| In contrast with ordinary undirected graphs for which there is a single natural notion of [[cycle (graph theory)|cycles]] and [[Forest (graph theory)|acyclic graphs]], there are multiple natural non-equivalent definitions of acyclicity for hypergraphs which collapse to ordinary graph acyclicity for the special case of ordinary graphs. | | In contrast with ordinary undirected graphs for which there is a single natural notion of [[cycle (graph theory)|cycles]] and [[Forest (graph theory)|acyclic graphs]], there are multiple natural non-equivalent definitions of acyclicity for hypergraphs which collapse to ordinary graph acyclicity for the special case of ordinary graphs. |
| A first definition of acyclicity for hypergraphs was given by [[Claude Berge]]:<ref>[[Claude Berge]], ''Graphs and Hypergraphs''</ref> a hypergraph is Berge-acyclic if its [[incidence graph]] (the [[bipartite graph]] defined above) is acyclic. This definition is very restrictive: for instance, if a hypergraph has some pair <math>v \neq v'</math> of vertices and some pair <math>f \neq f'</math> of hyperedges such that <math>v, v' \in f</math> and <math>v, v' \in f'</math>, then it is Berge-cyclic. Berge-cyclicity can obviously be tested in [[linear time]] by an exploration of the incidence graph. | | A first definition of acyclicity for hypergraphs was given by [[Claude Berge]]:<ref>[[Claude Berge]], ''Graphs and Hypergraphs''</ref> a hypergraph is Berge-acyclic if its [[incidence graph]] (the [[bipartite graph]] defined above) is acyclic. This definition is very restrictive: for instance, if a hypergraph has some pair <math>v \neq v'</math> of vertices and some pair <math>f \neq f'</math> of hyperedges such that <math>v, v' \in f</math> and <math>v, v' \in f'</math>, then it is Berge-cyclic. Berge-cyclicity can obviously be tested in [[linear time]] by an exploration of the incidence graph. |
| We can define a weaker notion of hypergraph acyclicity,<ref>C. Beeri, [[Ronald Fagin|R. Fagin]], D. Maier, [[Mihalis Yannakakis|M. Yannakakis]], ''On the Desirability of Acyclic Database Schemes''</ref> later termed α-acyclicity. This notion of acyclicity is equivalent to the hypergraph being conformal (every clique of the primal graph is covered by some hyperedge) and its primal graph being [[chordal graph|chordal]]; it is also equivalent to reducibility to the empty graph through the GYO algorithm<ref>C. T. Yu and M. Z. Özsoyoğlu. ''[https://www.computer.org/csdl/proceedings/cmpsac/1979/9999/00/00762509.pdf An algorithm for tree-query membership of a distributed query]''. In Proc. IEEE COMPSAC, pages 306-312, 1979</ref><ref name="graham1979universal">M. H. Graham. ''On the universal relation''. Technical Report, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 1979</ref> (also known as Graham's algorithm), a [[confluence (abstract rewriting)|confluent]] iterative process which removes hyperedges using a generalized definition of [[ear (graph theory)|ears]]. In the domain of [[database theory]], it is known that a [[database schema]] enjoys certain desirable properties if its underlying hypergraph is α-acyclic.<ref>[[Serge Abiteboul|S. Abiteboul]], [[Richard B. Hull|R. B. Hull]], [[Victor Vianu|V. Vianu]], ''Foundations of Databases''</ref> Besides, α-acyclicity is also related to the expressiveness of the [[guarded fragment]] of [[first-order logic]]. | | We can define a weaker notion of hypergraph acyclicity,<ref>C. Beeri, [[Ronald Fagin|R. Fagin]], D. Maier, [[Mihalis Yannakakis|M. Yannakakis]], ''On the Desirability of Acyclic Database Schemes''</ref> later termed α-acyclicity. This notion of acyclicity is equivalent to the hypergraph being conformal (every clique of the primal graph is covered by some hyperedge) and its primal graph being [[chordal graph|chordal]]; it is also equivalent to reducibility to the empty graph through the GYO algorithm<ref>C. T. Yu and M. Z. Özsoyoğlu. ''[https://www.computer.org/csdl/proceedings/cmpsac/1979/9999/00/00762509.pdf An algorithm for tree-query membership of a distributed query]''. In Proc. IEEE COMPSAC, pages 306-312, 1979</ref><ref name="graham1979universal">M. H. Graham. ''On the universal relation''. Technical Report, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 1979</ref> (also known as Graham's algorithm), a [[confluence (abstract rewriting)|confluent]] iterative process which removes hyperedges using a generalized definition of [[ear (graph theory)|ears]]. In the domain of [[database theory]], it is known that a [[database schema]] enjoys certain desirable properties if its underlying hypergraph is α-acyclic.<ref>[[Serge Abiteboul|S. Abiteboul]], [[Richard B. Hull|R. B. Hull]], [[Victor Vianu|V. Vianu]], ''Foundations of Databases''</ref> Besides, α-acyclicity is also related to the expressiveness of the [[guarded fragment]] of [[first-order logic]]. |