T=0 Partition Functions for Potts Antiferromagnets on Lattice Strips with Fully Periodic Boundary Conditions

We present exact calculations of the zero-temperature partition function for the $q$-state Potts antiferromagnet (equivalently, the chromatic polynomial) for families of arbitrarily long strip graphs of the square and triangular lattices with width $L_y=4$ and boundary conditions that are doubly periodic or doubly periodic with reversed orientation (i.e. of torus or Klein bottle type). These boundary conditions have the advantage of removing edge effects. In the limit of infinite length, we calculate the exponent of the entropy, $W(q)$ and determine the continuous locus ${\cal B}$ where it is singular. We also give results for toroidal strips involving ``crossing subgraphs''; these make possible a unified treatment of torus and Klein bottle boundary conditions and enable us to prove that for a given strip, the locus ${\cal B}$ is the same for these boundary conditions.Comment: 43 pages, latex, 4 postscript figure

An inertial lower bound for the chromatic number of a graph

Let $\chi(G$) and $\chi_f(G)$ denote the chromatic and fractional chromatic numbers of a graph $G$, and let $(n^+ , n^0 , n^-)$ denote the inertia of $G$. We prove that: 1 + \max\left(\frac{n^+}{n^-} , \frac{n^-}{n^+}\right) \le \chi(G) \mbox{ and conjecture that } 1 + \max\left(\frac{n^+}{n^-} , \frac{n^-}{n^+}\right) \le \chi_f(G) We investigate extremal graphs for these bounds and demonstrate that this inertial bound is not a lower bound for the vector chromatic number. We conclude with a discussion of asymmetry between $n^+$ and $n^-$, including some Nordhaus-Gaddum bounds for inertia

Asymptotic Limits and Zeros of Chromatic Polynomials and Ground State Entropy of Potts Antiferromagnets

We study the asymptotic limiting function $W({G},q) = \lim_{n \to \infty}P(G,q)^{1/n}$, where $P(G,q)$ is the chromatic polynomial for a graph $G$ with $n$ vertices. We first discuss a subtlety in the definition of $W({G},q)$ resulting from the fact that at certain special points $q_s$, the following limits do not commute: $\lim_{n \to \infty} \lim_{q \to q_s} P(G,q)^{1/n} \ne \lim_{q \to q_s} \lim_{n \to \infty} P(G,q)^{1/n}$. We then present exact calculations of $W({G},q)$ and determine the corresponding analytic structure in the complex $q$ plane for a number of families of graphs ${G}$, including circuits, wheels, biwheels, bipyramids, and (cyclic and twisted) ladders. We study the zeros of the corresponding chromatic polynomials and prove a theorem that for certain families of graphs, all but a finite number of the zeros lie exactly on a unit circle, whose position depends on the family. Using the connection of $P(G,q)$ with the zero-temperature Potts antiferromagnet, we derive a theorem concerning the maximal finite real point of non-analyticity in $W({G},q)$, denoted $q_c$ and apply this theorem to deduce that $q_c(sq)=3$ and $q_c(hc) = (3+\sqrt{5})/2$ for the square and honeycomb lattices. Finally, numerical calculations of $W(hc,q)$ and $W(sq,q)$ are presented and compared with series expansions and bounds.Comment: 33 pages, Latex, 5 postscript figures, published version; includes further comments on large-q serie

Exact Potts Model Partition Functions on Strips of the Honeycomb Lattice

We present exact calculations of the partition function of the $q$-state Potts model on (i) open, (ii) cyclic, and (iii) M\"obius strips of the honeycomb (brick) lattice of width $L_y=2$ and arbitrarily great length. In the infinite-length limit the thermodynamic properties are discussed. The continuous locus of singularities of the free energy is determined in the $q$ plane for fixed temperature and in the complex temperature plane for fixed $q$ values. We also give exact calculations of the zero-temperature partition function (chromatic polynomial) and $W(q)$, the exponent of the ground-state entropy, for the Potts antiferromagnet for honeycomb strips of type (iv) $L_y=3$, cyclic, (v) $L_y=3$, M\"obius, (vi) $L_y=4$, cylindrical, and (vii) $L_y=4$, open. In the infinite-length limit we calculate $W(q)$ and determine the continuous locus of points where it is nonanalytic. We show that our exact calculation of the entropy for the $L_y=4$ strip with cylindrical boundary conditions provides an extremely accurate approximation, to a few parts in $10^5$ for moderate $q$ values, to the entropy for the full 2D honeycomb lattice (where the latter is determined by Monte Carlo measurements since no exact analytic form is known).Comment: 48 pages, latex, with encapsulated postscript figure