By a result of McKenzie [4] finite directed graphs that satisfy certain connectivity and thinness conditions have the unique prime factorization property with respect to the cardinal product. We show that this property still holds under weaker connectivity and stronger thinness conditions. Furthermore, for such graphs the factorization can be determined in polynomial time.
By a result of McKenzie [7] all finite directed graphs that satisfy certain connectivity conditions have unique prime factorizations with respect to the cardinal product. McKenzie does not provide an algorithm, and even up to now no polynomial algorithm that factors all graphs satisfying McKenzie's conditions is known. Only partial results [1,3,5] have been published, all of which depend on certain thinness conditions of the graphs to be factored. In this paper we weaken the...
One interesting example of a discrete mathematical model used in biology is a food web. The first biology courses in high school and in college present the fundamental nature of a food web, one that is understandable by students at all levels. But food webs as part of a larger system are often not addressed. This paper presents materials that can be used in undergraduate classes in biology (and mathematics) and provides students with the opportunity...
This is an extended version of a talk given by the author at the conference “Algebra and Topology in Interaction” on the occasion of the 70th Anniversary of D.B. Fuchs at UC Davis in September 2009. It is a brief survey of an area originated around 1995 by I. Gelfand and the speaker.
To every graph (or digraph) A, there is an associated automorphism group Aut(A). Frucht’s theorem asserts the converse association; that for any finite group G there is a graph (or digraph) A for which Aut(A) ∼= G. A new operation on digraphs was introduced recently as an aid in solving certain questions regarding cancellation over the direct product of digraphs. Given a digraph A, its factorial A! is certain digraph whose vertex set is the permutations of V (A). The arc set E(A!) forms a group,...