Edge-transitivity of Cayley graphs generated by transpositions

Let $S$ be a set of transpositions generating the symmetric group $S_n$. The transposition graph of $S$ is defined to be the graph with vertex set $\{1,\ldots,n\}$, and with vertices $i$ and $j$ being adjacent in $T(S)$ whenever $(i,j) \in S$. In the present note, it is proved that two transposition graphs are isomorphic if and only if the corresponding two Cayley graphs are isomorphic. It is also proved that the transposition graph $T(S)$ is edge-transitive if and only if the Cayley graph $Cay(S_n,S)$ is edge-transitive

Reconstruction of permutations distorted by single transposition errors

The reconstruction problem for permutations on $n$ elements from their erroneous patterns which are distorted by transpositions is presented in this paper. It is shown that for any $n \geq 3$ an unknown permutation is uniquely reconstructible from 4 distinct permutations at transposition distance at most one from the unknown permutation. The {\it transposition distance} between two permutations is defined as the least number of transpositions needed to transform one into the other. The proposed approach is based on the investigation of structural properties of a corresponding Cayley graph. In the case of at most two transposition errors it is shown that $\frac32(n-2)(n+1)$ erroneous patterns are required in order to reconstruct an unknown permutation. Similar results are obtained for two particular cases when permutations are distorted by given transpositions. These results confirm some bounds for regular graphs which are also presented in this paper.Comment: 5 pages, Report of paper presented at ISIT-200

Maximum likelihood estimates of pairwise rearrangement distances

Accurate estimation of evolutionary distances between taxa is important for many phylogenetic reconstruction methods. In the case of bacteria, distances can be estimated using a range of different evolutionary models, from single nucleotide polymorphisms to large-scale genome rearrangements. In the case of sequence evolution models (such as the Jukes-Cantor model and associated metric) have been used to correct pairwise distances. Similar correction methods for genome rearrangement processes are required to improve inference. Current attempts at correction fall into 3 categories: Empirical computational studies, Bayesian/MCMC approaches, and combinatorial approaches. Here we introduce a maximum likelihood estimator for the inversion distance between a pair of genomes, using the group-theoretic approach to modelling inversions introduced recently. This MLE functions as a corrected distance: in particular, we show that because of the way sequences of inversions interact with each other, it is quite possible for minimal distance and MLE distance to differently order the distances of two genomes from a third. This has obvious implications for the use of minimal distance in phylogeny reconstruction. The work also tackles the above problem allowing free rotation of the genome. Generally a frame of reference is locked, and all computation made accordingly. This work incorporates the action of the dihedral group so that distance estimates are free from any a priori frame of reference.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figures. To appear in the Journal of Theoretical Biolog

Finite 33-connected homogeneous graphs

A finite graph \G is said to be {\em $(G,3)$-$($connected$)$ homogeneous} if every isomorphism between any two isomorphic (connected) subgraphs of order at most $3$ extends to an automorphism $g\in G$ of the graph, where $G$ is a group of automorphisms of the graph. In 1985, Cameron and Macpherson determined all finite $(G, 3)$-homogeneous graphs. In this paper, we develop a method for characterising $(G,3)$-connected homogeneous graphs. It is shown that for a finite $(G,3)$-connected homogeneous graph \G=(V, E), either G_v^{\G(v)} is $2$--transitive or G_v^{\G(v)} is of rank $3$ and \G has girth $3$, and that the class of finite $(G,3)$-connected homogeneous graphs is closed under taking normal quotients. This leads us to study graphs where $G$ is quasiprimitive on $V$. We determine the possible quasiprimitive types for $G$ in this case and give new constructions of examples for some possible types

Tree-like properties of cycle factorizations

We provide a bijection between the set of factorizations, that is, ordered (n-1)-tuples of transpositions in ${\mathcal S}_{n}$ whose product is (12...n), and labelled trees on $n$ vertices. We prove a refinement of a theorem of D\'{e}nes that establishes new tree-like properties of factorizations. In particular, we show that a certain class of transpositions of a factorization correspond naturally under our bijection to leaf edges of a tree. Moreover, we give a generalization of this fact.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure