  We settle the so-called degree conjecture for the separability of
multipartite quantum states, which are normalized graph Laplacians, first given
by Braunstein {\it et al.} [Phys. Rev. A \textbf{73}, 012320 (2006)]. The
conjecture states that a multipartite quantum state is separable if and only if
the degree matrix of the graph associated with the state is equal to the degree
matrix of the partial transpose of this graph. We call this statement to be the
strong form of the conjecture. In its weak version, the conjecture requires
only the necessity, that is, if the state is separable, the corresponding
degree matrices match. We prove the strong form of the conjecture for {\it
pure} multipartite quantum states, using the modified tensor product of graphs
defined in [J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. \textbf{40}, 10251 (2007)], as both
necessary and sufficient condition for separability. Based on this proof, we
give a polynomial-time algorithm for completely factorizing any pure
multipartite quantum state. By polynomial-time algorithm we mean that the
execution time of this algorithm increases as a polynomial in $m,$ where $m$ is
the number of parts of the quantum system. We give a counter-example to show
that the conjecture fails, in general, even in its weak form, for multipartite
mixed states. Finally, we prove this conjecture, in its weak form, for a class
of multipartite mixed states, giving only a necessary condition for
separability.
