Given an undirected graph $G=(V,E)$, and a designated vertex $q\in V$, the notion of a $G$-parking function (with respect to $q$) was independently developed and studied by various authors, and has recently gained renewed attention. This notion generalizes the classical notion of a parking function associated with the complete graph. In this work, we study properties of {\em maximum} $G$-parking functions and provide a new bijection between them and the set of spanning trees of $G$ with no broken circuit. As a case study, we specialize some of our results to the graph corresponding to the discrete $n$-cube $Q_n$. We present the article in an expository self-contained form, since we found the combinatorial aspects of $G$-parking functions somewhat scattered in the literature, typically treated in conjunction with sandpile models and closely related chip-firing games.
We give an exact enumerative formula for the minimal acyclic deterministic finite automata. This formula is obtained from a bijection between a family of generalized parking functions and the transitions functions of acyclic automata.
For a directed graph G on vertices {0,1,...,n}, a G-parking function is an n-tuple (b_1,...,b_n) of non-negative integers such that, for every non-empty subset U of {1,...,n}, there exists a vertex j in U for which there are more than b_j edges going from j to G-U. We construct a family of bijective maps between the set P_G of G-parking functions and the set T_G of spanning trees of G rooted at 0, thus providing a combinatorial proof of |P_G| = |T_G|.
A depth-first search version of Dhar's burning algorithm is used to give a bijection between the parking functions of a graph and labeled spanning trees, relating the degree of the parking function with the number of inversions of the spanning tree. Specializing to the complete graph answers a problem posed by R. Stanley.
We introduce an object called a tree growing sequence (TGS) in an effort to generalize bijective correspondences between $G$-parking functions, spanning trees, and the set of monomials in the Tutte polynomial of a graph $G$. A tree growing sequence determines an algorithm which can be applied to a single function, or to the set $\mathcal{P}_{G,q}$ of $G$-parking functions. When the latter is chosen, the algorithm uses splitting operations - inspired by the recursive defintion of the Tutte polynomial - to iteratively break $\mathcal{P}_{G,q}$ into disjoint subsets. This results in bijective map…
We give a Cayley type formula to count the number of spanning trees in the complete r-uniform hypergraph for all r >= 3. Similar to the bijection between spanning trees in complete graphs and Parking functions, we derive a bijection from spanning trees of the complete (r+1)-uniform hypergraph which arise from a fixed r-perfect matching and r-Parking functions. We observe a simple consequence of this bijection in terms of the number of regions of the extended Shi arrangement.
Kirchhoff's matrix-tree theorem states that the number of spanning trees of a graph G is equal to the value of the determinant of the reduced Laplacian of $G$. We outline an efficient bijective proof of this theorem, by studying a canonical finite abelian group attached to $G$ whose order is equal to the value of same matrix determinant. More specifically, we show how one can efficiently compute a bijection between the group elements and the spanning trees of the graph. The main ingredient for computing the bijection is an efficient algorithm for finding the unique $G$-parking function (reduce…
A matching $M$ in a multigraph $G=(V,E)$ is said to be uniquely restricted if $M$ is the only perfect matching in the subgraph of $G$ induced by $V(M)$ (i.e., the set of vertices saturated by $M$). For any fixed vertex $x_0$ in $G$, there is a bijection from the set of spanning trees of $G$ to the set of uniquely restricted matchings of size $|V|-1$ in $S(G)-x_0$, where $S(G)$ is the bipartite graph obtained from $G$ by subdividing each edge in $G$. Thus the notion "uniquely restricted matchings of a bipartite graph $H$ saturating all vertices in a partite set $X$" can be viewed as an extensio…
We give an interpretation of the coefficients of the two variable refinement $D_{\Sh_n}(q,t)$ of the distance enumerator of the Shi hyperplane arrangement $\Sh_n$ in $n$ dimensions. This two variable refinement was defined by Stanley \cite{stan-rota} for the general $r$-extended Shi hyperplane arrangements. We give an interpretation when $r=1$. We define three natural three-dimensional partitions of the number $(n+1)^{n-1}$. The first arises from parking functions of length $n$, the second from special posets on $n$ vertices defined by Athanasiadis and the third from spanning trees on $n+1$ ve…
We introduce polytopal cell complexes associated with partial acyclic orientations of a simple graph, which generalize acyclic orientations. Using the theory of cellular resolutions, two of these polytopal cell complexes are observed to minimally resolve certain special combinatorial polynomial ideals related to acyclic orientations. These ideals are explicitly found to be Alexander dual, which relative to comparable results in the literature, generalizes in a cleaner and more illuminating way the well-known duality between permutohedron and tree ideals. The combinatorics underlying these resu…
Kreweras proved that the reversed sum enumerator for parking functions of length $n$ is equal to the inversion enumerator for labeled trees on $n+1$ vertices. Recently, Perkinson, Yang, and Yu gave a bijective proof of this equality that moreover generalizes to graphical parking functions. Using a depth-first search variant of Dhar's burning algorithm they proved that the codegree enumerator for $G$-parking functions equals the $κ$-number enumerator for spanning trees of $G$. The $κ$-number is a kind of generalized tree inversion number originally defined by Gessel. We extend the work of Perki…
We classify recurrent states of the Abelian sandpile model (ASM) on the complete split graph. There are two distinct cases to be considered that depend upon the location of the sink vertex in the complete split graph. This characterisation of decreasing recurrent states is in terms of Motzkin words and can also be characterised in terms of combinatorial necklaces. We also give a characterisation of the recurrent states in terms of a new type of parking function that we call a tiered parking function. These parking functions are characterised by assigning a tier (or colour) to each of the cars,…
This paper is a contribution to the problem of counting geometric graphs on point sets. More concretely, we look at the maximum numbers of non-crossing spanning trees and forests. We show that the so-called double chain point configuration of N points has Omega(12.52^N) non-crossing spanning trees and Omega(13.61^N) non-crossing forests. This improves the previous lower bounds on the maximum number of non-crossing spanning trees and of non-crossing forests among all sets of N points in general position given by Dumitrescu, Schulz, Sheffer and Tóth. Our analysis relies on the tools of analytic …
A parking function of length n is a sequence (b_1, b_2,..., b_n) of nonnegative integers whose nondecreasing rearrangement (a_1, a_2,...,a_n) has the property that a_i < i for every i. A well-known result about parking functions is that the polynomial P_n(q), which enumerates the complements of parking functions by the sum of their terms, is the generating function for the number of connected graphs by the number of excess edges when evaluated at (1+q). In this paper we extend this result to arbitrary connected graphs G. In general the polynomial that encodes information about subgraphs of G i…
Suppose that $m$ drivers each choose a preferred parking space in a linear car park with $n$ spots. In order, each driver goes to their chosen spot and parks there if possible, and otherwise takes the next available spot if it exists. If all drivers park successfully, the sequence of choices is called a parking function. Classical parking functions correspond to the case $m=n$; we study here combinatorial and probabilistic aspects of this generalized case. We construct a family of bijections between parking functions $\text{PF}(m, n)$ with $m$ cars and $n$ spots and spanning forests $\mathscr{…
The conceptions of $G$-parking functions and $G$-multiparking functions were introduced in [15] and [12] respectively. In this paper, let $G$ be a connected graph with vertex set $\{1,2,...,n\}$ and $m\in V(G)$. We give the definition of $(G,m)$-multiparking function. This definition unifies the conceptions of $G$-parking function and $G$-multiparking function. We construct bijections between the set of $(G,m)$-multiparking functions and the set of $\mathcal{F}_{G,m}$ of spanning color $m$-forests of $G$. Furthermore we define the $(G,m)$-multiparking complement function, give the reciprocity …
The chromatic polynomial $P(G,x)$ of a graph $G$ of order $n$ can be expressed as $\sum\limits_{i=1}^n(-1)^{n-i}a_{i}x^i$, where $a_i$ is interpreted as the number of broken-cycle free spanning subgraphs of $G$ with exactly $i$ components. The parameter $ε(G)=\sum\limits_{i=1}^n (n-i)a_i/\sum\limits_{i=1}^n a_i$ is the mean size of a broken-cycle-free spanning subgraph of $G$. In this article, we confirm and strengthen a conjecture proposed by Lundow and Markström in 2006 that $ε(T_n)< ε(G)<ε(K_n)$ holds for any connected graph $G$ of order $n$ which is neither the complete graph $K_n$ nor a t…
Suppose that $m$ drivers each choose a preferred parking space in a linear car park with $n$ spots. In order, each driver goes to their chosen spot and parks there if possible, and otherwise takes the next available spot if it exists. If all drivers park successfully, the sequence of choices is called a parking function. Classical parking functions correspond to the case $m=n$. We investigate various probabilistic properties of a uniform parking function. Through a combinatorial construction termed a parking function multi-shuffle, we give a formula for the law of multiple coordinates in the g…
There are several combinatorial objects that are known to be in bijection to the spanning trees of a graph G. These objects include G-parking functions, critical configurations of G, and descending traversals of G. In this paper, we extend the bijections to generalizations of all three objects.
Parking functions are a widely studied class of combinatorial objects, with connections to several branches of mathematics. On the algebraic side, parking functions can be identified with the standard monomials of $M_n$, a certain monomial ideal in the polynomial ring $S = {\mathbb K}[x_1, \dots, x_n]$ where a set of generators are indexed by the nonempty subsets of $[n] = \{1,2,\dots,n\}$. Motivated by constructions from the theory of chip-firing on graphs we study generalizations of parking functions determined by $M^{(k)}_n$, a subideal of $M_n$ obtained by allowing only generators correspo…
We study the interplay between chip-firing games and potential theory on graphs, characterizing reduced divisors ($G$-parking functions) on graphs as the solution to an energy (or potential) minimization problem and providing an algorithm to efficiently compute reduced divisors. Applications include an "efficient bijective" proof of Kirchhoff's matrix-tree theorem and a new algorithm for finding random spanning trees. The running times of our algorithms are analyzed using potential theory, and we show that the bounds thus obtained generalize and improve upon several previous results in the lit…
We associate two modules, the $G$-parking critical module and the toppling critical module, to an undirected connected graph $G$. The $G$-parking critical module and the toppling critical module are canonical modules (with suitable twists) of quotient rings of the well-studied $G$-parking function ideal and the toppling ideal, respectively. For each critical module, we establish a Tutte-like short exact sequence relating the modules associated to $G$, an edge contraction $G/e$ and an edge deletion $G \setminus e$ ($e$ is a non-bridge). We obtain purely combinatorial consequences of Tutte short…
For a graph G, we construct two algebras, whose dimensions are both equal to the number of spanning trees of G. One of these algebras is the quotient of the polynomial ring modulo certain monomial ideal, while the other is the quotient of the polynomial ring modulo certain powers of linear forms. We describe the set of monomials that forms a linear basis in each of these two algebras. The basis elements correspond to G-parking functions that naturally came up in the abelian sandpile model. These ideals are instances of the general class of monotone monomial ideals and their deformations. We sh…
We study graphs which admit an acyclic orientation that contains an out-branching and in-branching which are arc-disjoint (such an orientation is called {\bf good}). A {\bf 2T-graph} is a graph whose edge set can be decomposed into two edge-disjoint spanning trees. Clearly a graph has a good orientation if and only if it contains a spanning 2T-graph with a good orientation, implying that 2T-graphs play a central role. Vertex-minimal 2T-graphs with at least two vertices, also known as {\bf generic circuits}, play an important role in rigidity theory for graphs. It was shown in \cite{bangGOpaper…
For any connected multigraph $G=(V,E)$ and any $M\subseteq E$, if $M$ induces an acyclic subgraph of $G$ and removing all edges in $M$ yields a subgraph of $G$ whose components are complete graphs, a formula for $τ_G(M)$ is obtained, where $τ_G(M)$ is the number of spanning trees in $G$ which contain all edges in $M$. Applying this result, we can easily obtain a formula for the number of spanning trees in the line graph or the middle graph of an arbitrary graph. Applying this result, we also show that for any connected graph $G$ with a clique $U$ which is a cut-set of $G$, the number of spanni…
The chromatic polynomial and its generalization, the chromatic symmetric function, are two important graph invariants. Celebrated theorems of Birkhoff, Whitney, and Stanley show how both objects can be expressed in three different ways: as sums over all spanning subgraphs, as sums over spanning subgraphs with no broken circuits, and in terms of acyclic orientations with compatible colorings. We establish all six of these expressions bijectively. In fact, we do this with only two bijections, as the proofs in the symmetric function setting are obtained using the same bijections as in the polynom…
Given a graph $G$, the $G$-parking function ideal $M_G$ is an artinian monomial ideal in the polynomial ring $S$ with the property that a linear basis for $S/M_G$ is provided by the set of $G$-parking functions. It follows that the dimension of $S/M_G$ is given by the number of spanning trees of $G$, which by the Matrix Tree Theorem is equal to the determinant of the reduced Laplacian of $G$. The ideals $M_G$ and related algebras were introduced by Postnikov and Shapiro where they studied their Hilbert functions and homological properties. The author and Sanyal showed that a minimal resolution…
The Merino-Welsh conjecture asserts that the number of spanning trees of a graph is no greater than the maximum of the numbers of totally cyclic orientations and acyclic orientations of that graph. We prove this conjecture for the class of series-parallel graphs.
The active bijection forms a package of results studied by the authors in a series of papers in oriented matroids. The present paper is intended to state the main results in the particular case, and more widespread language, of graphs. We associate any directed graph, defined on a linearly ordered set of edges, with one particular of its spanning trees, which we call its active spanning tree. For any graph on a linearly ordered set of edges, this yields a surjective mapping from orientations onto spanning trees, which preserves activities (for orientations in the sense of Las Vergnas, for span…
We extend to infinite graphs the matroidal characterization of finite graph duality, that two graphs are dual iff they have complementary spanning trees in some common edge set. The naive infinite analogue of this fails. The key in an infinite setting is that dual trees must share between them not only the edges of their host graphs but also their ends: the statement that a set of edges is acyclic and connects all the vertices in one of the graphs iff the remaining edges do the same in its dual will hold only once each of the two graphs' common ends has been assigned to one graph but not the o…
Let $T_G(x,y)$ be the Tutte polynomial of a graph $G$. In this paper we show that if $(G_n)_n$ is a sequence of $d$-regular graphs with girth $g(G_n)\to \infty$, then for $x\geq 1$ and $0\leq y\leq 1$ we have $$\lim_{n\to \infty}T_{G_n}(x,y)^{1/v(G_n)}=t_d(x,y),$$ where $$t_d(x,y)=\left\{\begin{array}{lc} (d-1)\left(\frac{(d-1)^2}{(d-1)^2-x}\right)^{d/2-1}&\ \ \mbox{if}\ x\leq d-1,\\ x\left(1+\frac{1}{x-1}\right)^{d/2-1} &\ \ \mbox{if}\ x> d-1. \end{array}\right.$$ independently of $y$ if $0\leq y\leq 1$. If $(G_n)_n$ is a sequence of random $d$-regular graphs, then the same statement holds tr…
Much information about a graph can be obtained by studying its spanning trees. On the other hand, a graph can be regarded as a 1-dimensional cell complex, raising the question of developing a theory of trees in higher dimension. As observed first by Bolker, Kalai and Adin, and more recently by numerous authors, the fundamental topological properties of a tree --- namely acyclicity and connectedness --- can be generalized to arbitrary dimension as the vanishing of certain cellular homology groups. This point of view is consistent with the matroid-theoretic approach to graphs, and yields higher-…
Suppose one needs to change the direction of at least $εn^2$ edges of an $n$-vertex tournament $T$, in order to make it $H$-free. A standard application of the regularity method shows that in this case $T$ contains at least $f^*_H(ε)n^h$ copies of $H$, where $f^*_H$ is some tower-type function. It has long been observed that many graph/digraph problems become easier when assuming that the host graph is a tournament. It is thus natural to ask if the removal lemma becomes easier if we assume that the digraph $G$ is a tournament. Our main result here is a precise characterization of the tournamen…
A EW-tableau is a certain 0/1-filling of a Ferrers diagram, corresponding uniquely to an acyclic orientation, with a unique sink, of a certain bipartite graph called a Ferrers graph. We give a bijective proof of a result of Ehrenborg and van Willigenburg showing that EW-tableaux of a given shape are equinumerous with permutations with a given set of excedances. This leads to an explicit bijection between EW-tableaux and the much studied Le-tableaux, as well as the tree-like tableaux introduced by Aval, Boussicault and Nadeau. We show that the set of EW-tableaux on a given Ferrers diagram are i…
In this paper we study graphs which admit acyclic orientations that contain a pair of arc-disjoint out-branching and in-branching (such an orientation is called good) and we focus on edge-minimal such graphs. A 2T-graph is a graph whose edge set can be decomposed into two edge-disjoint spanning trees. Vertex-minimal 2T-graphs with at least two vertices which are known as generic circuits play an important role in rigidity theory for graphs. We prove that every generic circuit has a good orientation. Using this result we prove that if $G$ is 2T-graph whose vertex set has a partition $V_1,V_2,\l…
The Loopy Polynomial: from Tutte's Universal $V$-Function to Bizonotopal Geometry
Yanqi Lake Beijing Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Applications（燕京数学科学应用研究院）；Stockholm University（斯德哥尔摩大学）；Guangdong Technion–Israel Institute of Technology（广东以色列理工学院）；University of Oregon（俄勒冈大学）
