Hosoya and Merrifield-Simmons indices in random polyphenyl chains

Abstract

The Hosoya index of a graph is the total number of matchings in it. And the Merrifield-Simmons index is the total number of independent sets in it. They are typical examples of graph invariants used in mathematical chemistry for quantifying relevant details of molecular structure. In this paper, we obtain explicit analytical expressions for the expectations of the Hosoya index and the Merrifield-Simmons index of a random polyphenyl chain.