[Math] Directed graph with all indegree = outdegree = 1

graph theory

I am using math as a tool and for entertainment, I am not a pro, I do not understand most of the posts here but I am glad such site exists.

Anyway, a friend asked me a question the other day, and I was able to redefine it in terms of a directed graph where all nodes in and out degree equal to 1. I know that If if each node's indegree equals to outdegree that is called an Eulerian graph, what I am asking is a special case of these graphs. Do they have a name or are their properties known?

Best Answer

These types of graphs are equivalent to permutations (or permutations without fixed points, if you're not allowed a vertex to have an edge to itself). If there is an edge from a to b, then a is mapped to b. These are extremely well-studied in mathematics.

[As Prometheus remarks, permutations are equivalent to a collection of cycles]

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