Chromatic polynomials of some families of graphs I: theorems and conjectures

The chromatic polynomials of ‘bracelets’ can be studied by means of a theory based on representations of the symmetric group. This paper contains a detailed study of the theory as it relates to one type of bracelet. The underlying theory is presented rather more clearly than hitherto, and some surprising features are exhibited. The methods involve an extension of the standard theory of distance-regular graphs, and they lead to several plausible conjectures.