Spanning trees and a conjecture of Kontsevich

Abstract

Kontsevich conjectured that the number f(G,q) of zeros over the finite field with q elements of a certain polynomial connected with the spanning trees of a graph G is polynomial function of q. We have been unable to settle Kontsevich's conjecture. However, we can evaluate f(G,q) explicitly for certain graphs G, such as the complete graph. We also point out the connection between Kontsevich's conjecture and such topics as the Matrix-Tree Theorem and orthogonal geometry.