The extremal function and Colin de Verdière graph parameter (Q1753124)

Summary: The Colin de Verdière parameter \(\mu(G)\) is a minor-monotone graph parameter with connections to differential geometry. We study the conjecture that for every integer \(t\), if \(G\) is a graph with at least \(t\) vertices and \(\mu(G) \leq t\), then \(|E(G)| \leq t|V(G)|-\binom{t+1}{2}\). We observe a relation to the graph complement conjecture for the Colin de Verdière parameter and prove the conjectured edge upper bound for graphs \(G\) such that either \(\mu(G) \leq 7\), or \(\mu(G) \geq |V(G)|-6\), or the complement of \(G\) is chordal, or \(G\) is chordal.