, G, has coefficients, w_k, that enumerate the ways of selecting k vertices from G so that no two selected vertices share an edge. The independence number of G is the largest value of k for which w_k≠0. Little is known of less straightforward relationships between graph structure and the properties of ω(G,x), in part because of the difficulty of calculating values of w_k for specific graphs. This study presents a new algorithm for these calculations which is both faster than existing ones and easily adaptable to high-level computer languages.