Extensions of barrier sets to nonzero roots of the matching polynomial

Abstract

In matching theory, barrier sets (also known as Tutte sets) have been studied extensively due to their connection to maximum matchings in a graph. For a root θ of the matching polynomial, we define θ -barrier and θ -extreme sets. We prove a generalized Berge–Tutte formula and give a characterization for the set of all θ -special vertices in a graph.