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In the mathematical field of graph theory, the distance between two vertices in a graph is the number of edges in a shortest path (also called a graph geodesic) connecting them. This is also known as the geodesic distance. Notice that there may be more than one shortest path between two vertices.〔 〕 If there is no path connecting the two vertices, i.e., if they belong to different connected components, then conventionally the distance is defined as infinite. In the case of a directed graph the distance between two vertices and is defined as the length of a shortest path from to consisting of arcs, provided at least one such path exists.〔F. Harary, Graph Theory, Addison-Wesley, 1969, p.199.〕 Notice that, in contrast with the case of undirected graphs, does not necessarily coincide with , and it might be the case that one is defined while the other is not. ==Related concepts== A metric space defined over a set of points in terms of distances in a graph defined over the set is called a graph metric. The vertex set (of an undirected graph) and the distance function form a metric space, if and only if the graph is connected. The eccentricity of a vertex is the greatest geodesic distance between and any other vertex. It can be thought of as how far a node is from the node most distant from it in the graph. The radius of a graph is the minimum eccentricity of any vertex or, in symbols, . The diameter of a graph is the maximum eccentricity of any vertex in the graph. That is, it is the greatest distance between any pair of vertices or, alternatively, . To find the diameter of a graph, first find the shortest path between each pair of vertices. The greatest length of any of these paths is the diameter of the graph. A central vertex in a graph of radius is one whose eccentricity is —that is, a vertex that achieves the radius or, equivalently, a vertex such that . A peripheral vertex in a graph of diameter is one that is distance from some other vertex—that is, a vertex that achieves the diameter. Formally, is peripheral if . A pseudo-peripheral vertex has the property that for any vertex , if is as far away from as possible, then is as far away from as possible. Formally, a vertex ''u'' is pseudo-peripheral, if for each vertex ''v'' with holds . The partition of a graphs vertices into subsets by their distances from a given starting vertex is called the level structure of the graph. A graph such that for every pair of vertices there is a unique shortest path connecting them is called a geodetic graph. For example, all trees are geodetic.〔Øystein Ore, Theory of graphs (ed., 1967 ), Colloquium Publications, American Mathematical Society, 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Distance (graph theory)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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