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Graph Enumeration
In combinatorics, an area of mathematics, graph enumeration describes a class of combinatorial enumeration problems in which one must count undirected graph, undirected or directed graphs of certain types, typically as a function of the number of vertices of the graph. These problems may be solved either exactly (as an algebraic enumeration problem) or asymptotic analysis, asymptotically. The pioneers in this area of mathematics were George Pólya, Arthur Cayley and J. Howard Redfield. Labeled vs unlabeled problems In some graphical enumeration problems, the vertices of the graph are considered to be ''labeled'' in such a way as to be distinguishable from each other, while in other problems any permutation of the vertices is considered to form the same graph, so the vertices are considered identical or ''unlabeled''. In general, labeled problems tend to be easier. As with combinatorial enumeration more generally, the Pólya enumeration theorem is an important tool for reducing unlab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Closed-form Solution
In mathematics, an expression or equation is in closed form if it is formed with constants, variables, and a set of functions considered as ''basic'' and connected by arithmetic operations (, and integer powers) and function composition. Commonly, the basic functions that are allowed in closed forms are ''n''th root, exponential function, logarithm, and trigonometric functions. However, the set of basic functions depends on the context. For example, if one adds polynomial roots to the basic functions, the functions that have a closed form are called elementary functions. The ''closed-form problem'' arises when new ways are introduced for specifying mathematical objects, such as limits, series, and integrals: given an object specified with such tools, a natural problem is to find, if possible, a ''closed-form expression'' of this object; that is, an expression of this object in terms of previous ways of specifying it. Example: roots of polynomials The quadratic form ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caterpillar Tree
In graph theory, a caterpillar or caterpillar tree is a tree (graph theory), tree in which all the Vertex (graph theory), vertices are within distance 1 of a central Path graph, path. Caterpillars were first studied in a series of papers by Harary and Schwenk. The name was suggested by Arthur Hobbs (mathematician), Arthur Hobbs. As colorfully write, "A caterpillar is a tree which metamorphoses into a path when its cocoon of endpoints is removed.". Equivalent characterizations The following characterizations all describe the caterpillar trees: *They are the trees for which removing the leaves and incident edges produces a path graph. *They are the trees in which there exists a path that contains every vertex of degree two or more. *They are the trees in which every vertex of degree at least three has at most two non-leaf neighbors. *They are the trees that do not contain as a subgraph the graph formed by replacing every edge in the star graph ''K''1,3 by a path of length two. *T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cayley's Formula
In mathematics, Cayley's formula is a result in graph theory named after Arthur Cayley. It states that for every positive integer n, the number of trees on n labeled vertices is n^. The formula equivalently counts the spanning trees of a complete graph with labeled vertices . Proof Many proofs of Cayley's tree formula are known. One classical proof of the formula uses Kirchhoff's matrix tree theorem, a formula for the number of spanning trees in an arbitrary graph involving the determinant of a matrix. Prüfer sequences yield a bijective proof of Cayley's formula. Another bijective proof, by André Joyal, finds a one-to-one transformation between ''n''-node trees with two distinguished nodes and maximal directed pseudoforests. A proof by double counting due to Jim Pitman counts in two different ways the number of different sequences of directed edges that can be added to an empty graph on n vertices to form from it a rooted tree; see . History The formula was fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tree (graph Theory)
In graph theory, a tree is an undirected graph in which any two vertices are connected by path, or equivalently a connected acyclic undirected graph. A forest is an undirected graph in which any two vertices are connected by path, or equivalently an acyclic undirected graph, or equivalently a disjoint union of trees. A directed tree, oriented tree,See .See . polytree,See . or singly connected networkSee . is a directed acyclic graph (DAG) whose underlying undirected graph is a tree. A polyforest (or directed forest or oriented forest) is a directed acyclic graph whose underlying undirected graph is a forest. The various kinds of data structures referred to as trees in computer science have underlying graphs that are trees in graph theory, although such data structures are generally rooted trees. A rooted tree may be directed, called a directed rooted tree, either making all its edges point away from the root—in which case it is called an arborescence or out-tree� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Recurrence Relation
In mathematics, a recurrence relation is an equation according to which the nth term of a sequence of numbers is equal to some combination of the previous terms. Often, only k previous terms of the sequence appear in the equation, for a parameter k that is independent of n; this number k is called the ''order'' of the relation. If the values of the first k numbers in the sequence have been given, the rest of the sequence can be calculated by repeatedly applying the equation. In ''linear recurrences'', the th term is equated to a linear function of the k previous terms. A famous example is the recurrence for the Fibonacci numbers, F_n=F_+F_ where the order k is two and the linear function merely adds the two previous terms. This example is a linear recurrence with constant coefficients, because the coefficients of the linear function (1 and 1) are constants that do not depend on n. For these recurrences, one can express the general term of the sequence as a closed-form expression o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Connected Graph
In mathematics and computer science, connectivity is one of the basic concepts of graph theory: it asks for the minimum number of elements (nodes or edges) that need to be removed to separate the remaining nodes into two or more isolated subgraphs. It is closely related to the theory of network flow problems. The connectivity of a graph is an important measure of its resilience as a network. Connected vertices and graphs In an undirected graph , two vertices and are called connected if contains a path from to . Otherwise, they are called disconnected. If the two vertices are additionally connected by a path of length (that is, they are the endpoints of a single edge), the vertices are called adjacent. A graph is said to be connected if every pair of vertices in the graph is connected. This means that there is a path between every pair of vertices. An undirected graph that is not connected is called disconnected. An undirected graph is therefore disconnected if there e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simple Graph
In discrete mathematics, particularly in graph theory, a graph is a structure consisting of a Set (mathematics), set of objects where some pairs of the objects are in some sense "related". The objects are represented by abstractions called ''Vertex (graph theory), vertices'' (also called ''nodes'' or ''points'') and each of the related pairs of vertices is called an ''edge'' (also called ''link'' or ''line''). Typically, a graph is depicted in diagrammatic form as a set of dots or circles for the vertices, joined by lines or curves for the edges. The edges may be directed or undirected. For example, if the vertices represent people at a party, and there is an edge between two people if they shake hands, then this graph is undirected because any person ''A'' can shake hands with a person ''B'' only if ''B'' also shakes hands with ''A''. In contrast, if an edge from a person ''A'' to a person ''B'' means that ''A'' owes money to ''B'', then this graph is directed, because owing mon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asymmetric Graph
In graph theory, a branch of mathematics, an undirected graph is called an asymmetric graph if it has no nontrivial symmetries. Formally, an automorphism of a graph is a permutation of its vertices with the property that any two vertices and are adjacent if and only if and are adjacent. The identity mapping of a graph is always an automorphism, and is called the trivial automorphism of the graph. An asymmetric graph is a graph for which there are no other automorphisms. Note that the term "asymmetric graph" is not a negation of the term "symmetric graph," as the latter refers to a stronger condition than possessing nontrivial symmetries. Examples The smallest asymmetric non-trivial graphs have 6 vertices. The smallest asymmetric regular graphs have ten vertices; there exist asymmetric graphs that are and . One of the five smallest asymmetric cubic graphs is the twelve-vertex Frucht graph discovered in 1939.. According to a strengthened version of Frucht's theorem, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pólya Enumeration Theorem
The Pólya enumeration theorem, also known as the Redfield–Pólya theorem and Pólya counting, is a theorem in combinatorics that both follows from and ultimately generalizes Burnside's lemma on the number of orbits of a group action on a set. The theorem was first published by J. Howard Redfield in 1927. In 1937 it was independently rediscovered by George Pólya, who then greatly popularized the result by applying it to many counting problems, in particular to the enumeration of chemical compounds. The Pólya enumeration theorem has been incorporated into symbolic combinatorics and the theory of combinatorial species. Simplified, unweighted version Let ''X'' be a finite set and let ''G'' be a group of permutations of ''X'' (or a finite symmetry group that acts on ''X''). The set ''X'' may represent a finite set of beads, and ''G'' may be a chosen group of permutations of the beads. For example, if ''X'' is a necklace of ''n'' beads in a circle, then rotational symmetry is r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Combinatorics
Combinatorics is an area of mathematics primarily concerned with counting, both as a means and as an end to obtaining results, and certain properties of finite structures. It is closely related to many other areas of mathematics and has many applications ranging from logic to statistical physics and from evolutionary biology to computer science. Combinatorics is well known for the breadth of the problems it tackles. Combinatorial problems arise in many areas of pure mathematics, notably in algebra, probability theory, topology, and geometry, as well as in its many application areas. Many combinatorial questions have historically been considered in isolation, giving an ''ad hoc'' solution to a problem arising in some mathematical context. In the later twentieth century, however, powerful and general theoretical methods were developed, making combinatorics into an independent branch of mathematics in its own right. One of the oldest and most accessible parts of combinatorics ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
