On the maximum number of maximum dissociation sets in trees with given dissociation number

Abstract

In a graph $G$, a subset of vertices is a dissociation set if it induces a subgraph with vertex degree at most 1. A maximum dissociation set is a dissociation set of maximum cardinality. The dissociation number of $G$, denoted by $\psi (G)$, is the cardinality of a maximum dissociation set of $G$. Extremal problems involving counting the number of a given type of substructure in a graph have been a hot topic of study in extremal graph theory throughout the last few decades. In this paper, we determine the maximum number of maximum dissociation sets in a tree with prescribed dissociation number and the extremal trees achieving this maximum value.