A sharp lower bound for the Wiener index of a graph

Abstract

Given a simple connected undirected graph G, the Wiener index W(G) of G is defined as half the sum of the distances over all pairs of vertices of G. In practice, G corresponds to what is known as the molecular graph of an organic compound. We obtain a sharp lower bound for W(G) of an arbitrary graph in terms of the order, size and diameter of G.

Accepted for publication in Ars Combinatoria