Nullity (graph theory)

The nullity of a graph in the mathematical subject of graph theory can mean either of two unrelated numbers. If the graph has n vertices and m edges, then the nullity can be:

• The nullity of the adjacency matrix A of the graph, that is, n − r where r is the rank of the adjacency matrix. This nullity equals the multiplicity of the eigenvalue 0 in the spectrum of the adjacency matrix. See Cvetkovič and Gutman (1972), Cheng and Liu (2007), and Gutman and Borovićanin (2011).

• The nullity of the oriented incidence matrix M of the graph, that is, m − n + c, where c is the number of components of the graph and n − c is the rank of the oriented incidence matrix. This name is rarely used; the number is more commonly known as the cycle rank, cyclomatic number, or circuit rank of the graph. It is equal to the rank of the cographic matroid of the graph. It also equals the nullity of the Laplacian matrix of the graph, defined as L = D − A, where D is the diagonal matrix of vertex degrees; the Laplacian nullity equals the cycle rank because L = M M^T (M times its own transpose).

See also

Rank (graph theory)

References

• Bo Cheng and Bolian Liu (2007), On the nullity of graphs. Electronic Journal of Linear Algebra, vol. 16, article 5, pp. 60–67.
• Dragoš M. Cvetkovič and Ivan M. Gutman (1972), The algebraic multiplicity of the number zero in the spectrum of a bipartite graph. Matematički Vesnik (Beograd), vol. 9, pp. 141–150.
• Ivan Gutman and Bojana Borovićanin (2011), Nullity of graphs: an updated survey. Zbornik Radova (Beograd), vol. 14, no. 22 (Selected Topics on Applications of Graph Spectra), pp. 137–154.