Planar polynomial of the graphs (Q6572153)

A graph polynomial is a graph invariant whose values are polynomials. The authors coin the term planar polynomial and probe the notion of planar polynomial of a disjoint union of two graphs and prove that it can be expressed as the multiplication of the planar polynomial of each of them. They also study the planar polynomial of the join of two graphs. They introduce the flattener number of a graph \(G\) as the smallest number of the vertices of the main graph which are reduced from all vertices and the remained vertices form a planar-induced subgraph. They observe that the planar polynomial encodes the order and flattener number of all graphs, but not the number of edges, girth, and bipartiteness. They also prove that the planar polynomial is not EE-invariant and consequently, it is not a substitution instance of the Tutte polynomial or the matching polynomial. They also characterize all the graphs whose planar polynomial is of degree five and all non-connected graphs for which their planar polynomial is of degree six. They also raise a number of open problems and indicate the scope for further research.