The zero-divisor associate graph over a finite commutative ring.

In this paper, we introduce the zero-divisor associate graph Γ_D(R) over a finite commutative ring R. It is a simple undirected graph whose vertex set consists of all non-zero elements of R, and two vertices a, b are adjacent if and only if there exist non-zero zero-divisors z₁, z₂ in R such that az₁ = bz₂. We determine the necessary and sufficient conditions for connectedness and completeness of Γ_D(R) for a unitary commutative ring R. The chromatic number of Γ_D(R) is also studied. Next, we characterize the rings R for which Γ_D(R) becomes a line graph of some graph. Finally, we give the complete list of graphs with at most 15 vertices which are realizable as Γ_D(R), characterizing the associated ring R in each case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]