Maximum Likelihood Degrees via One-Edge Chordal Completion

Abstract

The maximum likelihood degree of a Gaussian graphical model measures the algebraic complexity of its likelihood equations. This paper studies maximum likelihood degrees of Gaussian graphical models through chordal completion. When a graph becomes chordal after one missing edge is added, its maximum likelihood degree is determined by the maximal cliques and clique-tree separators containing that edge. This recovers Uhler's formula for complete bipartite graphs with one part of size two, and extends it to deleted-spine clique books, whose degree is unchanged when a page is thickened to a clique. For several fill edges, the same method gives a product formula when no clique or separator bag contains two fill edges. We also determine four classes of vertices at which clique blow-up preserves the degree. Two follow from known results, and two are established here.