Block Sombor index of a graph and its matrix representation

Author(s): Vyshnavi Devaragudi1, Basavaraju Chaluvaraju1
1Department of Mathematics, Bangalore University, Jnana Bharathi Campus, Bangalore-560 056, India.
Copyright © Vyshnavi Devaragudi, Basavaraju Chaluvaraju. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

The Sombor index has gained lot of attention in the recent days for its mathematical properties and chemical applicabilities. Here, we initiated the novel block number version of the classical Sombor index and its matrix representation of a graph. The Block Sombor index BS(G) is defined as the sum total of square root of the sum of squares of block numbers of adjacent vertices, where the block number of a vertex is the number of blocks to which that vertex belongs to. The main purpose of this paper is to obtain some bounds and characterizations of BS(G) and its Block Sombor energy EBS. Also, we estimate some properties of spectral radius of Block Sombor matrix ABS(G).

Keywords: Separable graph; Non-separable graph; Sombor Index; Block Sombor Index; Block Sombor Energy.

1. Introduction

The graph G=(V,E) considered are simple, finite, non-trivial and undirected with p-vertices in V(G) and q-edges in E(G). The number of vertices adjacent to v is said to be degree of vertex v and is represented as dv. The minimum and the maximum degrees of vertices are represented as δ=δ(G) and Δ=Δ(G), respectively. For the graph theoretic terminology not defined here, we refer to [1].

A vertex whose removal results in a trivial or disconnected graph is said to be the cut vertex. A graph that is connected, non-trivial, and has no cut vertices is said to be a non-separable graph. The maximal non-separable subgraph of a graph is said to be the block of that graph. Two blocks are said to be adjacent if they have a cut vertex in common. The block number b(G) represents the total number of blocks in G. The concept of separable graphs play very significant role of Parsimony Haplotyping problem from computational biology, see [2]. For more details, we refer to [3,4,5,6,7].

A graph in which edges represent bonds and vertices represent atoms is said to be a molecular graph. The invariants of the form f(x,y) with the property f(x,y)=f(y,x) are called graphical indices. These are the real numbers derived from the structure of a graph, which are invariant under graph isomorphism. These indices reflect the chemical and physical properties of molecules. Many such invariants have been introduced so far, see [8]. Few of them are as in the Table 1.

Table 1. Graphical indices.
Graphical Index f(x,y)=f(du,dv) or f(du,bu)
Sombor Index [SO(G)] (Gutman [9]) {du2+dv2}
First Zagreb Index [M1(G)] (Gutman et al. [10]) {du+dv}
Second Zagreb Index [M2(G)] (Gutman et al. [10]) {du.dv}
Forgotten Index[F(G)] (Furtula and Gutman [11]) {du2+dv2}
First Atom Valency Block Index [AVB1(G)](Chaluvaraju and Vyshnavi  [12]) {du+bu}
Second Atom Valency Block Index[AVB2(G)] (Chaluvaraju and Vyshnavi  [12]) {du.bu}

2. Discussion and Main Results

In this section, we will discuss the concepts: Block Sombor Index, Matrix representation of Block Sombor index and Block Sombor Energy.

2.1. Block Sombor Index

Recently, many graph theorists showed interest in finding some potential mathematical properties and their chemical applicabilities of the sombor index. Inspired by these aspects, we define the Block Sombor index BS(G) of a graph G as (1)BS(G)=BS=uvE(G)bu2+bv2. where bu represents the number of blocks to which the vertex u belongs to.

Theorem 1. Let G be a separable graph with k-cut vertices. Then BS(G)=i=1k[(dcicicj1)1+bci2]+cicjbci2+bcj2+(qi=1kdci+cicj1)2.

Proof. Let G be a separable (p,q)-graph and c1,c2,,ck be the cut vertices of G. Let their degrees be dc1,dc2,,dck and block numbers be bc1,bc2,,bck, respectively. We have the following stages:

Stage 1. Since the cut vertices are adjacent to non-cut vertices and/or cut vertices, number of partitions of the form (1,bci) is the difference of the degree of the cut vertex and the number of cut vertices adjacent to it.

Stage 2. Since the number of blocks adjacent to each cut vertex varies, number of partitions of the form (bci,bcj) depends on the adjacencies of cut vertices.

Stage 3. For the non-cut vertices which belong to the same block, the number of partitions of the form (1,1) is difference of total number of edges added to the number of adjacencies of cut vertices and the sum of degrees of all cut vertices.

Formulating these partitions mentioned in three stages, we get the required result.

Corollary 1. Let G be a separable graph. Then,

  • (i) BS(G)=(qdc)2+dc1+bc2, if G has only one cut vertex.
  • (ii) BS(G)=(dc11)1+bc12+(dc21)1+bc22+bc12+bc22+(qdc1dc2+1)2, if G has two cut vertices.
  • Theorem 2. Let G be a non-separable graph with p2. Then, (3)BS(G)=2q.

    Proof. Since the block number of each vertex is exactly one in any non-separable graph G. Hence the result follows.

    Corollary 2.

    (i) For a complete graph Kp with p2, BS(Kp)=p(p1)2.
    (ii) For a cycle Cp with p3, BS(Cp)=2p.
    (iii) For a complete bipartite graph Km,n with 2mn, BS(Km,n)=2mn.
    (iv) For a generalized Petersen graph GP(n,t), GP(n,t)=32n,
    where GP(n,t) is defined to be a graph on 2n vertices with V(GP(n,t))={vi,ui:0in1} and E(GP(n,t))={vivi+1,viui,uiui+t:0in1, subscripts modulo n}.
    (v) For a n-hypercube graph Qn , BS(Qn)=n2n1/2, where Qn also called the n-cube graph is a graph whose vertex set V, consists of the 2n, n-dimensional boolean vectors, i.e., vectors with binary coordinates 0 or 1, where two vertices are adjacent whenever they differ in exactly one coordinate.
    (vi) For a m×n grid graph L(m,n), BS(L(m,n))=2(2mnnm), where the m×n grid graph can be represented as a cartesian product of Pm◻Pn of a path of length m1 and a path of length n1.

    2.1.1 Inequalities

    Lemma 1. Let G be a non-trivial connected (p,q)-graph. Then

  • (i) 1bup1. Left inequality holds if and only if u is a non-cut vertex and right inequality holds for a central vertex of a star.
  • (ii) budu. Equality holds for all vertices in a tree.
  • Theorem 3. Let G be a non-trivial connected graph. Then 2qBS(G)2q(p1). Left inequality holds if and only if G is non-separable.

    Proof. Let G be a non-trivial connected graph. By Lemma 1(i), we have 1bup1. Therefore squaring up and adding the block numbers of two vertices, we have 2bu2+bv22(p1)2. Also, taking square root of this inequality and adding up them over the number of edges, we have the required inequality. Now, we prove the second part. If the graph G has no cut vertices, then each vertex has block number bu=1 as they belong to exactly one block, which leads to the partition (1,1) for each edge uvE(G). Thus we obtain the left equality.

    For existence of right equality of the above theorem, we pose the following open problem.
    Open Problem. Characterize when BS(G)=2q(p1)?

    Theorem 4. Let G be a non-trivial connected graph. Then BS(G)SO(G).Equality holds if and only if G is a non-trivial tree.

    Proof. Let G be a simple connected graph. By Lemma 1(ii), we have BS(G)=uvE(G)bu2+bv2uvE(G)du2+dv2=SO(G). Now, we prove the second part. Since each vertex in a non-trivial tree, apart from the pendant vertices is a cut vertex, the block number of each vertex is same as the degree of that vertex. Hence the equality holds.
    Conversely, suppose BS(G)=SO(G) holds for a graph which is not a tree. Then there exist at least three vertices such that every pair of vertices are adjacent forming a complete graph. This is a contradiction to our assumption as BS(Kp)=p(p1)2 and SO(Kp)=p(p1)22. Hence BS(G)<SO(G) if G is not a tree.

    In [13], it was proven for a non-trivial connected graph that, SO(G)12(M1(G)+q(Δδ)). From the above and Theorem 4, we obtain the following result:

    Corollary 3. Let G be a simple connected graph with p2. Then BS(G)12(M1(G)+q(Δδ)).

    Theorem 5. Let G be a non-trivial connected graph. Then BS(G)2M2(G)δ(G).

    Proof. Let G be a non-trivial connected graph. Then BS(G)=uvE(G)bu2+bv2=uvE(G)bubv1bu2+1bv2uvE(G)dudv1δ2+1δ2=2M2(G)δ(G).

    Theorem 6. Let G be a non-trivial connected graph. Then BS(G)qF(G).

    Proof. Let G be a non-trivial connected graph. Then BS(G)=uvE(G)bu2+bv2=uvE(G)1.bu2+bv2uvE(G)12.uvE(G)(du2+dv2)=qF(G).

    In [14], it was proven for a non-trivial connected graph that, F(G)(Δ+δ)M1(G)2qΔδ. From the above and Theorem 6, we obtain the following result:

    Corollary 4. Let G be a simple connected graph with p2. Then BS(G)q[(Δ+δ)M1(G)2qΔδ].

    In [15], it was proven for a non-trivial connected graph that, F(G)ΔM1(G)(2qΔM1(G))2nΔ2q. From the above and Theorem 6, we obtain the following result:

    Corollary 5. Let G be a simple connected graph. Then BS(G)q[ΔM1(G)(2qΔM1(G))2nΔ2q].

    Theorem 7. Let G be a connected regular graph with p2. Then BS(G)2AVB2(G)δ(G).

    Proof.Let G be a (p,q)-regular graph with p2. Then BS(G)=uvE(G)bu2+bv2=uvE(G)bubv1bu2+1bv2uvE(G)budu1δ2+1δ2=2AVB2(G)δ(G).

    In [12], it was proven for a non-trivial connected graph that, AVB2(G)14AVB1(G)2. From the above and Theorem 7, we obtain the following result:

    Corollary 6. Let G be a simple connected graph with p2. Then BS(G)AVB1(G)222δ(G).

    2.2. Matrix representation of Block Sombor index

    The spectral graph theory including the concept of graph energy plays a good role in analyzing the matrices. For more details we refer to [16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26]. The Adjacency matrix A(G)=A=[aij]p×p of a graph G with vertex set V(G)={v1,v2,,vp} is the symmetric matrix whose elements are, aij={1,ifvivjE(G)0,otherwise. The energy EA(G)=EA of a graph G is the sum of all absolute eigen values of the adjacency matrix A. Anologously, we define the Block Sombor Matrix ABS(G)=ABS=[bsij]p×p of the graph G as the symmetric matrix of order p, whose elements are bsij={bvi2+bvj2,vivjE(G)0,otherwise. The characteristic polynomial is influential aspect of spectral graph theory, due to its algebraic construction, which has massive graphical information. For this purpose, we define the following: The Block Sombor polynomial of a graph G is defined as PBS(G,λ)=det(λIABS), where I is a p×p unit matrix. As ABS is a real symmetric matrix, all roots of ϕBS(G,λ)=0 are real. Therefore, they can be arranged in order as λ1λ2λ3λp, where λ1 is said to be spectral radius of ABS.

    Lemma 2. Let λ1λ2λp be the eigen values of ABS. Then

  • (i) i=1pλi=0.
  • (ii) i=1pλi22F(G).
  • Equality holds if and only if G is a non-trivial tree.

    Proof.Let λ1λ2λ3λp be the eigen values of ABS.

  • (i) If the sum of all the eigen values counted with multiplicities is the trace of the matrix, then the principal diagonal elements of ABS are all zeroes. Hence the trace is zero. Thus the result.
  • (ii) If {v1,v2,,vp} is the set of vertices of G, then i=1pλi2=tr(ABS2)=i=1pj=1pABS(vi,vj)ABS(vj,vi)=2vivjE(G)ABS(vi,vj)ABS(vj,vi)=2vivjE(G)bvi2+bvj22vivjE(G)dvi2+dvj2=2F(G). Now, we prove the second part of (ii).
  • Since each vertex in a non-trivial tree, other than the pendant vertices is a cut vertex, the block number of each vertex is same as the degree of that vertex. Hence the equality holds. Conversely, suppose G is not a tree but i=1pλi2=2F(G) holds. Then there exist at least three vertices such that every pair of vertices are adjacent forming a complete graph. This is a contradiction to our assumption because in a complete graph, i=1pλi2=2p(p1) and F(Kp)=2q(p1)2. Hence i=1pλi2<2F(G) if G is not a tree.
    Hence the proof.

    Theorem 8. Let G be any non-trivial connected (p,q)-graph. Then, λ12(p1)(p2)F(G).

    Proof.Let G be non-trivial connected (p,q)-graph. Then, taking ai=λi and bi=1 for i=1,2,,p in Cauchy-Schwarz inequality, we get, (i=2pλi)2(p1)i=2pλi2.(i=2pλi)2λ12(p1)[i=2pλi2λ12]. Solving this, we get the required inequality.

    2.3. Block Sombor Energy

    The Block Sombor Energy of a graph G is defined as, EBS=i=1p|λi|=i=1pσi, where σ1σ2σ3σp are the absolute values of λi.

    Lemma 3. [27] Consider a class of real polynomials P(a1,a2), of the form Pn(x)=xn+a1xn1+a2xn2+b3xn3++bn, where a1 and a2 are given real numbers. Let x1x2xn be roots of Pn(x)P(a1,a2). Then, (3)x¯+1nθn1x1x¯+1nθ(n1),(4)x¯+1nθ(i1)ni+1xix¯+1nθ(ni)i;i=2,3,,n1,(5)x¯1nθ(n1)xnx¯1nθn1, where x¯=1ni=1nxi and θ=ni=1nxi2(i=1nxi)2.

    Lemma 4. The following inequalities hold for σ1σ2σp EBSp+1pptr(ABS2)EBS2p1σ1EBSp+1p(p1)(ptr(ABS2)EBS2),EBSp+1p(i1)[ptr(ABS2)EBS2]pi+1σiEBSp+1p(pi)[ptr(ABS2)EBS2]i;i=2,3,,p1,EBSp1p(p1)(ptr(ABS2)EBS2)σpEBSp1pptr(ABS2)EBS2p1.

    Proof. Consider the polynomial, Pp(x)=i=1p(xσi)=xp+a1xp1+a2xp2+b3xp3++bp. Since a1=i=1pσi=EBS and a2=12((i=1pσi)2i=1pσi2)=12[EBS2tr(ABS)2], polynomial Pp(x) belongs to the class of real polynomials of the form P(EBS,12EBS212tr(ABS)2).
    By Lemma 3, we have, x¯=1pi=1pσi=EBSp.θ=pi=1pσi2(i=1pσi)2=ptr(ABS2)EBS2. Substituting these in inequalities (3), (4) and (5), we get the required results.

    Theorem 9. Let G be a connected (p,q)-graph with p2. Then EBSk+(p1)(tr(ABS2)k2), for any real number k with the property σ1kσp.

    Proof. By Lemma 4, we have kσ1EBSp+1p(p1)(ptr(ABS2)EBS2)(pkEBS)2(p1)ptr(ABS2)pEBS2+EBS2p2k2+EBS22pkEBS+pEBS2EBS2(p1)ptr(ABS2)(EBSk)2(p1)tr(ABS2)(p1)k2EBSk+(p1)(tr(ABS2)k2).

    By Lemma 4 and Theorem 9, we have the following result:

    Corollary 7. Let G be a (p,q)-graph with p2. Then, EBSmin{σ1+(p1)tr(ABS2)σ12),σp+(p1)tr(ABS2)σp2)}.

    Corollary 8. Let G be a (p,q)-graph with p2. Then,EBS2pF(G).

    Proof. For k=tr(ABS2)p, σ1tr(ABS2)pσp, by Theorem 9, we have, EBStr(ABS2)p+(p1)[tr(ABS2)tr(ABS2)p]=tr(ABS2)p+(p1)2ptr(ABS2)=ptr(ABS2)p2pF(G).

    Lemma 5.[28] For a sequence of non-negative real numbers b1b2bn0, (7)i=1nbi+n(n1)(i=1nbi)1n(i=1nbi)2(n1)i=1nbi+n(i=1nbi)1n.

    Theorem 10. Let G be a (p,q)-graph with p2. Then tr(ABS2)+p(p1)(|detA|)2pEBS(p1)tr(ABS2)+p(|detA|)2p.

    Proof. Substituting bi=σi2(i=1,2,,p), in equation 7 of Lemma 5, we obtain i=1pσi2+p(p1)(i=1pσi2)1p(i=1pσi2)2(p1)i=1pσi2+p(i=1pσi2)1p. tr(ABS2)+p(p1)(|detA|)2pEBS2(p1)tr(ABS2)+p(|detA|)2p. Thus, we obtain the above inequality.

    Theorem 11. Let G be a (p,q)-graph with p2. Then 2tr(ABS2)EBSptr(ABS2). Left equality holds if and only if λ1=λp,λ2=λ3==λp1=0. Right equality holds if and only if σ1=σ2==σp.

    Proof. We have, (i=1pλi)2=0=i=1pλi2+2i<jλiλj. Thus, i=1pλi2=2i<jλiλj=2|i<jλiλj|. Therefore, EBS2=(i=1p|λi|)2=i=1p|λi|2+2i<j|λi||λj|i=1p|λi|2+2|i<jλiλj|=2i=1p|λi|2=2tr(ABS2). Thus the left inequality is proved. The equality holds if and only if i<j|λi||λj|=|i<jλiλj|, that is when λ1=λp,λ2=λ3==λp1=0. The Lagrange's identity says, for (a)=(a1,a2,,an) and (b)=(b1,b2,,bn), the two sets of real numbers, i=1nai2i=1nbi2(i=1naibi)2=1i<jn(aibjajbi)2. Substituting ai=σi,bi=1,(i=1,2,,p) in the above identity, we get, pi=1pσi2(i=1pσi)2=1i<jp(σiσj)2. 1i<jp(σiσj)20 with equality if and only if σ1=σ2==σp. Thus we have, pi=1pσi2(i=1pσi)20ptr(ABS2)EBS2. Thus the right inequality is obtained.

    Corollary 9. Let G be a (p,q)-graph with p2. If bu2+bv2c>0, then 2cq2cBS(G)EBS.

    Theorem 12. For any connected (p,q)-graph with p2, 2(p1)BS(G)EA(G)(2pBS(G))12.

    Proof. Let G be a connected (p,q)-graph with p2.
    By Theorem 3, we have (8)qBS(G)2andqBS(G)2(p1). McClelland inequality is EA(G)2pq. Thus from first inequality of (8) and McClelland inequality, we have the required left inequality. Also, the required right inequality follows from the second inequality of (8).

    3. Conclusion

    Spectral graph theory has a wide variety of applications in many computational sciences. In view of the above fact, here, we discussed the properties, bounds and characterizations of the newly introduced Block Sombor Index and its Matrix representation along with Block Sombor Energy and Spectral radius of a graph.

    Author Contributions:

    All authors contributed equally to the writing of this paper. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

    Conflicts of Interest:

    “The authors declare no conflict of interest.”

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