Investigating independent subsets of graphs, with Mathematica

Abstract

With this work we aim to show how Mathematica can be a useful tool to investigate properties of combinatorial structures. Specifically, we will face enumeration problems on independent subsets of powers of paths and cycles, trying to highlight the correspondence with other combinatorial objects with the same cardinality. Then we will study the structures obtained by ordering properly independent subsets of paths and cycles. We will approach some enumeration problems on the resulting partially ordered sets, putting in evidence the correspondences with structures known as Fibonacci and Lucas Cubes.