K-eccentricity and absolute k-centrum of a probabilistic Tree

The k-eccentricity evaluated at a point x of a graph G is the sum of the (weighted) distances from x to the k vertices farthest from it. The k-centrum is the set of vertices for which the k-eccentricity is a minimum. The concept of k-centrum includes, as a particular case, that of center and that of centroid (or median) of a graph. The absolute k-centrum is the set of points (not necessarily vertices) for which the k-eccentricity is a minimum. In this paper it will be proven that, for a weighted tree, both deterministic and probabilistic, the k-eccentricity is a convex function and that the absolute k-centrum is a connected set and is contained in an elementary path. Hints will be given for the construction of an algorithm to find the k-centrum and the absolute k-centrum.