The maximum number of maximum dissociation sets in potted graphs

Abstract

A potted graph is a unicyclic graph such that its cycle contains a unique vertex with degree larger than 2. Given a graph $G$, a subset of $V(G)$ is a dissociation set of $G$ if it induces a subgraph with maximum degree at most one. A maximum dissociation set is a dissociation set with maximum cardinality. In this paper, we determine the maximum number of maximum dissociation sets in a potted graph of order $n$ which contains a fixed cycle. Extremal potted graphs attaining this maximum number are also characterized.