Graph: showing that diameter is greater than average pairwise distance

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the relationship between the diameter of a graph and the average pairwise distance (apd) within that graph. Participants explore the conditions under which the diameter may be greater than the average pairwise distance, focusing on connected graphs and the implications of vertex connectivity.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses skepticism about the statement that the diameter is greater than the average pairwise distance, seeking a counterexample.
  • Another participant clarifies that in a connected graph, there exists a finite distance between any two vertices, though they may not be directly connected.
  • Further discussion confirms that any two vertices will have a connecting path, even if they are not adjacent.
  • A participant presents a specific graph construction involving a path and additional nodes, attempting to calculate the diameter and average pairwise distance.
  • There is an adjustment in the graph construction to simplify the calculations, changing parameters to facilitate finding the maximum average pairwise distance.
  • The final claim suggests that the ratio of diameter to average pairwise distance can exceed 1 under certain conditions, based on the derived formula.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on whether the diameter is definitively greater than the average pairwise distance, and the discussion includes various interpretations and calculations that remain unresolved.

Contextual Notes

Participants discuss assumptions regarding vertex connectivity and the definitions of diameter and average pairwise distance, but these assumptions are not fully clarified or agreed upon.

lemonthree
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1617632433829.png

I need to prove the above statement. I have a very strong gut feeling that the above equation is not true, and so I need to find a case where the graph diameter is greater than the average pairwise distance.

First off, I would like to clarify about the average pairwise distance, which is given below
1617632634567.png

Given that the denominator is C(n,2), I am assuming that the average pairwise distance will be taking the maximum number of edges? So in this case, the connected graph has edges connecting every single vertex to each other, always?
But how could this be? What if there was some vertex, $v_{1} $ and $v_{2} $ that is not connected?
 
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For now I can only say that in a connected graph there is a finite distance between any two vertices, but not every pair of vertices is adjacent.
 
Ah, that makes sense. Any 2 vertices will definitely have a path connecting them, just that they do not have to be "directly" connected to each other?
 
Hi, I have attempted and I am stuck at this part.

Fix $ k$. Consider G, with a path $v_{1},v_{2},...v_{k-1}$. Attach each node $u_{1},u_{2},...u_{n-(k-1)} $to $v_{1}$. This means we have attached $(n-k+1) $nodes to $v_{1}$.

$diam(G) = d(u_{1},v_{k-1}) = k-1$.

So the graph looks like this:

1618047986033.png

And now we need to find the maximum value for apd(G). How can we find the sum of the distance of all the vertices? I know for sure that there will definitely be an element from $v_{1},v_{2},...v_{k-1}$ since the distance must be at least 1.
 
Let me edit that! I feel like I could be using better values instead.

lemonthree said:
Hi, I have attempted and I am stuck at this part.

Fix $ k$ Consider G, with a path $ v_{1},v_{2},...v_{k}$ Attach each node $ u_{1},u_{2},...u_{n-k}$ to $ v_{1}$. This means we have attached $ (n-k)$ nodes to $v_{1}$.

$diam(G) = d(u_{1},v_{k-1}) = k$.

So the graph looks like this:

1618128791597.png

And now we need to find the maximum value for apd(G). How can we find the sum of the distance of all the vertices? I know for sure that there will definitely be an element from $v_{1},v_{2},...v_{k}$ since the distance must be at least 1.

I changed the $(k-1)$ to $k$ instead, in turn changing $diam(G)$ to $k$ as I think it would make things easier. Let me attempt to find the maximum value of $apd(G)$, please correct me if I'm wrong.

We want the sum of all the distance between u and v, for all u, v that exists in G. So there are $C(n,2)$ pairs. Each of these pairs has a distance of at most $k$. Therefore, the sum is $C(n,2) * k$

By the $apd(G)$ formula, $\frac{C(n,2) * k}{C(n,2)} = k $

Therefore, we have that $\frac{diam(G)}{apd(G)} > 1 $
 

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