Zero forcing and maximum nullity for hypergraphs

Abstract: The concept of zero forcing is extended from graphs to uniform hypergraphs in analogy with the way zero forcing was defined as an upper bound for the maximum nullity of the family of symmetric matrices whose nonzero pattern of entries is described by a given graph: A family of symmetric hypermatrices is associated with a uniform hypergraph and zeros are forced in a null vector. The value of the hypergraph zero forcing number and maximum nullity are determined for various families of uniform hypergraphs and the effects of several graph operations on the hypergraph zero forcing number are determined. The hypergraph zero forcing number is compared to the infection number of a hypergraph and the iteration process in hypergraph power domination.