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The probability that a point of a tree is fixed

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 October 2008

Frank Harary  and
Edgar M. Palmer
Frank Harary
Affiliation:
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, U.S.A.
Edgar M. Palmer
Affiliation:
Michigan State University, East Lansing, U.S.A.
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Abstract

Using arguments involving combinatorial enumeration and asymptotics we compute the probability that a point of a random tree is fixed. The method is also applied to homeomorphically irreducible trees to illustrate how it works for other species of trees. To the nearest per cent, the limiting probability of a fixed point in a randomtree is 70%, and for homeomorphically irreducible trees it is 20%.

Type
Research Article
Information
Mathematical Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society , Volume 85 , Issue 3 , May 1979 , pp. 407 - 415
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge Philosophical Society 1979

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References

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