Adventures in Graph Theory

by W. David Joyner, Caroline Grant Melles

Overview

This textbook acts as a pathway to higher mathematics by seeking and illuminating the connections between graph theory and diverse fields of mathematics, such as calculus on manifolds, group theory, algebraic curves, Fourier analysis, cryptography and other areas of combinatorics. An overview of graph theory definitions and polynomial invariants for graphs prepares the reader for the subsequent dive into the applications of graph theory. To pique the reader’s interest in areas of possible exploration, recent results in mathematics appear throughout the book, accompanied with examples of related graphs, how they arise, and what their valuable uses are. The consequences of graph theory covered by the authors are complicated and far-reaching, so topics are always exhibited in a user-friendly manner with copious graphs, exercises, and Sage code for the computation of equations. Samples of the book’s source code can be found at github.com/springer-math/adventures-in-graph-theory.

The text is geared towards advanced undergraduate and graduate students and is particularly useful for those trying to decide what type of problem to tackle for their dissertation. This book can also serve as a reference for anyone interested in exploring how they can apply graph theory to other parts of mathematics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783319885933
Publisher:	Springer International Publishing
Publication date:	06/06/2019
Series:	Applied and Numerical Harmonic Analysis
Edition description:	Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2017
Pages:	327
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

David Joyner is a professor at the United States Naval Academy Mathematics Department. His research areas include error-correcting code, representation theory, and the applications of number theory to communication theory and cryptography.
Caroline Grant Melles is a professor at the United States Naval Academy Mathematics Department.

Table of Contents

Graphs.- Basic Definitions.- Graphs and Laplacians.- Graphs as Manifolds.- Chip-firing Games.- Interesting Graphs.- Cayley Graphs of Bent Functions and Codes.- Appendices.- Selected Answers.

Editorial Reviews

The book illustrates and explores connections between graph theory and other areas of combinatorics. … This book is really interdisciplinary and it is a good source for mathematicians of diverse areas to understand its relations with graph theory. … The text is geared towards advanced undergraduate and graduate students and is particularly useful for those trying to decide what type of problem to tackle for their dissertation.” (Vilmar Trevisan, zbMATH 1406.05001, 2019)

From the Publisher