What is the largest integer m such that every simple connected graph w...
A graph is connected iff all nodes can be traversed from each node. For a graph with n nodes, there will be n-1 minimum number of edges.
Given that there are n edges, that means a cycle is there in the graph.
The simplex graph with these conditions may be:
Now we can make a different spanning tree by removing one edge from the cycle, one at a time.
Minimum cycle length can be 3, So, there must be atleast 3 spanning trees in any such Graph.
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What is the largest integer m such that every simple connected graph w...
Solution:
We have to find the largest integer m such that every simple connected graph with n vertices and n edges contains at least m different spanning trees.
Spanning Tree:
A spanning tree T of an undirected graph G is a subgraph that is a tree and includes all the vertices of G. A tree is a connected graph without any cycles.
Number of Spanning Trees:
The number of spanning trees for a connected graph G with n vertices can be calculated using Kirchhoff's theorem:
The number of spanning trees is equal to any cofactor of the Laplacian matrix L(G) of G.
Laplacian Matrix:
The Laplacian matrix L(G) of a graph G is defined as the difference between the degree matrix D(G) and the adjacency matrix A(G) of G.
L(G) = D(G) - A(G)
where D(G) is a diagonal matrix with the degrees of the vertices on the diagonal and A(G) is the adjacency matrix of G.
Minimum Spanning Tree:
A minimum spanning tree (MST) of a connected weighted graph G is a spanning tree that has the minimum sum of edge weights.
Kruskal's Algorithm:
Kruskal's algorithm is a greedy algorithm that finds a minimum spanning tree for a connected weighted graph. The algorithm starts with an empty set of edges and iteratively adds the next lightest edge that does not form a cycle until all vertices are connected.
Explanation:
We have to find the largest integer m such that every simple connected graph with n vertices and n edges contains at least m different spanning trees.
Number of Spanning Trees:
From Kirchhoff's theorem, the number of spanning trees for a connected graph G with n vertices can be calculated using any cofactor of the Laplacian matrix L(G) of G.
L(G) = D(G) - A(G)
where D(G) is a diagonal matrix with the degrees of the vertices on the diagonal and A(G) is the adjacency matrix of G.
Minimum Spanning Tree:
Kruskal's algorithm is a greedy algorithm that finds a minimum spanning tree for a connected weighted graph. The algorithm starts with an empty set of edges and iteratively adds the next lightest edge that does not form a cycle until all vertices are connected.
Explanation of options:
a) 1: This option is not correct because a connected graph with n vertices and n edges can have more than one spanning tree. For example, a cycle of n vertices has n different spanning trees.
b) 2: This option is not correct because a connected graph with n vertices and n edges can have more than two spanning trees. For example, a complete graph of n vertices has n^(n-2) different spanning trees.
c) 3: This option is correct because every simple connected graph with n vertices and n edges contains at least 3 different spanning trees. This can be proved using Kruskal's algorithm. The first edge added to the minimum spanning tree can be any of the n edges. The second edge added cannot be the same as the first edge, so there are n-1 choices. The third edge added cannot form a cycle with the first two edges, so there are at least n-2 choices. Therefore, there are at least n*(n-1)*(n-2) different ordered triples of edges that form a spanning tree. However, each spanning tree has n-2 edges, so each spanning tree is counted
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