An algorithm for calculating the independence and vertex-cover polynomials of a graph

The independence polynomial, ω(G,x)=∑wkxk, of a graph, G, has coefficients, wk, that enumerate the ways of selecting k vertices from G so that no two selected vertices share an edge. The independence number of G is the largest value of k for which wk≠0. Little is known of less straightforward relationships between graph structure and the properties of ω(G,x), in part because of the difficulty of calculating values of wk for specific graphs. This study presents a new algorithm for these calculations which is both faster than existing ones and easily adaptable to high-level computer languages.