On Subtrees of Fan Graphs, Wheel Graphs, and “Partitions” of Wheel Graphs under Dynamic Evolution

The number of subtrees, or simply the subtree number, is one of the most studied counting-based graph invariants that has applications in many interdisciplinary fields such as phylogenetic reconstruction. Motivated from the study of graph surgeries on evolutionary dynamics, we consider the subtree problems of fan graphs, wheel graphs, and the class of graphs obtained from “partitioning” wheel graphs under dynamic evolution. The enumeration of these subtree numbers is done through the so-called subtree generation functions of graphs. With the enumerative result, we briefly explore the extremal problems in the corresponding class of graphs. Some interesting observations on the behavior of the subtree number are also presented. View Full-Tex