Adjacency and Tensor Representation in General Hypergraphs Part 1: e-adjacency Tensor Uniformisation Using Homogeneous Polynomials

Abstract: Adjacency between two vertices in graphs or hypergraphs is a pairwise relationship. It is redefined in this article as 2-adjacency. In general hypergraphs, hyperedges hold for $n$-adic relationship. To keep the $n$-adic relationship the concepts of $k$-adjacency and e-adjacency are defined. In graphs 2-adjacency and e-adjacency concepts match, just as $k$-adjacency and e-adjacency do for $k$-uniform hypergraphs. For general hypergraphs these concepts are different. This paper also contributes in a uniformization process of a general hypergraph to allow the definition of an e-adjacency tensor, viewed as a hypermatrix, reflecting the general hypergraph structure. This symmetric e-adjacency hypermatrix allows to capture not only the degree of the vertices and the cardinality of the hyperedges but also makes a full separation of the different layers of a hypergraph.