Sharp lower bounds for the number of maximum matchings in bipartite multigraphs

Abstract

We study the minimum number of maximum matchings in a bipartite multigraph with parts and under various conditions, refining the well‐known lower bound due to M. Hall. When , every vertex in has degree at least , and every vertex in has at least distinct neighbors, the minimum is when and is when . When every vertex has at least two neighbors and , the minimum is , where . We also determine the minimum number of maximum matchings in several other situations. We provide a variety of sharpness constructions.