Graphs

Chapter 10

Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill
Chapter Summary
Graphs and Graph Models
Graph Terminology and Special Types of Graphs
Representing Graphs and Graph Isomorphism
Connectivity
Euler and Hamiltonian Graphs
Shortest-Path Problems (not currently included in
overheads)
Planar Graphs (not currently included in
overheads)
Graph Coloring (not currently included in
overheads)
Graphs and Graph
Models
Section 10.1
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.
Exampl a b
e: is a
This
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 terminology for graph theory.
pseudograph So, it is crucial that you
has both understand the terminology
multiple edges being used whenever you read
and a loop. 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.

a b
Exampl
e:
This is a directed graph
with three vertices and
A directed multigraph may have multiple directed edges.
four edges. c
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.

Exampl
e: a b
In this directed multigraph the
multiplicity of (a,b) is 1 and the
multiplicity of (b,c) is 2.
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
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 Erdős 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.
Software Design Applications
Graph models are extensively used in software design. We will
introduce two such models here; one representing the dependency
between the modules of a software application and the other
representing restrictions in the execution of statements in
computer programs.
When a top-down approach is used to design software, the system
is divided into modules, each performing a specific task.
We use a module dependency graph to represent the dependency
between these modules. These dependencies need to be
understood before coding can be done.
In a module dependency graph vertices represent software modules and
there is an edge from one module to another if the second module
depends on the first.

Example: The dependencies

between the seven modules in the
design of a web browser are
represented by this module
dependency graph.
Software Design Applications
(continued)
We can use a directed graph called a precedence
graph to represent which statements must have
already been executed before we execute each
statement.
Vertices represent statements in a computer
program
There is a directed edge from a vertex to a second
vertex if the
Example: This second vertex cannot be executed
precedence
before the first
graph shows which
statements must already
have been executed before
we can execute each of the
six statements in the
program.
Biological Applications
Graph models are used extensively in many
areas of the biological science. We will describe
two such models, one to ecology and the other to
molecular biology.
Niche overlap graphs model competition between
species in an ecosystem
Vertices represent species and an edge connects
two vertices when they represent species who
compete for food resources.
Example: This is
the niche overlap
graph for a forest
ecosystem with
nine species.
Biological Applications (continued)
We can model the interaction of proteins in a cell using a
protein interaction network.
In a protein interaction graph, vertices represent proteins
and vertices are connected by an edge if the proteins they
represent interact.
Protein interaction graphs can be huge and can contain
more than 100,000 vertices, each representing a different
protein, and more than 1,000,000 edges, each representing
an interaction between proteins
Protein interaction graphs are often split into smaller
graphs, called modules, which represent the interactions
between
Example:proteins
This is ainvolved in a particular function.
module of the protein
interaction graph of
proteins that degrade RNA
in a human cell.
Graph Terminology and
Special Types of Graphs
Section 10.2
Section Summary
Basic Terminology
Some Special Types of Graphs
Bipartite Graphs
Bipartite Graphs and Matchings (not currently
included in overheads)
Some Applications of Special Types of Graphs
(not currently included in overheads)
New Graphs from Old
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.
 Degree of Vertices (continued)
Theorem 2: An undirected graph has an even
number of vertices of odd degree.
Proof: Let V1 be the vertices of even degree and V2
be the vertices of odd degree in an undirected
graph G = (V, E) with m edges. Then
even

This sum must be even

must be because 2m is even and the
even since sum of the degrees of the
deg(v) is vertices of even degrees is
even for also even. Because this is the
each v ∈ sum of the degrees of all
V11 vertices of odd degree in the
graph, there must be an even
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
G is bipartite
biparti since if we
te color a red,
then the
adjacent
vertices f and b
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 C3 into two
nonempty sets, one of the two must contain two
vertices. But in C3 every vertex is connected to
every other vertex. Therefore, the two vertices in
the same partition are connected. Hence, C3 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 V1 of size m and V2 of size n
such that there is an edge from every vertex in
V1 to every vertex in V2.

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 and F ⊂ E. A subgraph H of G is a proper subgraph of G
if 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 ⋃ V2 and edge
set E1 ⋃ E2. The union of G1 and G2 is denoted
by G1 ⋃ G2.

Example:
 Representing Graphs
and Graph Isomorphism
Section 10.3
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 v1, v2, … , vn. The adjacency
matrix AG of G, with respect to the listing of
vertices, is the n × n zero-one matrix with 1 as
its (i, j)th entry when vi and vj are adjacent, and
0 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
The ordering of edges, it is much more
vertices is a, b, c, d.
efficient to represent
the graph using an
adjacency list than an
adjacency matrix. But
The ordering of
for a dense graph,
vertices is a, b, c, d.
which includes 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 = 1, 2,
3, …, n, is 0.
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 1 at the (i,
i)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 1 in its (i, j)th position if there is
an edge from vi to vj, where v1, v2, … vn 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 v1, v2, … vn and
edges e1, e2, … em. 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 G1 = (V1, E1) and
G2 = (V2, E2) are isomorphic if there is a
one-to-one and onto function f from V1 to V2
with the property that a and b are adjacent in
G1 if and only if f(a) and f(b) are adjacent in G2 ,
for all a and b in V1 . 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(u1) = v1,
f(u2) = v4, f(u3) = v3, and f(u4) = v2 is a
one-to-one correspondence between V and W.
Note that adjacent vertices in G are u1
and u2, u1 and u3, u2 and u4, and u3 and u4. Each
of the pairs f(u1) = v1 and f(u2) = v4, f(u1) = v1
and f(u3) = v3 , f(u2) = v4 and f(u4) = v2 , and
f(u3) = v3 and f(u4) = v2 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) = 2 in
G, a must correspond to t, u, x, or y in H, because these are the
vertices of degree 2. 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.
Algorithms for Graph Isomorphism
The best algorithms known for determining whether
two graphs are isomorphic have exponential worst-
case time complexity (in the number of vertices of
the graphs).
However, there are algorithms with linear average-
case time complexity.
You can use a public domain program called NAUTY
to determine in less than a second whether two
graphs with as many as 100 vertices are isomoprhic.
Graph isomorphism is a problem of special interest
because it is one of a few NP problems not known to
be either tractable or NP-complete (see Section 3.3).
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.
Connectivity
Section 10.4
Section Summary
Paths
Connectedness in Undirected Graphs
Vertex Connectivity and Edge Connectivity
(not currently included in overheads)
Connectedness in Directed Graphs
Paths and Isomorphism (not currently
included in overheads)
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 = 1, …, 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 4.

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 4.
a, b, e, d, a, b is a path of length 5, but it is not
a simple path.
Degrees of Separation
Example: Paths in Acquaintanceship
Graphs. In an acquaintanceship graph there is
a path between two people if there is a chain of
people linking these people, where two people
adjacent in the chain know one another. In this
graph there is a chain of six people linking
Kamini and Ching.
Some have speculated that
almost every pair of people
in the world are linked by a
small chain of no more than
six, or maybe even, five
people. The play Six
Degrees of Separation by
John Guare is based on this
Erdős numbers Paul Erdős
Example: Erdős numbers.
In a collaboration graph, two people
a and b are connected by a path when
there is a sequence of people starting
with a and ending with b such that
the endpoints of each edge in the
path are people who have collaborated.
In the academic collaboration graph of people
who have written papers in mathematics, the
Erdős number of a person m is the length of the
shortest path between m and the prolific
mathematician Paul Erdős.
To learn more about Erdős numbers, visit
http://www.ams.org/mathscinet/collaborationDistance.html
Bacon Numbrers
In the Hollywood graph, two actors
a and b are linked when there is a
chain of actors linking a and b,
where every two actors
adjacent in the chain have acted in
the same movie.
The Bacon number of an actor c is defined to
be the length of the shortest path connecting c
and the well-known actor Kevin Bacon. (Note
that we can define a similar number by
replacing Kevin Bacon by a different actor.)
The oracle of Bacon web site
http://oracleofbacon.org/how.php provides a tool for finding
Bacon numbers.
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: G1 is connected because there is a path
between any pair of its vertices, as can be easily
seen. However G2 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 H1, H2, and H3, 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.

Definition: The subgraphs of a directed graph G that are

strongly connected but not contained in larger strongly
connected subgraphs, that is, the maximal strongly connected
subgraphs, are called the strongly connected components or
strong components of G.

Example (continued): The graph H has three strongly

connected components, consisting of the vertex a; the vertex
e; and the subgraph consisting of the vertices b, c, d and
edges (b,c), (c,d), and (d,b).
The Connected Components of the
Web Graph
Recall that at any particular instant the web graph provides a
snapshot of the web, where vertices represent web pages and
edges represent links. According to a 1999 study, the Web graph at
that time had over 200 million vertices and over 1.5 billion edges.
(The numbers today are several orders of magnitude larger.)
The underlying undirected graph of this Web graph has a
connected component that includes approximately 90% of the
vertices.
There is a giant strongly connected component (GSCC) consisting
of more than 53 million vertices. A Web page in this component
can be reached by following links starting in any other page of the
component. There are three other categories of pages with each
having about 44 million vertices:
pages that can be reached from a page in the GSCC, but do not link
back.
pages that link back to the GSCC, but can not be reached by following
links from pages in the GSCC.
pages that cannot reach pages in the GSCC and can not be reached from
pages in the GSCC.
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 >0 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 A4 above.
Hence the number of paths = of
length four from a to d is the
(1, 4)th entry
a, b, a,ofb,A
d4 . The
a, b, eight
a, c, d paths are as:
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
 Euler and
Hamiltonian Graphs
Section 10.5
Section Summary
Euler Paths and Circuits
Hamilton Paths and Circuits
Applications of Hamilton Circuits
Euler Paths and Circuits
The town of Kӧnigsberg, Prussia (now Kalingrad, Russia) was
divided into four sections by the branches of the Pregel
river. In the 18th 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
Kӧnigsberg
The 7 Bridges of
Kӧnigsberg
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 Conditions for Euler Circuits
and Paths
An Euler circuit begins with a vertex a and continues with an
edge incident with a, say {a, b}. The edge {a, b}
contributes one to deg(a).
Each time the circuit passes through a vertex it contributes
two to the vertex’s degree.
Finally, the circuit terminates where it started, contributing
one to deg(a). Therefore deg(a) must be even.
We conclude that the degree of every other vertex must
also be even.
By the same reasoning, we see that the initial vertex and
the final vertex of an Euler path have odd degree, while
every other vertex has even degree. So, a graph with an
Euler path has exactly two vertices of odd degree.
In the next slide we will show that these necessary
conditions are also sufficient conditions.
Sufficient Conditions for Euler Circuits
and Paths
Suppose that G is a connected multigraph with ≥ 2 vertices, all of even
degree. Let x0 = a be a vertex of even degree. Choose an edge {x0, x1}
incident with a and proceed to build a simple path {x0, x1}, {x1, x2}, …, {xn-1,
xn} by adding edges one by one until another edge can not be added.

We illustrate this idea in the graph G

here. We begin at a and choose the
edges {a, f}, {f, c}, {c,
b}, and {b, a} in succession.

The path begins at a with an edge of the form {a, x}; we show that it must
terminate at a with an edge of the form {y, a}. Since each vertex has an
even degree, there must be an even number of edges incident with this
vertex. Hence, every time we enter a vertex other than a, we can leave it.
Therefore, the path can only end at a.
If all of the edges have been used, an Euler circuit has been constructed.
Otherwise, consider the subgraph H obtained from G by deleting the edges
already used.
In the example H consists of
the vertices c, d, e.
Sufficient Conditions for Euler Circuits
and Paths (continued)

Because G is connected, H must have at least one vertex in common with the
circuit that has been deleted.

In the example, the vertex is c.

Every vertex in H must have even degree because all the vertices in G have even
degree and for each vertex, pairs of edges incident with this vertex have been
deleted. Beginning with the shared vertex construct a path ending in the same
vertex (as was done before). Then splice this new circuit into the original circuit.

In the example, we end up with the circuit

a, f, c, d, e, c, b, a.
Continue this process until all edges have been used. This produces an Euler
circuit. Since every edge is included and no edge is included more than once.
Similar reasoning can be used to show that a graph with exactly two vertices of
odd degree must have an Euler path connecting these two vertices of odd degree
Algorithm for Constructing an Euler
Circuits
In our proof we developed this algorithms for
constructing a Euler circuit in a graph with no
vertices of odd degree.
procedure Euler(G: connected multigraph with all vertices of even
degree)
circuit := a circuit in G beginning at an arbitrarily chosen vertex with
edges
successively added to form a path that returns to this vertex.
H := G with the edges of this circuit removed
while H has edges
subciruit := a circuit in H beginning at a vertex in H that also is
an endpoint of an edge in circuit.
H := H with edges of subciruit and all isolated vertices removed
circuit := circuit with subcircuit inserted at the appropriate vertex.
return circuit{circuit is an Euler circuit}
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 Kӧnigsberg 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

(1805-
1865)

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 0≤ i < j ≤ n, and the simple circuit x0, x1, …, xn-1, xn, x0
(with n > 0) 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: G1 has a Hamilton circuit: a, b, c, d, e,

a.
G2 does not have a Hamilton circuit (Why?), but
does have a Hamilton path : a, b, c, d.
G3 does not have a Hamilton circuit, or a
Hamilton path. Why?
Necessary Conditions forHamilton
Circuits Gabriel Andrew
Dirac
(1925-1984)
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 ≥ 3
vertices such that the degree of every vertex in G is ≥
n/2, then G has a Hamilton circuit.

Ore’s Theorem: If G is a simple graph with n ≥ 3

vertices such that deg(u) + deg(v) ≥ n for every pair of
nonadjacent vertices, then G has a Hamilton circuit.
Øysten
Ore
(1899-
1968)
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.)