Article
Article
Graph theory
Article By:
Gross, Jonathan L. Department of Computer Science, Columbia University, New York, New York.
Last reviewed:June 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.298000
A branch of mathematics that belongs partly to combinatorial analysis and partly to topology. Its applications occur (sometimes under other names) in electrical network theory, operations research, organic chemistry, theoretical physics, and statistical mechanics, and in sociological and behavioral research. Both in pure mathematical inquiry and in applications, a graph is customarily depicted as a topological configuration of points and lines, but usually is studied with combinatorial methods. See also: Combinatorial theory; Topology
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