Facet defining inequalities among graph invariants: The system GraPHedron

We present a new computer system, called GraPHedron, which uses a polyhedral approach to help the user to discover optimal conjectures in graph theory. We define what should be optimal conjectures and propose a formal framework allowing to identify them. Here, graphs with n nodes are viewed as points in the Euclidian space, whose coordinates are the values of a set of graph invariants. To the convex hull of these points corresponds a finite set of linear inequalities. These inequalities computed for a few values of n can be possibly generalized automatically or interactively. They serve as conjectures which can be considered as optimal by geometrical arguments.We describe how the system works, and all optimal relations between the diameter and the number of edges of connected graphs are given, as an illustration. Other applications and results are mentioned, and the forms of the conjectures that can be currently obtained with GraPHedron are characterized.