Elimination tree ($\mathrm{parent}(j)=\min \{i>j:L_{ij}\ne 0\}$)

For a symmetric factorization in a fixed ordering, the elimination tree assigns the displayed parent to a column of the lower-triangular factor when that set is nonempty. A column with no later entry is a root. The tree records dependencies of descendant updates on later pivots, supports symbolic factor allocation, and exposes parallel subtrees. It describes the factorization ordering, not merely a spanning tree of the original matrix graph.