A short survey on stable polynomials, orientations and matchings (Q2116365)

This paper is a short survey on the theory of stable polynomials and their applications. It presents a common generalization of two theorems of \textit{A. Schrijver} [Combinatorica 3, 375--380 (1983; Zbl 0529.05031); J. Comb. Theory, Ser. B 72, No. 1, 122--135 (1998; Zbl 0905.05060)]. The first asserts that for a \(d\)-regular, bipartite graph \(G\) on \(2n\) vertices, the number \(\operatorname{pm}(G)\) of perfect matchings in \(G\) satisfies \(\operatorname{pm}(G) \geq (\frac{(d-1)^{d-1}} {d^{d-2}})^{n}\). The second theorem claims that for even \(d\), the number \(\epsilon(G)\) of Eulerian orientations in a \(d\)-regular graph \(G\) on \(n\) vertices satisfies \(\epsilon(G) \geq \Bigl(\frac{\binom{d}{d/2}}{2^{d/2}}\Bigr)^{n}\). Following the strategy of \textit{L. Gurvits} [Electron. J. Comb. 15, No. 1, Research Paper R66, 25 p. (2008; Zbl 1182.15008)] based on the concepts of real stability and the capacity of a polynomial, new proofs of these theorems are given providing at the same time a common generalization.