Decreasing the mean subtree order by adding $k$ edges

Abstract

The mean subtree order of a given graph $G$, denoted $\mu (G)$, is the average number of vertices in a subtree of $G$. Let $G$ be a connected graph. Chin, Gordon, MacPhee, and Vincent [J. Graph Theory, 89(4): 413-438, 2018] conjectured that if $H$ is a proper spanning supergraph of $G$, then $\mu (H)>\mu (G)$. Cameron and Mol [J. Graph Theory, 96(3): 403-413, 2021] disproved this conjecture by showing that there are infinitely many pairs of graphs $H$ and $G$ with $H\supset G$, $V(H)=V(G)$ and $|E(H)|=|E(G)|+1$ such that $\mu (H)<\mu (G)$. They also conjectured that for every positive integer $k$, there exists a pair of graphs $G$ and $H$ with $H\supset G$, $V(H)=V(G)$ and $|E(H)|=|E(G)|+k$ such that $\mu (H)<\mu (G)$. Furthermore, they proposed that $\mu (K_m+n{K}_1)<\mu (K_{m,n})$ provided $n\gg m$. In this note, we confirm these two conjectures.

11 Pages, 5 Figures Paper identical to JGT submission