How to prove all the non-isomorphic subgraphs of a graph with four vertices

graph theory

this is my first post here so I apologise if I have avoided the post etiquette on this site. I have seen previous questions about graph isomorphism, but I am confused whether the answers in my mock paper are correct or if I have misunderstood how isomorphism works.

I have been given a question where I must construct all the subgraphs of a specific graph that are non-isomorphic.

My question is, can you make it clear to me why the following graphs are all non-isomorphic? I have linked the original question as well as the answers from Imgur, so I hope you don't have trouble seeing the images. Here is a link to the answers given to me. Are they correct? Is that every subgraph that answers the question, or are there more? Why is this the case and how do we reach this conclusion?

I understand that for any two graphs to be isomorphic, they must satisfy the following conditions:

  • The graphs must have the same number of edges and vertices.
  • Both graphs must have the same degree sequence (the set of vertex-degrees must be the same).
  • Each graph must be either connected or disconnected.

It is not clear but I believe we are checking if the subgraphs have to be non-isomorphic to each other, as none of them can be the same as the (original) parent graph.

Thank you for your help.

Best Answer

A graph isomorphism between graphs $G$ and $H$ is a bijective correspondence (a one-to-one and onto) function from the vertices and edges of one graph to the vertices and edges of the other. In other words, up to a cosmetic relabeling of the vertices and edges, graph $G$ is the same as $H$. Those properties that you listed are a consequence of having a graph isomorphism.

Showing that two graphs are not isomorphic essentially amounts to a proof by contradiction. We suppose that they are isomorphic, then deduce something about them that is contrary to their actual properties. For instance, the subgraphs in your question each have a different number of edges, and any isomorphism would preserve this number, so no two of them can be isomorphic.


This example is almost too easy, so it doesn't illustrate the ideas very well. Instead consider, on the one hand, the $T$-shaped graph (bottom left in your figure). This is more commonly called the star graph $S_3$ since it has a central vertex connected to each of $3$ "radial" vertices. On the other hand, consider the path graph consisting of $4$ vertices in a line. (In the language of Dynkin diagrams, these particular graphs are $D_4$ and $A_4$, respectively.)

I claim that these are not isomorphic. But how do you show it? It's easy to see that each of these graphs has $4$ vertices and $3$ edges. However, in the star graph, there's a special vertex of degree $3$; whereas, in the path graph, no such vertex exists. Since any supposed isomorphism from one to the other would have to map this special vertex to some vertex in the path graph, we've arrived at a contradiction.