Topological graph theory

In mathematics, topological graph theory is a branch of graph theory. It studies the embedding of graphs in surfaces, spatial embeddings of graphs, and graphs as topological spaces. It also studies immersions of graphs.

This article is about the study of graph embeddings. For graphs in the plane with crossings, see topological graph.

Embedding a graph in a surface means that we want to draw the graph on a surface, a sphere for example, without two edges intersecting. A basic embedding problem often presented as a mathematical puzzle is the three utilities problem. Other applications can be found in printing electronic circuits where the aim is to print (embed) a circuit (the graph) on a circuit board (the surface) without two connections crossing each other and resulting in a short circuit.

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