Geodesic transitive graphs of small valency

TL;DR

This paper classifies all geodesic transitive graphs with valency up to 13, identifying seven that are distance transitive but not geodesic transitive, building on prior classifications of distance transitive graphs.

Contribution

It provides a complete classification of small valency geodesic transitive graphs, extending existing work on distance transitive graphs.

Findings

Seven graphs are distance transitive but not geodesic transitive.

Complete classification of geodesic transitive graphs with valency ≤ 13.

Utilizes prior classification of distance transitive graphs.

Abstract

For a graph $\Gamma$, the {\em distance} $d_\Gamma(u,v)$ between two distinct vertices $u$ and $v$ in $\Gamma$ is defined as the length of the shortest path from $u$ to $v$, and the {\em diameter} $\mathrm{diam}(\Gamma)$ of $\Gamma$ is the maximum distance between $u$ and $v$ for all vertices $u$ and $v$ in the vertex set of $\Gamma$. For a positive integer $s$, a path $(u_0,u_1,\ldots,u_{s})$ is called an {\em $s$-geodesic} if the distance of $u_0$ and $u_s$ is $s$. The graph $\Gamma$ is said to be {\em distance transitive} if for any vertices $u,v,x,y$ of $\Ga$ such that $d_\Ga(u,v)=d_\Ga(x,y)$, there exists an automorphism of $\Gamma$ that maps the pair $(u,v)$ to the pair $(x,y)$. Moreover, $\Gamma$ is said to be {\em geodesic transitive} if for each $i\leq \mathrm{diam}(\Ga)$, the full automorphism group acts transitively on the set of all $i$-geodesics. In the monograph [Distance-Regular Graphs, Section 7.5], the authors listed all distance transitive graphs of valency at most $13$. By using this classification, in this paper, we provide a complete classification of geodesic transitive graphs with valency at most $13$. As a result, there are exactly seven graphs of valency at most $13$ that are distance transitive but not geodesic transitive.