N-trees as nestings: Complexity, similarity, and consensus (Q1104670)

The paper examines three interpretations of a tree as a set (clusters, triads, nestings). Subset nesting is preferred over the clusters and even the triads interpretations because of its superior expression of shared structure. For the nestings interpretation are defined measures of complexity, similarity measures and a normalized consensus index. The ``full consensus'' tree is defined while guaranteeing that its nondisjoint clusters bear the nesting relation in each tree of the profile. The full consensus is proved to exist uniquely and to equal the Adams consensus.