Spanning trees for many different numbers of leaves

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Noguchi, Kenta, Zamfirescu, Carol T.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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author Noguchi, Kenta
Zamfirescu, Carol T.
author_facet Noguchi, Kenta
Zamfirescu, Carol T.
contents Let $G$ be a connected graph and $L(G)$ the set of all integers $k$ such that $G$ contains a spanning tree with exactly $k$ leaves. We show that for a connected graph $G$, the set $L(G)$ is contiguous. It follows from work of Chen, Ren, and Shan that every connected and locally connected $n$-vertex graph -- this includes triangulations -- has a spanning tree with at least $n/2 + 1$ leaves, so by a classic theorem of Whitney and our result, in any plane $4$-connected $n$-vertex triangulation one can find for any integer $k$ which is at least $2$ and at most $n/2 + 1$ a spanning tree with exactly $k$ leaves (and each of these trees can be constructed in polynomial time). We also prove that there exist infinitely many $n$ such that there is a plane $4$-connected $n$-vertex triangulation containing a spanning tree with $2n/3$ leaves, but no spanning tree with more than $2n/3$ leaves.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2312_13674
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Spanning trees for many different numbers of leaves
Noguchi, Kenta
Zamfirescu, Carol T.
Combinatorics
05C05 (Primary) 05C10 (Secondary)
Let $G$ be a connected graph and $L(G)$ the set of all integers $k$ such that $G$ contains a spanning tree with exactly $k$ leaves. We show that for a connected graph $G$, the set $L(G)$ is contiguous. It follows from work of Chen, Ren, and Shan that every connected and locally connected $n$-vertex graph -- this includes triangulations -- has a spanning tree with at least $n/2 + 1$ leaves, so by a classic theorem of Whitney and our result, in any plane $4$-connected $n$-vertex triangulation one can find for any integer $k$ which is at least $2$ and at most $n/2 + 1$ a spanning tree with exactly $k$ leaves (and each of these trees can be constructed in polynomial time). We also prove that there exist infinitely many $n$ such that there is a plane $4$-connected $n$-vertex triangulation containing a spanning tree with $2n/3$ leaves, but no spanning tree with more than $2n/3$ leaves.
title Spanning trees for many different numbers of leaves
topic Combinatorics
05C05 (Primary) 05C10 (Secondary)
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.13674