4 research outputs found
Bounds on the Complex Zeros of (Di)Chromatic Polynomials and Potts-Model Partition Functions
I show that there exist universal constants such that, for
all loopless graphs of maximum degree , the zeros (real or complex)
of the chromatic polynomial lie in the disc . Furthermore,
. This result is a corollary of a more general result
on the zeros of the Potts-model partition function in the
complex antiferromagnetic regime . The proof is based on a
transformation of the Whitney-Tutte-Fortuin-Kasteleyn representation of to a polymer gas, followed by verification of the
Dobrushin-Koteck\'y-Preiss condition for nonvanishing of a polymer-model
partition function. I also show that, for all loopless graphs of
second-largest degree , the zeros of lie in the disc . Along the way, I give a simple proof of a generalized (multivariate)
Brown-Colbourn conjecture on the zeros of the reliability polynomial for the
special case of series-parallel graphs.Comment: 47 pages (LaTeX). Revised version contains slightly simplified proofs
of Propositions 4.2 and 4.5. Version 3 fixes a silly error in my proof of
Proposition 4.1, and adds related discussion. To appear in Combinatorics,
Probability & Computin
Chromatic roots are dense in the whole complex plane
I show that the zeros of the chromatic polynomials P_G(q) for the generalized
theta graphs \Theta^{(s,p)} are, taken together, dense in the whole complex
plane with the possible exception of the disc |q-1| < 1. The same holds for
their dichromatic polynomials (alias Tutte polynomials, alias Potts-model
partition functions) Z_G(q,v) outside the disc |q+v| < |v|. An immediate
corollary is that the chromatic zeros of not-necessarily-planar graphs are
dense in the whole complex plane. The main technical tool in the proof of these
results is the Beraha-Kahane-Weiss theorem on the limit sets of zeros for
certain sequences of analytic functions, for which I give a new and simpler
proof.Comment: LaTeX2e, 53 pages. Version 2 includes a new Appendix B. Version 3
adds a new Theorem 1.4 and a new Section 5, and makes several small
improvements. To appear in Combinatorics, Probability & Computin