The roots of the independence polynomial of a clawfree graph

The independence polynomial of a graph G is the polynomial Sigma(A) X-vertical bar A vertical bar, summed over all independent subsets A subset of V(G). We prove that if G is clawfree, then all the roots of its independence polynomial are real. This extends a theorem of Heilmann and Lieb [O.J. Heilmann, E.H. Lieb, Theory of monomer-dimer systems, Comm. Math. Phys. 25 (1972) 190-232], answering a question posed by Hamidoune [Y.O. Hamidonne, On the numbers of independent k-sets in a clawfree graph, J. Combin. Theory Ser. B 50 (1990) 241-244] and Stanley [R.P. Stanley, Graph colorings and related symmetric functions: Ideas and applications, Discrete Math. 193 (1998) 267-286]. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.