Related papers: Chordal graphs, higher independence and vertex dec…

Let $G$ be a simple graph with maximum degree $\Delta(G)$ and chromatic index $\chi'(G)$. A classic result of Vizing indicates that either $\chi'(G )=\Delta(G)$ or $\chi'(G )=\Delta(G)+1$. The graph $G$ is called $\Delta$-critical if $G$ is…

Given an arbitrary hypergraph $\mathcal{H}$, we may glue to $\mathcal{H}$ a family of hypergraphs to get a new hypergraph $\mathcal{H}'$ having $\mathcal{H}$ as an induced subhypergraph. In this paper, we introduce three gluing techniques…

We present two new contributions to the study of the independence polynomial $Z_G(z)$ of a finite simple graph $G = (V,E)$. First, we provide an improved lower bound for the zero-free region of $Z_G(z)$ for the important class of claw-free…

In this paper we consider bi-Cohen-Macaulay graphs, and give a complete classification of such graphs in the case they are bipartite or chordal. General bi-Cohen-Macaulay graphs are classified up to separation. The inseparable…

An independent set in a simple graph $G$ is a set of pairwise non-adjacent vertices in $G$. The independence polynomial of $G$, denoted by $I_G$ is defined as $1 + a_1 z + a_2 z^2+\cdots+a_d z^{d}$, where $a_i$ denotes the number of…

We introduce a family of graphs, which we call down-left graphs, and study their combinatorial and algebraic properties. We show that members of this family are well-covered, $C_5$-free, and vertex decomposable. By applying a result of…

In this paper we study the Alexander dual of a vertex decomposable simplicial complex. We define the concept of a vertex splittable ideal and show that a simplicial complex $\Delta$ is vertex decomposable if and only if $I_{\Delta^{\vee}}$…

We introduce the notion of sortability and $t$-sortability for a simplicial complex and study the graphs for which their independence complexes are either sortable or $t$-sortable. We show that the proper interval graphs are precisely the…

Testing for independence between graphs is a problem that arises naturally in social network analysis and neuroscience. In this paper, we address independence testing for inhomogeneous Erd\H{o}s-R\'{e}nyi random graphs on the same vertex…

A set $S$ of vertices in a graph $G$ is a dominating set if every vertex not in $S$ is adjacent to a vertex in $S$. If, in addition, $S$ is an independent set, then $S$ is an independent dominating set. The independent domination number…

In this paper we show that if the Stanley-Reisner ring of the simplicial complex of independent sets of a bipartite graph $G$ satisfies Serre's condition $S_2$, then $G$ is Cohen-Macaulay. As a consequence, the characterization of…

Given a family $\mathcal{H}$ of graphs, we say that a graph $G$ is $\mathcal{H}$-free if no induced subgraph of $G$ is isomorphic to a member of $\mathcal{H}$. Let $W_{t\times t}$ be the $t$-by-$t$ hexagonal grid and let $\mathcal{L}_t$ be…

We study classes of countable graphs where every member does not contain a given finite graph as an induced subgraph -- denoted by $\mathsf{Free}(\mathcal{G})$ for a given finite graph $\mathcal{G}$. Our main results establish a structural…

Graph independence (also known as $\epsilon$-independence or $\lambda$-independence) is a mixture of classical independence and free independence corresponding to graph products or groups and operator algebras. Using conjugation by certain…

We leverage an algorithm of Deming [R.W. Deming, Independence numbers of graphs -- an extension of the Koenig-Egervary theorem, Discrete Math., 27(1979), no. 1, 23--33; MR534950] to decompose a matchable graph into subgraphs with a precise…

A plane near-triangulation G can be decomposed into a collection of induced subgraphs, described here as the W-components of G, such that G is perfect (respectively, chordal) if and only if each of its W-components is perfect (respectively,…

The matching complex $M(G)$ of a simple graph $G$ is the simplicial complex consisting of the matchings on $G$. The matching complex $M(G)$ is isomorphic to the independence complex of the line graph $L(G)$. Braun and Hough introduced a…

We consider a relaxation of the concept of well-covered graphs, which are graphs with all maximal independent sets of the same size. The extent to which a graph fails to be well-covered can be measured by its independence gap, defined as…

We introduce and study a new combinatorial invariant the theta-number $\theta(X)$ of simplicial complexes, and prove that the inequality $\mathcal{C}(X)\leq \theta(X)$ holds for every simplicial complex $X$, where $\mathcal{C}(X)$ denotes…

A set $S$ of vertices in a graph $G = (V, E)$ is called {\em cycle independent} if the induced subgraph $\langle S\rangle$ is acyclic, and called {\em odd-cycle indepdendet} if $\langle S\rangle$ is bipartite. A set $S$ is {\em cycle…