A Tutte Polynomial for Maps

Lluis Vena , Andrew Goodall (1) , Thomas Krajewski (2, 3) , Guus Regts (4) , Lluís Vena (4)

1 Charles University - Department of Applied Mathematics and Institute of Theoretical Computer Science
2 CPT - Centre de Physique Théorique - UMR 7332
3 CPT - E2 Géométrie, Physique et Symétries
4 UvA - University of Amsterdam [Amsterdam] = Universiteit van Amsterdam

We follow the example of Tutte in his construction of the dichromate of a graph (that is, the Tutte polynomial) as a unification of the chromatic polynomial and the flow polynomial in order to construct a new polynomial invariant of maps (graphs embedded in orientable surfaces). We call this the surface Tutte polynomial. The surface Tutte polynomial of a map contains the Las Vergnas polynomial, Bollob\'as-Riordan polynomial and Kruskhal polynomial as specializations. By construction, the surface Tutte polynomial includes among its evaluations the number of local tensions and local flows taking values in any given finite group. Other evaluations include the number of quasi-forests.

Domaines: Combinatoire [math.CO]

Lluis Vena, Andrew Goodall, Thomas Krajewski, Guus Regts, Lluís Vena. A Tutte Polynomial for Maps. Combinatorics, Probability and Computing, 2018, 27 (06), pp.913-945. ⟨10.1017/S0963548318000081⟩. ⟨hal-02049533⟩