CDAM: Computational, Discrete and Applicable Mathematics@LSE

CDAM Research Report, LSE-CDAM-2008-08

July 2008

A Matrix Method for Flow Polynomials

Norman Biggs

A method for calculating flow polynomials based on a transfer matrix is described. It is analogous to the method used for chromatic polynomials, although there is as yet no parallel development of the theory. The new method is applied to a family of bracelets, and the limit curves for the flow roots are obtained. There is an unexplained similarity between these calculations and the corresponding ones for the chromatic polynomials of the same family.

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		CDAM Research Reports Series Centre for Discrete and Applicable Mathematics London School of Economics Houghton Street London WC2A 2AE, U.K.
		Phone: +44(0)-20-7955 7494. Fax: +44(0)-20-7955 6877. Email: info@maths.lse.ac.uk