Abstract

The zero forcing number is a graph parameter first introduced as a tool for solving the minimum rank problem, which is: Given a simple, undirected graph G, and a field F, let S(F,G) denote the set of all symmetric matrices A=[a_{ij}] with entries in F such that a_{ij} doess not equal 0 if and only if ij is an edge in G. Find the minimum possible rank of a matrix in S(F,G). It is known that the zero forcing number Z(G) provides an upper bound for the maximum nullity of a graph. I investigate properties of the zero forcing number, including its behavior under various graph operations.

Degree

MS

College and Department

Physical and Mathematical Sciences; Mathematics

Rights

http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/

Date Submitted

2009-07-06

Document Type

Thesis

Handle

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/etd2999

Keywords

Graph Theory, Zero Forcing, Minimum rank, symmetric matrix, maximum nullity

Language

English

Included in

Mathematics Commons

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