Wiener index of trees: Theory and applications (Q5945242)

The Wiener index of a connected graph \(G\) is defined as the sum of distances between all pairs of vertices of \(G\). This parameter is named after the chemist Harold Wiener who observed a remarkable correlation between this number and boiling points of paraffins. This survey outlines the known works about the Wiener index of trees with the main emphasis on mathematical results. Some conjectures and open problems are mentioned, as well as applications in chemistry, communication theory and some related areas.