Graph immersions are a natural counterpart to the widely studied concepts of graph minors and topological graph minors, and yet their theory is much less developed. In the present work we search for sufficient conditions for the existence of the immersions and the properties of the graphs avoiding an immersion of a fixed graph. We prove that large tree-with of 4-edge-connected graph implies the existence of immersion of any 4-regular graph on small number of vertices and that large maximum degree of 3-edge-connected graph implies existence of immersion of any 3-regular graph on small number of vertices.

Markov trees generalize naturally to bounded tree-width Markov networks, onwhich exact computations can still be done efficiently. However, learning themaximum likelihood Markov network with tree-width greater than 1 is NP-hard, sowe discuss a few algorithms for approximating the optimal Markov network. Wepresent a set of methods for training a density estimator. Each method isspecified by three arguments: tree-width, model scoring metric (maximumlikelihood or minimum description length), and model representation (using onejoint distribution or several class-conditional distributions). On thesemethods, we give empirical results on density estimation and classificationtasks and explore the implications of these arguments.

In this thesis we will focus on a problem of length bounded cut, also known as L-bounded cut. We are going to show a combinatorial algorithm for finding a minimal L-bounded cut on graphs with bounded treewidth based on dynamic programming. Then we going to show that this algorithm can also be used for finding minimal L-bounded cut on plannar graphs. We are also going to look at problem of (dG(s, t) + 1)-bounded cut. This problem is known to be NP-hard for general graphs. But it is an open problem whether this problem is also NP-hard on plannar graphs with special vertices on the outer face. We will try to outline a way, which might lead to showing that this problem is solvable in a polynomial time.

We consider the problem of maximizing the second smallest eigenvalue of the weighted Laplacian of a (simple) graph over all nonnegative edge weightings with bounded total weight. We generalize this problem by introducing node significances and edge lengths. We give a formulation of this generalized problem as a semidefinite program. The dual program can be equivalently written as embedding problem. This is fifinding an embedding of the n nodes of the graph in n-space so that their barycenter is at the origin, the distance between adjacent nodes is bounded by the respective edge length, and the embedded nodes are spread as much as possible. (The sum of the squared norms is maximized.) We proof the following necessary condition for optimal embeddings. For any separator of the graph at least one of the components fulfills the following property: Each straight-line segment between the origin and an embedded node of the component intersects the convex hull of the embedded nodes of the separator. There exists always an optimal embedding of the graph whose dimension is bounded by the tree-width of the graph plus one. We defifine the rotational dimension of a graph. This is the minimal dimension k such that for all choices of the node significances and edge lengths an optimal embedding of the graph can be found in k-space. The rotational dimension of a graph is a minor monotone graph parameter. We characterize the graphs with rotational dimension up to two.

This thesis examines graph polynomials and particularly their complexity. We give short proofs of two results from Gessel and Sagan (1996) which present new evaluations of the Tutte polynomial concerning orientations. A theorem of Massey et al (1997) gives an expression concerning the average size of a forest in a graph. We generalise this result to any simplicial complex. We answer a question posed by Kleinschmidt and Onn (1995) by showing that the language of partitionable simplicial complexes is in NP. We prove the following result concerning the complexity of the Tutte polynomial: Theorem 1. For any fixed k, there exists a polynomial time algorithm A, which will input any graph G, with tree-width at most k, and rational numbers x and y, and evaluate the Tutte polynomial, T(G;x,y). The rank generating function S of a graphic 2-polymatroid was introduced by Oxley and Whittle (1993). It has many similarities to the Tutte polynomial and we prove the following results. Theorem 2. Evaluating S at a fixed point (u,v) is #P-hard unless uv=1 when there is a polynomial time algorithm. Theorem 3. For any fixed k, there exists a polynomial time algorithm A, which will input any graph G, with tree-width at most k, and rational numbers u and v, and evaluate S(G;u,v). We consider a class of graphs $S$, which are those graphs which are obtainable from a graph with no edges using the unsigned version of Reidemeister moves. We examine the relationship between this class and other similarly defined classes such as the delta-wye graphs. There remain many open questions such as whether S contains every graph. However we have an invariant of the moves, based on the Tutte polynomial, which allows us to determine from which graph with no edges, if any, a particular graph can be obtained. Finally we consider a new polynomial on weighted graphs which is motivated by the study of weight systems on chord diagrams. We give three states model and a recipe theorem. An unweighted version of this polynomial is shown to contain as specialisations, a wide range of graph invariants, such as the Tutte polynomial, the polymatroid polynomial of Oxley and Whittle (1993) and the symmetric function generalisation of the chromatic polynomial introduced by Stanley (1995). We close with a discussion of complexity issues proving hardness results for very restricted classes of graphs.

Savoir comment transmettre une information est fondamental dans un réseau. Il est essentiel que chaque entité du réseau soit capable de décider localement, avec sa vue du réseau, du chemin par lequel l'information doit passer. Ainsi, il est souvent utile d'étudier la topologie du réseau, modélisée par un graphe, pour répondre à ces exigences. Nous nous intéressons dans un premier temps, à la décomposition arborescente des graphes planaires. En effet, comme dans beaucoup de problèmes de graphes, l'étude de la topologie des graphes nous conduit à procéder à une décomposition du graphe afin d'exploiter les propriétés structurelles qui en découlent. En suite, nous nous sommes aussi intéressés à la structure des graphes qui excluent un mineur H, en particulier le graphe K_{2,r}. Ces travaux nous ont permis d'améliorer les bornes actuelles connues sur la largeur arborescente de ces graphes. Dans la dernière partie, nous abordons le problème du routage compact. Nous nous sommes intéressés aux schémas de routage de plus courts chemins utilisant des adresses, des tables de routage de tailles optimales de O(log n) bits, où n est le nombre de sommets du graphe. Nous proposons un tel schéma de routage pour une famille de graphes valués contenant les arbres et les graphes planaire-extérieurs. / In a network, it is crucial to know how to construct an efficent routing scheme. It is fundamental for each entity with its local knowledge of the network, to be able to decide on which link to forward messages. Thus, it is important to sutdy the underlying network topology in order to design routing schemes. In the first part of this thesis, we construct a new tree-decomposition for planar graphs. In fact, as in many graph problems, the study of the graph structure leads to do a tree-decomposition for exploiting structural propertys of the graphs. In second part, we studied the structure of H-minor free graphs, in particular whenever H = K_{2,r}. Our results improve upon previous known bounds about the tree-width of K_{2,r}-minor free graphs. At last, we treat the problème of compact routing scheme. More precisely, we are interested in shortest-path routing schemes that use O(\log n) bits for addresses, headers and routing tables, where n is the number of vertices in the graph. We propose such a routing scheme for a large family of weighted graphs including outerplanar graphs.

This thesis deals with optimizing extremal eigenvalues of weighted graph Laplacian matrices. In general, the Laplacian matrix of a (weighted) graph is of particular importance in spectral graph theory and combinatorial optimization (e.g., graph partition like max-cut and graph bipartition). Especially the pioneering work of M. Fiedler investigates extremal eigenvalues of weighted graph Laplacians and provides close connections to the node- and edge-connectivity of a graph. Motivated by Fiedler, Göring et al. were interested in further connections between structural properties of the graph and the eigenspace of the second smallest eigenvalue of weighted graph Laplacians using a semidefinite optimization approach. By redistributing the edge weights of a graph, the following three optimization problems are studied in this thesis: maximizing the second smallest eigenvalue (based on the mentioned work of Göring et al.), minimizing the maximum eigenvalue and minimizing the difference of maximum and second smallest eigenvalue of the weighted Laplacian. In all three problems a semidefinite optimization formulation allows to interpret the corresponding semidefinite dual as a graph realization problem. That is, to each node of the graph a vector in the Euclidean space is assigned, fulfilling some constraints depending on the considered problem. Optimal realizations are investigated and connections to the eigenspaces of corresponding optimized eigenvalues are established. Furthermore, optimal realizations are closely linked to the separator structure of the graph. Depending on this structure, on the one hand folding properties of optimal realizations are characterized and on the other hand the existence of optimal realizations of bounded dimension is proven. The general bounds depend on the tree-width of the graph. In the case of minimizing the maximum eigenvalue, an important family of graphs are bipartite graphs, as an optimal one-dimensional realization may be constructed. Taking the symmetry of the graph into account, a particular optimal edge weighting exists. Considering the coupled problem, i.e., minimizing the difference of maximum and second smallest eigenvalue and the single problems, i.e., minimizing the maximum and maximizing the second smallest eigenvalue, connections between the feasible (optimal) sets are established.

This thesis deals with optimizing extremal eigenvalues of weighted graph Laplacian matrices. In general, the Laplacian matrix of a (weighted) graph is of particular importance in spectral graph theory and combinatorial optimization (e.g., graph partition like max-cut and graph bipartition). Especially the pioneering work of M. Fiedler investigates extremal eigenvalues of weighted graph Laplacians and provides close connections to the node- and edge-connectivity of a graph. Motivated by Fiedler, Göring et al. were interested in further connections between structural properties of the graph and the eigenspace of the second smallest eigenvalue of weighted graph Laplacians using a semidefinite optimization approach. By redistributing the edge weights of a graph, the following three optimization problems are studied in this thesis: maximizing the second smallest eigenvalue (based on the mentioned work of Göring et al.), minimizing the maximum eigenvalue and minimizing the difference of maximum and second smallest eigenvalue of the weighted Laplacian. In all three problems a semidefinite optimization formulation allows to interpret the corresponding semidefinite dual as a graph realization problem. That is, to each node of the graph a vector in the Euclidean space is assigned, fulfilling some constraints depending on the considered problem. Optimal realizations are investigated and connections to the eigenspaces of corresponding optimized eigenvalues are established. Furthermore, optimal realizations are closely linked to the separator structure of the graph. Depending on this structure, on the one hand folding properties of optimal realizations are characterized and on the other hand the existence of optimal realizations of bounded dimension is proven. The general bounds depend on the tree-width of the graph. In the case of minimizing the maximum eigenvalue, an important family of graphs are bipartite graphs, as an optimal one-dimensional realization may be constructed. Taking the symmetry of the graph into account, a particular optimal edge weighting exists. Considering the coupled problem, i.e., minimizing the difference of maximum and second smallest eigenvalue and the single problems, i.e., minimizing the maximum and maximizing the second smallest eigenvalue, connections between the feasible (optimal) sets are established.

We consider the problem of maximizing the second smallest eigenvalue of the weighted Laplacian of a (simple) graph over all nonnegative edge weightings with bounded total weight. We generalize this problem by introducing node significances and edge lengths. We give a formulation of this generalized problem as a semidefinite program. The dual program can be equivalently written as embedding problem. This is fifinding an embedding of the n nodes of the graph in n-space so that their barycenter is at the origin, the distance between adjacent nodes is bounded by the respective edge length, and the embedded nodes are spread as much as possible. (The sum of the squared norms is maximized.) We proof the following necessary condition for optimal embeddings. For any separator of the graph at least one of the components fulfills the following property: Each straight-line segment between the origin and an embedded node of the component intersects the convex hull of the embedded nodes of the separator. There exists always an optimal embedding of the graph whose dimension is bounded by the tree-width of the graph plus one. We defifine the rotational dimension of a graph. This is the minimal dimension k such that for all choices of the node significances and edge lengths an optimal embedding of the graph can be found in k-space. The rotational dimension of a graph is a minor monotone graph parameter. We characterize the graphs with rotational dimension up to two.:1 Introduction 1.1 Notations and Preliminaries 1.2 The Algebraic Connectivity 1.3 Two applications 1.4 Outline 2 The Embedding Problem 2.1 Semidefinite formulation 2.2 The dual as geometric embedding problem 2.3 Physical interpretation and examples 2.4 Formulation without fifixed barycenter 3 Geometrical Operations 3.1 Congruent transformations 3.2 Folding a flat halfspace 3.3 Folding and Collapsing 4 Structural properties of optimal embeddings 4.1 Separator-Shadow 4.2 Separators containing the origin 4.3 The tree-width bound 4.4 Application to trees 5 The Rotational Dimension of a graph 5.1 Defifinition and basic properties 5.2 Characterization of graphs with small rotational dimension 5.3 The Colin de Verdi ere graph parameter List of Figures Bibliography Theses

Tous les problèmes définissables en logique du second ordre monadique peuvent être résolus en temps polynomial dans les classes de graphes qui ont une largeur de clique bornée. La largeur de clique est un paramètre de graphe défini de manière algébrique, c'est-à-dire, à partir d'opérations de composition de graphes. La largeur de rang, définie de manière combinatoire, est une notion équivalente à la largeur de clique des graphes non orientés. Nous donnons une caractérisation algébrique de la largeur de rang et nous montrons qu'elle est linéairement bornée par la largeur arborescente. Nous proposons également une notion de largeur de rang pour les graphes orientés et une relation de vertex-minor pour les graphes orientés. Nous montrons que les graphes orientés qui ont une largeur de rang bornée sont caractérisés par une liste finie de graphes orientés à exclure comme vertex-minor. Beaucoup de classes de graphes n'ont pas une largeur de rang bornée, par exemple, les graphes planaires. Nous nous intéressons aux systèmes d'étiquetage dans ces classes de graphes. Un système d'étiquetage pour une propriété P dans un graphe G, consiste à assigner une étiquette, aussi petite que possible, à chaque sommet de telle sorte que l'on puisse vérifier si G satisfait P en n'utilisant que les étiquettes des sommets. Nous montrons que si P est une propriété définissable en logique du premier ordre alors, certaines classes de graphes de largeur de clique localement bornée admettent un système d'étiquetage pour P avec des étiquettes de taille logarithmique. Parmi ces classes on peut citer les classes de graphes de degré borné, les graphes planaires et plus généralement les classes de graphes qui excluent un apex comme mineur et, les graphes d'intervalle unitaire. Si x et y sont deux sommets, X un ensemble de sommets et F un ensemble d'arêtes, nous notons Conn(x,y,X,F) la propriété qui vérifie dans un graphe donné si x et y sont connectés par un chemin, qui ne passe par aucun sommet de X si aucune arête de F. Cette propriété n'est pas définissable en logique du premier ordre. Nous montrons qu'elle admet un système d'étiquetage avec des étiquettes de taille logarithmique dans les graphes planaires. Nous montrons enfin que Conn(x,y,X,0) admet également un système d'étiquetage avec des étiquettes de taille logarithmique dans des classes de graphes qui sont définies comme des combinaisons de graphes qui ont une petite largeur de clique et telles que le graphe d'intersection de ces derniers est planaire et est de degré borné. / Every property definable in onadic second order logic can be checked in polynomial-time on graph classes of bounded clique-width. Clique-width is a graph parameter defined in an algebraical way, i.e., with operations ``concatenating graphs'' and that generalize concatenation of words.Rank-width, defined in a combinatorial way, is equivalent to the clique-width of undirected graphs. We give an algebraic characterization of rank-width and we show that rank-width is linearly bounded in term of tree-width. We also propose a notion of ``rank-width'' of directed graphs and a vertex-minor inclusion for directed graphs. We show that directed graphs of bounded ``rank-width'' are characterized by a finite list of finite directed graphs to exclude as vertex-minor. Many graph classes do not have bounded rank-width, e.g., planar graphs. We are interested in labeling schemes on these graph classes. A labeling scheme for a property P in a graph G consists in assigning a label, as short as possible, to each vertex of G and such that we can verify if G satisfies P by just looking at the labels. We show that every property definable in first order logic admit labeling schemes with labels of logarithmic size on certain graph classes that have bounded local clique-width. Bounded degree graph classes, minor closed classes of graphs that exclude an apex graph as a minor have bounded local clique-width. If x and y are two vertices and X is a subset of the set of vertices and Y is a subset of the set of edges, we let Conn(x,y,X,Y) be the graph property x and y are connected by a path that avoids the vertices in X and the edges in Y. This property is not definable by a first order formula. We show that it admits a labeling scheme with labels of logarithmic size on planar graphs. We also show that Conn(x,y,X,0) admits short labeling schemes with labels of logarithmic size on graph classes that are ``planar gluings'' of graphs of small clique-width and with limited overlaps.