Centre for Discrete and Applicable Mathematics
	CDAM Research Report, LSE-CDAM-2000-04 May 2000

Abstract

The subject of this paper is the calculation of the chromatic polynomials of graphs that have cyclic symmetry. There are two basic steps. First, a compatibility operator  T  is defined, and a sieve formula for its action is established. Then it is shown that in certain circumstances it is possible to use this formula to construct invariant subspaces for  T.  The resulting eigenvalues and their multiplicities determine terms of the chromatic polynomial, and these terms have special significance in the study of the critical behaviour of physical processes.

The scope of the method is illustrated by three applications. In each case explicit results are obtained and used to provide information about the location of the complex zeros of the chromatic polynomial.

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