Chapter 10

Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Chapter Summary
 Graphs and Graph Models
 Graph Terminology and Special Types of Graphs
 Representing Graphs and Graph Isomorphism
 Connectivity
 Euler and Hamiltonian Graphs
Section
Section Summary
 Introduction to Graphs
 Graph Taxonomy
 Graph Models
Graphs
Definition: A graph G = (V, E) consists of a nonempty set V of vertices (or nodes) and a
set E of edges. Each edge has either one or two vertices associated with it, called its
endpoints. An edge is said to connect its endpoints.

Example: a b
This is a graph
with four
vertices and five
edges.
d c

Remarks:
 The graphs we study here are unrelated to graphs of functions studied in Chapter 2.
 We have a lot of freedom when we draw a picture of a graph. All that matters is the connections made by the
edges, not the particular geometry depicted. For example, the lengths of edges, whether edges cross, how
vertices are depicted, and so on, do not matter
 A graph with an infinite vertex set is called an infinite graph. A graph with a finite vertex set is called a finite
graph. We (following the text) restrict our attention to finite graphs.
Some Terminology
 In a simple graph each edge connects two different vertices and no two
edges connect the same pair of vertices.
 Multigraphs may have multiple edges connecting the same two
vertices. When m different edges connect the vertices u and v, we say
that {u,v} is an edge of multiplicity m.
 An edge that connects a vertex to itself is called a loop.
 A pseudograph may include loops, as well as multiple edges connecting
the same pair of vertices.

Example: a b Remark: There is no standard

This pseudograph terminology for graph theory. So, it is
has both multiple crucial that you understand the
edges and a loop. terminology being used whenever you
read material about graphs.
c
Directed Graphs
Definition: An directed graph (or digraph) G = (V, E)
consists of a nonempty set V of vertices (or nodes) and
a set E of directed edges (or arcs). Each edge is
associated with an ordered pair of vertices. The
directed edge associated with the ordered pair (u,v) is
said to start at u and end at v.
Remark:
 Graphs where the end points of an edge are not ordered
are said to be undirected graphs.
Some Terminology (continued)
 A simple directed graph has no loops and no multiple edges.
b
Example: a
This is a directed graph with
three vertices and four edges.
c
 A directed multigraph may have multiple directed edges. When there
are m directed edges from the vertex u to the vertex v, we say that (u,v)
is an edge of multiplicity m.

Example:
a b
In this directed multigraph the
multiplicity of (a,b) is
c
Graph Models:
Computer Networks
 When we build a graph model, we use the appropriate type of graph to
capture the important features of the application.
 We illustrate this process using graph models of different types of
computer networks. In all these graph models, the vertices represent
data centers and the edges represent communication links.
 To model a computer network where we are only concerned whether
two data centers are connected by a communications link, we use a
simple graph. This is the appropriate type of graph when we only care
whether two data centers are directly linked (and not how many links
there may be) and all communications links work in both directions.
Graph Models:
Computer Networks (continued)
• To model a computer network
where we care about the number
of links between data centers, we
use a multigraph.

• To model a computer network

with diagnostic links at data
centers, we use a pseudograph,
as loops are needed.

• To model a network with multiple one-

way links, we use a directed multigraph.
Note that we could use a directed graph
without multiple edges if we only care
whether there is at least one link from a
data center to another data center.
Graph Terminology: Summary
 To understand the structure of a graph and to build a graph
model, we ask these questions:
• Are the edges of the graph undirected or directed (or both)?
• If the edges are undirected, are multiple edges present that
connect the same pair of vertices? If the edges are directed,
are multiple directed edges present?
• Are loops present?
Other Applications of Graphs
 We will illustrate how graph theory can be used in models
of:
 Social networks
 Communications networks
 Information networks
 Software design
 Transportation networks
 Biological networks
 It’s a challenge to find a subject to which graph theory has
not yet been applied. Can you find an area without
applications of graph theory?
Graph Models: Social Networks
 Graphs can be used to model social structures based on
different kinds of relationships between people or groups.
 In a social network, vertices represent individuals or
organizations and edges represent relationships between
them.
 Useful graph models of social networks include:
 friendship graphs - undirected graphs where two people
are connected if they are friends (in the real world, on
Facebook, or in a particular virtual world, and so on.)
 collaboration graphs - undirected graphs where two
people are connected if they collaborate in a specific way
 influence graphs - directed graphs where there is an edge
from one person to another if the first person can
influence the second person
Graph Models: Social Networks
(continued)
Example: A friendship
graph where two people
are connected if they are
Facebook friends.

Example: An
influence graph

Next Slide: Collaboration Graphs

Examples of Collaboration Graphs
 The Hollywood graph models the collaboration of actors in films.
 We represent actors by vertices and we connect two vertices if the
actors they represent have appeared in the same movie.
 We will study the Hollywood Graph in Section 10.4 when we
discuss Kevin Bacon numbers.
 An academic collaboration graph models the collaboration of
researchers who have jointly written a paper in a particular
subject.
 We represent researchers in a particular academic discipline using
vertices.
 We connect the vertices representing two researchers in this
discipline if they are coauthors of a paper.
 We will study the academic collaboration graph for mathematicians
when we discuss Erd s numbers in Section 10.4.
Applications to Information Networks
 Graphs can be used to model different types of networks
that link different types of information.
 In a web graph, web pages are represented by vertices and
links are represented by directed edges.
 A web graph models the web at a particular time.
 We will explain how the web graph is used by search engines
in Section 11.4.
 In a citation network:
 Research papers in a particular discipline are represented by
vertices.
 When a paper cites a second paper as a reference, there is an
edge from the vertex representing this paper to the vertex
representing the second paper.
Transportation Graphs
 Graph models are extensively used in the study of
transportation networks.
 Airline networks can be modeled using directed
multigraphs where
 airports are represented by vertices
 each flight is represented by a directed edge from the vertex
representing the departure airport to the vertex representing
the destination airport
 Road networks can be modeled using graphs where
 vertices represent intersections and edges represent roads.
 undirected edges represent two-way roads and directed edges
represent one-way roads.
Section
Section Summary
 Basic Terminology
 Some Special Types of Graphs
 Bipartite Graphs
Basic Terminology
Definition 1. Two vertices u, v in an undirected graph G are
called adjacent (or neighbors) in G if there is an edge e between
u and v. Such an edge e is called incident with the vertices u and
v and e is said to connect u and v.

Definition 2. The set of all neighbors of a vertex v of G = (V, E),

denoted by N(v), is called the neighborhood of v. If A is a subset
of V, we denote by N(A) the set of all vertices in G that are
adjacent to at least one vertex in A. So,

Definition 3. The degree of a vertex in a undirected graph is the

number of edges incident with it, except that a loop at a vertex
contributes two to the degree of that vertex. The degree of the
vertex v is denoted by deg(v).
Degrees and Neighborhoods of
Vertices
Example: What are the degrees and neighborhoods of the
vertices in the graphs G and H?

Solution:
G: deg(a) = 2, deg(b) = deg(c) = deg(f ) = 4, deg(d ) = 1,
deg(e) = 3, deg(g) = 0.
N(a) = {b, f }, N(b) = {a, c, e, f }, N(c) = {b, d, e, f }, N(d) = {c},
N(e) = {b, c , f }, N(f) = {a, b, c, e}, N(g) =  .
H: deg(a) = 4, deg(b) = deg(e) = 6, deg(c) = 1, deg(d) = 5.
N(a) = {b, d, e}, N(b) = {a, b, c, d, e}, N(c) = {b},
N(d) = {a, b, e}, N(e) = {a, b ,d}.
Degrees of Vertices
Theorem 1 (Handshaking Theorem): If G = (V,E) is an undirected
graph with m edges, then

∈
Proof:
Each edge contributes twice to the degree count of all vertices. Hence,
both the left-hand and right-hand sides of this equation equal twice
the number of edges.

Think about the graph where vertices represent the people at a party and
an edge connects two people who have shaken hands.
Handshaking Theorem
We now give two examples illustrating the usefulness of the
handshaking theorem.

Example: How many edges are there in a graph with 10 vertices

of degree six?
Solution: Because the sum of the degrees of the vertices is
6  10 = 60, the handshaking theorem tells us that 2m = 60.
So the number of edges m = 30.

Example: If a graph has 5 vertices, can each vertex have degree

3?
Solution: This is not possible by the handshaking thorem,
because the sum of the degrees of the vertices 3  5 = 15 is odd.
Directed Graphs
Recall the definition of a directed graph.

Definition: An directed graph G = (V, E) consists of V, a

nonempty set of vertices (or nodes), and E, a set of directed
edges or arcs. Each edge is an ordered pair of vertices. The
directed edge (u,v) is said to start at u and end at v.
Definition: Let (u,v) be an edge in G. Then u is the initial
vertex of this edge and is adjacent to v and v is the terminal
(or end) vertex of this edge and is adjacent from u. The
initial and terminal vertices of a loop are the same.
Directed Graphs (continued)
Definition: The in-degree of a vertex v, denoted
deg (v), is the number of edges which terminate at v.
The out-degree of v, denoted deg+(v), is the number of
edges with v as their initial vertex. Note that a loop at a
vertex contributes 1 to both the in-degree and the out-
degree of the vertex.
Example: In the graph G we have
deg−(a) = 2, deg−(b) = 2, deg−(c) = 3, deg−(d) = 2,
deg−(e) = 3, deg−(f) = 0.

deg+(a) = 4, deg+(b) = 1, deg+(c) = 2, deg+(d) = 2,

deg+ (e) = 3, deg+(f) = 0.
Directed Graphs (continued)
Theorem 3: Let G = (V, E) be a graph with directed edges.
Then:

Proof: The first sum counts the number of outgoing edges

over all vertices and the second sum counts the number of
incoming edges over all vertices. It follows that both sums
equal the number of edges in the graph.
Special Types of Simple Graphs:
Complete Graphs
A complete graph on n vertices, denoted by Kn, is the
simple graph that contains exactly one edge between
each pair of distinct vertices.
Special Types of Simple Graphs:
Cycles and Wheels
A cycle Cn for n ≥ 3 consists of n vertices v1, v2 , , vn,
and edges {v1, v2}, {v2, v3} , , {vn-1, vn}, {vn, v1}.

A wheel Wn is obtained by adding an additional vertex

to a cycle Cn for n ≥ 3 and connecting this new vertex
to each of the n vertices in Cn by new edges.
Special Types of Simple Graphs:
n-Cubes
An n-dimensional hypercube, or n-cube, Qn, is a graph
with 2n vertices representing all bit strings of length n,
where there is an edge between two vertices that differ
in exactly one bit position.
Special Types of Graphs and
Computer Network Architecture
Various special graphs play an important role in the design of computer networks.

 Some local area networks use a star topology, which is a complete bipartite graph K1,n ,as
shown in (a). All devices are connected to a central control device.
 Other local networks are based on a ring topology, where each device is connected to
exactly two others using Cn ,as illustrated in (b). Messages may be sent around the ring.
 Others, as illustrated in (c), use a Wn – based topology, combining the features of a star
topology and a ring topology.
 Various special graphs also play a role in parallel processing where processors need to be
interconnected as one processor may need the output generated by another.
 The n-dimensional hypercube, or n-cube, Qn, is a common way to connect processors in
parallel, e.g., Intel Hypercube.
 Another common method is the mesh network, illustrated here
for 16 processors.
Bipartite Graphs
Definition: A simple graph G is bipartite if V can be partitioned
into two disjoint subsets V1 and V2 such that every edge connects
a vertex in V1 and a vertex in V2. In other words, there are no
edges which connect two vertices in V1 or in V2.

It is not hard to show that an equivalent definition of a bipartite

graph is a graph where it is possible to color the vertices red or
blue so that no two adjacent vertices are the same color.

H is not bipartite
G is since if we color a
bipartite red, then the
adjacent vertices f
and b must both
be blue.
Bipartite Graphs (continued)
Example: Show that C6 is bipartite.
Solution: We can partition the vertex set into
V1 = {v1, v3, v5} and V2 = {v2, v4, v6} so that every edge of C6
connects a vertex in V1 and V2 .

Example: Show that C3 is not bipartite.

Solution: If we divide the vertex set of C into two
nonempty sets, one of the two must contain two vertices.
But in C every vertex is connected to every other vertex.
Therefore, the two vertices in the same partition are
connected. Hence, C is not bipartite.
Complete Bipartite Graphs
Definition: A complete bipartite graph Km,n is a graph
that has its vertex set partitioned into two subsets
V of size m and V of size n such that there is an edge
from every vertex in V to every vertex in V .

Example: We display four complete bipartite graphs

here.
New Graphs from Old
Definition: A subgraph of a graph G = (V,E) is a graph (W,F), where W V
F E H G G H ≠ G.

Example: Here we show K5 and

one of its subgraphs.

Definition: Let G = (V, E) be a simple graph. The subgraph induced by a

subset W of the vertex set V is the graph (W,F), where the edge set F
contains an edge in E if and only if both endpoints are in W.

Example: Here we show K5 and the subgraph

induced by W = {a,b,c,e}.
Bipartite Graphs and Matchings
 Bipartite graphs are used to model applications that involve matching
the elements of one set to elements in another, for example:
 Job assignments - vertices represent the jobs and the employees, edges
link employees with those jobs they have been trained to do. A
common goal is to match jobs to employees so that the most jobs are
done.

 Marriage - vertices represent the men and the women and edges link a
a man and a woman if they are an acceptable spouse. We may wish to
find the largest number of possible marriages.

See the text for more about matchings in bipartite graphs.

New Graphs from Old (continued)
Definition: The union of two simple graphs
G1 = (V1, E1) and G2 = (V2, E2) is the simple graph with
vertex set V1 V and edge set E E The union of
G and G is denoted by G G

Example
Section
Section Summary
 Adjacency Lists
 Adjacency Matrices
 Incidence Matrices
 Isomorphism of Graphs
Representing Graphs:
Adjacency Lists
Definition: An adjacency list can be used to represent
a graph with no multiple edges by specifying the
vertices that are adjacent to each vertex of the graph.
Example:

Example:
Representation of Graphs:
Adjacency Matrices
Definition: Suppose that G = (V, E) is a simple graph
where |V| = n. Arbitrarily list the vertices of G as
v , v , … , vn. The adjacency matrix AG of G, with
respect to the listing of vertices, is the n × n zero-one
matrix with as its (i, j)th entry when vi and vj are
adjacent, and as its (i, j)th entry when they are not
adjacent.
 In other words, if the graphs adjacency matrix is
AG = [aij], then
Adjacency Matrices (continued)
Example: When a graph is sparse, that
is, it has few edges relatively
to the total number of
possible edges, it is much
The ordering of more efficient to represent
vertices is a, b, c, d. the graph using an
adjacency list than an
adjacency matrix. But for a
The ordering of dense graph, which includes
vertices is a, b, c, d. a high percentage of
possible edges, an adjacency
matrix is preferable.

Note: The adjacency matrix of a simple graph is symmetric, i.e., aij = aji
Also, since there are no loops, each diagonal entry aij for i = , , , …, n, is .
Adjacency Matrices (continued)
 Adjacency matrices can also be used to represent graphs with
loops and multiple edges.
 A loop at the vertex vi is represented by a at the (i, j)th position
of the matrix.
 When multiple edges connect the same pair of vertices vi and vj,
(or if multiple loops are present at the same vertex), the (i, j)th
entry equals the number of edges connecting the pair of vertices.
Example: We give the adjacency matrix of the pseudograph
shown here using the ordering of vertices a, b, c, d.
Adjacency Matrices (continued)
 Adjacency matrices can also be used to represent
directed graphs. The matrix for a directed graph G =
(V, E) has a in its (i, j)th position if there is an edge
from vi to vj, where v , v , … v is a list of the vertices.
 In other words, if the graphs adjacency matrix is AG = [aij], then

 The adjacency matrix for a directed graph does not have to be

symmetric, because there may not be an edge from vi to vj, when
there is an edge from vj to vi.
 To represent directed multigraphs, the value of aij is the number
of edges connecting vi to vj.
Representation of Graphs:
Incidence Matrices
Definition: Let G = (V, E) be an undirected graph
with vertices where v , v , … v and edges
e , e , … e . The incidence matrix with respect to the
ordering of V and E is the n × m matrix M = [mij],
where
Incidence Matrices (continued)
Example: Simple Graph and Incidence Matrix
The rows going from top to
bottom represent v1 through
v5 and the columns going
from left to right represent e1
through e6.

Example: Pseudograph and Incidence Matrix

The rows going from top to

bottom represent v1 through
v5 and the columns going
from left to right represent e1
through e8.
Isomorphism of Graphs
Definition: The simple graphs G = (V , E ) and
G = (V , E ) are isomorphic if there is a one-to-one
and onto function f from V to V with the property
that a and b are adjacent in G if and only if f(a) and
f(b) are adjacent in G , for all a and b in V . Such a
function f is called an isomorphism. Two simple graphs
that are not isomorphic are called nonisomorphic.
Isomorphism of Graphs (cont.)
Example: Show that the graphs G =(V, E) and
H = (W, F) are isomorphic.

Solution: The function f with f(u ) = v ,

f(u ) = v , f(u ) = v , and f(u ) = v is a
one-to-one correspondence between V and W.
Note that adjacent vertices in G are u and u , u and
u , u and u , and u and u . Each of the pairs f(u ) = v
and f(u ) = v , f(u ) = v and f(u ) = v , f(u ) = v and
f(u ) = v , and f(u ) = v and f(u ) = v consists of two
adjacent vertices in H.
Isomorphism of Graphs (cont.)
 It is difficult to determine whether two simple graphs are isomorphic
using brute force because there are n! possible one-to-one
correspondences between the vertex sets of two simple graphs with n
vertices.
 The best algorithms for determining weather two graphs are
isomorphic have exponential worst case complexity in terms of the
number of vertices of the graphs.
 Sometimes it is not hard to show that two graphs are not isomorphic.
We can do so by finding a property, preserved by isomorphism, that
only one of the two graphs has. Such a property is called graph
invariant.
 There are many different useful graph invariants that can be used to
distinguish nonisomorphic graphs, such as the number of vertices,
number of edges, and degree sequence (list of the degrees of the
vertices in nonincreasing order). We will encounter others in later
sections of this chapter.
Isomorphism of Graphs (cont.)
Example: Determine whether these two graphs
are isomorphic.

Solution: Both graphs have eight vertices and ten edges.

They also both have four vertices of degree two and four of degree three.
However, G and H are not isomorphic. Note that since deg(a) = in G, a must
correspond to t, u, x, or y in H, because these are the vertices of degree . But
each of these vertices is adjacent to another vertex of degree two in H, which is
not true for a in G.
Alternatively, note that the subgraphs of G and H made up of vertices of
degree three and the edges connecting them must be isomorphic.
But the subgraphs, as shown at the right, are not isomorphic.
Isomorphism of Graphs (cont.)
Example: Determine whether these two graphs
are isomorphic.

Solution: Both graphs have six vertices and seven edges.

They also both have four vertices of degree two and two of degree three.
The subgraphs of G and H consisting of all the vertices of degree two and the edges
connecting them are isomorphic. So, it is reasonable to try to find an isomorphism f.

We define an injection f from the vertices of G to the vertices of H that preserves the
degree of vertices. We will determine whether it is an isomorphism.

The function f with f(u1) = v6, f(u2) = v3, f(u3) = v4, and f(u4) = v5 , f(u5) = v1, and f(u6) =
v2 is a one-to-one correspondence between G and H. Showing that this correspondence
preserves edges is straightforward, so we will omit the details here. Because f is an
isomorphism, it follows that G and H are isomorphic graphs.
See the text for an illustration of how adjacency matrices can be used for this verification.
Applications of Graph Isomorphism
 The question whether graphs are isomorphic plays an important
role in applications of graph theory. For example,
 chemists use molecular graphs to model chemical compounds.
Vertices represent atoms and edges represent chemical bonds.
When a new compound is synthesized, a database of molecular
graphs is checked to determine whether the graph representing the
new compound is isomorphic to the graph of a compound that this
already known.
 Electronic circuits are modeled as graphs in which the vertices
represent components and the edges represent connections
between them. Graph isomorphism is the basis for
 the verification that a particular layout of a circuit corresponds to
the design’s original schematics.
 determining whether a chip from one vendor includes the
intellectual property of another vendor.
Section
Section Summary
 Paths
 Connectedness in Undirected Graphs
 Connectedness in Directed Graphs
 Counting Paths between Vertices
Paths
Informal Definition: A path is a sequence of edges
that begins at a vertex of a graph and travels from
vertex to vertex along edges of the graph. As the path
travels along its edges, it visits the vertices along this
path, that is, the endpoints of these.
Applications: Numerous problems can be modeled
with paths formed by traveling along edges of graphs
such as:
 determining whether a message can be sent between
two computers.
 efficiently planning routes for mail delivery.
Paths
Definition: Let n be a nonnegative integer and G an undirected graph. A path
of length n from u to v in G is a sequence of n edges e1, … , en of G for which
there exists a sequence x0 = u, x1, …, xn-1, xn = v of vertices such that ei has,
for i = , …, n, the endpoints xi-1 and xi.
 When the graph is simple, we denote this path by its vertex sequence
x0, x1, … , xn(since listing the vertices uniquely determines the path).
 The path is a circuit if it begins and ends at the same vertex (u = v) and
has length greater than zero.
 The path or circuit is said to pass through the vertices x1, x2, … , xn-1
and traverse the edges e1, … , en.
 A path or circuit is simple if it does not contain the same edge more
than once.

This terminology is readily extended

to directed graphs. (see text)
Paths (continued)
Example: In the simple graph here:
 a, d, c, f, e is a simple path of length .
 d, e, c, a is not a path because e is not connected to c.
 b, c, f, e, b is a circuit of length .
 a, b, e, d, a, b is a path of length , but it is not a simple
path.
Connectedness in Undirected
Graphs
Definition: An undirected graph is called connected if
there is a path between every pair of vertices. An
undirected graph that is not connected is called
disconnected. We say that we disconnect a graph when we
remove vertices or edges, or both, to produce a
disconnected subgraph.
Example: G is connected because there is a path between
any pair of its vertices, as can be easily seen. However G is
not connected because there is no path between vertices a
and f, for example.
Connected Components
Definition: A connected component of a graph G is a
connected subgraph of G that is not a proper subgraph of
another connected subgraph of G. A graph G that is not
connected has two or more connected components that are
disjoint and have G as their union.
Example: The graph H is the union of three disjoint
subgraphs H , H , and H , none of which are proper
subgraphs of a larger connected subgraph of G.These three
subgraphs are the connected components of H.
Connectedness in Directed Graphs
Definition: A directed graph is strongly connected if
there is a path from a to b and a path from b to a
whenever a and b are vertices in the graph.
Definition: A directed graph is weakly connected if
there is a path between every two vertices in the
underlying undirected graph, which is the undirected
graph obtained by ignoring the directions of the edges
of the directed graph.
Connectedness in Directed Graphs
(continued)
Example: G is strongly connected
because there is a path between any
two vertices in the directed graph.
Hence, G is also weakly connected.
The graph H is not strongly connected, since there is
no directed path from a to b, but it is weakly
connected.
Counting Paths between Vertices
 We can use the adjacency matrix of a graph to find the number of paths between two
vertices in the graph.

Theorem: Let G be a graph with adjacency matrix A with respect to the ordering
v1, … , vn of vertices (with directed or undirected edges, multiple edges and loops
allowed). The number of different paths of length r from vi to vj, where r > is a positive
integer, equals the (i,j)th entry of Ar.

Proof by mathematical induction:

Basis Step: By definition of the adjacency matrix, the number of paths from vi to vj of length 1
is the (i,j)th entry of A.
Inductive Step: For the inductive hypothesis, we assume that that the (i,j)th entry of Ar is the
number of different paths of length r from vi to vj.
 Because Ar+1 = Ar A, the (i,j)th entry of Ar+1 equals bi1a1j + bi2a2j + ⋯ + binanj, where bik is
the (i,k)th entry of Ar. By the inductive hypothesis, bik is the number of paths of length r
from vi to vk.
 A path of length r + 1 from vi to vj is made up of a path of length r from vi to some vk , and
an edge from vk to vj. By the product rule for counting, the number of such paths is the
product of the number of paths of length r from vi to vk (i.e., bik ) and the number of edges
from from vk to vj (i.e, akj). The sum over all possible intermediate vertices vk is bi1a1j +
bi2a2j + ⋯ + binanj .
Counting Paths between Vertices
(continued)
Example: How many paths of length four are there from a to d
in the graph G.
adjacency
G A=
matrix of G

Solution: The adjacency matrix of G (ordering

the vertices as a, b, c, d) is given above. Hence A4 =
the number of paths of length four from a to d is
the ( , )th entry of A4 . The eight paths are as:
a, b, a, b, d a, b, a, c, d
a, b, d, b, d a, b, d, c, d
a, c, a, b, d a, c, a, c, d
a, c, d, b, d a, c, d, c, d
Section
Section Summary
 Euler Paths and Circuits
 Hamilton Paths and Circuits
 Applications of Hamilton Circuits
Euler Paths and Circuits Leonard Euler
( )
 The town of K nigsberg, Prussia (now Kalingrad, Russia) was divided
into four sections by the branches of the Pregel river. In the th
century seven bridges connected these regions.
 People wondered whether whether it was possible to follow a path that
crosses each bridge exactly once and returns to the starting point.
 The Swiss mathematician Leonard Euler proved that no such path
exists. This result is often considered to be the first theorem ever
proved in graph theory.

Multigraph
Model of the
Bridges of
K nigsberg
The Bridges of K nigsberg
Euler Paths and Circuits (continued)
Definition: An Euler circuit in a graph G is a simple circuit
containing every edge of G. An Euler path in G is a simple path
containing every edge of G.
Example: Which of the undirected graphs G1, G2, and G3 has a
Euler circuit? Of those that do not, which has an Euler path?

Solution: The graph G1 has an Euler circuit (e.g., a, e, c, d, e, b,

a). But, as can easily be verified by inspection, neither G2 nor G3
has an Euler circuit. Note that G3 has an Euler path (e.g., a, c, d,
e, b, d, a, b), but there is no Euler path in G2, which can be
verified by inspection.
Necessary and Sufficient Conditions for
Euler Circuits and Paths (continued)
Theorem: A connected multigraph with at least two vertices
has an Euler circuit if and only if each of its vertices has an
even degree and it has an Euler path if and only if it has
exactly two vertices of odd degree.

Example: Two of the vertices in the multigraph model of the

K nigsberg bridge problem have odd degree. Hence, there is
no Euler circuit in this multigraph and it is impossible to
start at a given point, cross each bridge exactly once, and
return to the starting point.
Euler Circuits and Paths
Example:

G1 contains exactly two vertices of odd degree (b and d). Hence it has
an Euler path, e.g., d, a, b, c, d, b.

G2 has exactly two vertices of odd degree (b and d). Hence it has an
Euler path, e.g., b, a, g, f, e, d, c, g, b, c, f, d.

G3 has six vertices of odd degree. Hence, it does not have an Euler path.
Applications of Euler Paths and
Circuits
 Euler paths and circuits can be used to solve many practical
problems such as finding a path or circuit that traverses
each
 street in a neighborhood,
 road in a transportation network,
 connection in a utility grid,
 link in a communications network.
 Other applications are found in the
 layout of circuits,
 network multicasting,
 molecular biology, where Euler paths are used in the
sequencing of DNA.
 William Rowan
Hamilton
( )

Hamilton Paths and Circuits

 Euler paths and circuits contained every edge only once. Now we look at paths and circuits that
contain every vertex exactly once.
 William Hamilton invented the Icosian puzzle in 1857. It consisted of a wooden dodecahedron (with
12 regular pentagons as faces), illustrated in (a), with a peg at each vertex, labeled with the names of
different cities. String was used to used to plot a circuit visiting 20 cities exactly once
 The graph form of the puzzle is given in (b).

 The solution (a Hamilton circuit) is given here.

Hamilton Paths and Circuits
Definition: A simple path in a graph G that passes through every
vertex exactly once is called a Hamilton path, and a simple circuit in a
graph G that passes through every vertex exactly once is called a
Hamilton circuit.

That is, a simple path x0 x1 xn-1 xn in the graph G = (V, E) is called a

Hamilton path if V = {x0 x1 xn-1, xn } and xi ≠ xj for i < j n, and
the simple circuit x0 x1 xn-1 xn, x0 (with n > ) is a Hamilton
circuit if x0 x1 xn-1 xn is a Hamilton path.
Hamilton Paths and Circuits
(continued)
Example: Which of these simple graphs has a
Hamilton circuit or, if not, a Hamilton path?

Solution: G a, b, c, d, e, a
G
a, b, c, d
G
Necessary Conditions for
Hamilton Circuits Gabriel Andrew Dirac
( )
 Unlike for an Euler circuit, no simple necessary and sufficient
conditions are known for the existence of a Hamiton circuit.
 However, there are some useful necessary conditions. We
describe two of these now.
Dirac’s Theorem: If G is a simple graph with n ≥ vertices such
that the degree of every vertex in G is ≥ n/ , then G has a
Hamilton circuit.

Ore’s Theorem: If G is a simple graph with n ≥ vertices such

that deg(u) + deg(v) ≥ n for every pair of nonadjacent vertices,
then G has a Hamilton circuit.
Øysten Ore
( )
Applications of Hamilton Paths and
Circuits
 Applications that ask for a path or a circuit that visits each
intersection of a city, each place pipelines intersect in a
utility grid, or each node in a communications network
exactly once, can be solved by finding a Hamilton path in
the appropriate graph.
 The famous traveling salesperson problem (TSP) asks for
the shortest route a traveling salesperson should take to
visit a set of cities. This problem reduces to finding a
Hamilton circuit such that the total sum of the weights of
its edges is as small as possible.
 A family of binary codes, known as Gray codes, which
minimize the effect of transmission errors, correspond to
Hamilton circuits in the n-cube Qn. (See the text for
details.)
References
 Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications, Seventh
Edition, Kenneth Rosen