Destroying automorphisms by fixing nodes (Q856873)

The fixing number of a graph \(G\) is the minimum cardinality of a subset \(S\) of \(V(G)\) such that every nonidentity automorphism of \(G\) moves at least one vertex in \(S\). The authors find a formula for the fixing number of an arbitrary graph in terms of the fixing numbers of its components, make observations about graphs with small fixing numbers, determine the fixing number of an arbitrary tree, and characterize those trees having fixing number 1 (a tree has fixing number 1 if and only if its automorphism group has order 2).