Extrema Property of the $k$-Ranking of Directed Paths and Cycles

A $k$-ranking of a directed graph $G$ is a labeling of the vertex set of $G$ with $k$ positive integers such that every directed path connecting two vertices with the same label includes a vertex with a larger label in between. The rank number of $G$ is defined to be the smallest $k$ such that $G$ has a $k$-ranking. We find the largest possible directed graph that can be obtained from a directed path or a directed cycle by attaching new edges to the vertices such that the new graphs have the same rank number as the original graphs. The adjacency matrix of the resulting graph is embedded in the Sierpiński triangle. We present a connection between the number of edges that can be added to paths and the Stirling numbers of the second kind. These results are generalized to create directed graphs which are unions of directed paths and directed cycles that maintain the rank number of a base graph of a directed path or a directed cycle.