Potentially nilpotent and spectrally arbitrary even cycle sign patterns

An n × n sign pattern S_n is potentially nilpotent if there is a real matrix having sign pattern S_n and characteristic polynomial xⁿ. A new family of sign patterns C_n with a cycle of every even length is introduced and shown to be potentially nilpotent by explicitly determining the entries of a nilpotent matrix with sign pattern C_n. These nilpotent matrices are used together with a Jacobian argument to show that C_n is spectrally arbitrary, i.e., there is a real matrix having sign pattern C_n and characteristic polynomial for any real μ_i. Some results and a conjecture on minimality of these spectrally arbitrary sign patterns are given.     

Energy of line graphs

The energy of a graph is equal to the sum of the absolute values of its eigenvalues. The energy of a matrix is equal to the sum of its singular values. We establish relations between the energy of the line graph of a graph G and the energies associated with the Laplacian and signless Laplacian matrices of G.     

The Laplacian spectral radii of trees with degree sequences

In this paper, we characterize all extremal trees with the largest Laplacian spectral radius in the set of all trees with a given degree sequence. Consequently, we also obtain all extremal trees with the largest Laplacian spectral radius in the sets of all trees of order n with the largest degree, the leaves number and the matching number, respectively.     

Ordering trees by the Laplacian coefficients

Motivated by a Mohar’s paper proposing “how to order trees by the Laplacian coefficients”, we investigate a partial ordering of trees with diameters 3 and 4 by the Laplacian coefficients. These results are used to determine several orderings of trees by the Laplacian coefficients.     

New upper bounds on the spectral radius of unicyclic graphs

Let G=(V(G),E(G)) be a unicyclic simple undirected graph with largest vertex degree Δ. Let C_r be the unique cycle of G. The graph G-E(C_r) is a forest of r rooted trees T₁,T₂,…,T_r with root vertices v₁,v₂,…,v_r, respectively. Let

     

The spectra of some trees and bounds for the largest eigenvalue of any tree

Let T be an unweighted tree of k levels such that in each level the vertices have equal degree. Let n_k−j+1 and d_k−j+1 be the number of vertices and the degree of them in the level j. We find the eigenvalues of the adjacency matrix and Laplacian matrix of T for the case of two vertices in level 1 (n_k = 2), including results concerning to their multiplicity. They are the eigenvalues of leading principal submatrices of nonnegative symmetric tridiagonal matrices of order k × k. The codiagonal entries for these matrices are , 2 ? j ? k, while the diagonal entries are 0, …, 0, ±1, in the case of the adjacency matrix, and d₁, d₂, …, d_k−1, d_k ± 1, in the case of the Laplacian matrix. Finally, we use these results to find improved upper bounds for the largest eigenvalue of the adjacency matrix and of the Laplacian matrix of any given tree.     

An explicit formula for eigenvalues of Bethe trees and upper bounds on the largest eigenvalue of any tree

A Bethe tree B_d,k is a rooted unweighted of k levels in which the root vertex has degree equal to d, the vertices at level j(2?j?k-1) have degree equal to (d+1) and the vertices at level k are the pendant vertices. In this paper, we first derive an explicit formula for the eigenvalues of the adjacency matrix of B_d,k. Moreover, we give the corresponding multiplicities. Next, we derive an explicit formula for the simple nonzero eigenvalues, among them the largest eigenvalue, of the Laplacian matrix of B_d,k. Finally, we obtain upper bounds on the largest eigenvalue of the adjacency matrix and of the Laplacian matrix of any tree T. These upper bounds are given in terms of the largest vertex degree and the radius of T, and they are attained if and only if T is a Bethe tree.     

Generalized competition index of a primitive digraph

For positive integers k and m, and a digraph D, the k-step m-competition graph of D has the same set of vertices as D and an edge between vertices x and y if and only if there are distinct m vertices v₁,v₂,…,v_m in D such that there are directed walks of length k from x to v_i and from y to v_i for 1?i?m. In this paper, we present the definition of m-competition index for a primitive digraph. The m-competition index of a primitive digraph D is the smallest positive integer k such that is a complete graph. We study m-competition indices of primitive digraphs and provide an upper bound for the m-competition index of a primitive digraph.     

A bound on the generalized competition index of a primitive matrix using Boolean rank

For a positive integer m where 1?m?n, the m-competition index (generalized competition index) of a primitive digraph is the smallest positive integer k such that for every pair of vertices x and y, there exist m distinct vertices v₁,v₂,…,v_m such that there are directed walks of length k from x to v_i and from y to v_i for 1?i?m. The m-competition index is a generalization of the scrambling index and the exponent of a primitive digraph. In this study, we determine an upper bound on the m-competition index of a primitive digraph using Boolean rank and give examples of primitive Boolean matrices that attain the bound.     

Computing tight upper bounds on the algebraic connectivity of certain graphs

A generalized Bethe tree is a rooted unweighted tree in which vertices at the same level have the same degree. Let B be a generalized Bethe tree. The algebraic connectivity of:

the generalized Bethe tree B,

a tree obtained from the union of B and a tree T isomorphic to a subtree of B such that the root vertex of T is the root vertex of B,

a tree obtained from the union of r generalized Bethe trees joined at their respective root vertices,

a graph obtained from the cycle C_r by attaching B, by its root, to each vertex of the cycle, and

a tree obtained from the path P_r by attaching B, by its root, to each vertex of the path,

is the smallest eigenvalue of a special type of symmetric tridiagonal matrices. In this paper, we first derive a procedure to compute a tight upper bound on the smallest eigenvalue of this special type of matrices. Finally, we apply the procedure to obtain a tight upper bound on the algebraic connectivity of the above mentioned graphs.

     

On the number of P-vertices of some graphs

We provide positive answers to some open questions presented recently by Kim and Shader on a continuity-like property of the P-vertices of nonsingular matrices whose graph is a path. A criterion for matrices associated with more general trees to have at most n − 1 P-vertices is established. The cases of the cycles and stars are also analyzed. Several algorithms for generating matrices with a given number of P-vertices are proposed.     

Primitive non-powerful symmetric loop-free signed digraphs with given base and minimum number of arcs

In [B.M. Kim, B.C. Song, W. Hwang, Primitive graphs with given exponents and minimum number of edges, Linear Algebra Appl. 420 (2007) 648-662], the minimum number of edges of a simple graph on n vertices with exponent k was determined. In this paper, we completely determine the minimum number, H(n,k), of arcs of primitive non-powerful symmetric loop-free signed digraphs on n vertices with base k, characterize the underlying digraphs which have H(n,k) arcs when k is 2, nearly characterize the case when k is 3 and propose an open problem.     

Eigenvalues and colorings of digraphs

Wilf’s eigenvalue upper bound on the chromatic number is extended to the setting of digraphs. The proof uses a generalization of Brooks’ Theorem to digraph colorings.     

The algebraic connectivity of graphs under perturbation

In this paper, we investigate how the algebraic connectivity of a connected graph behaves when the graph is perturbed by separating or grafting an edge.     

Maximal exponents of polyhedral cones (II)

Let K be a proper (i.e., closed, pointed, full convex) cone in Rⁿ. An n×n matrix A is said to be K-primitive if there exists a positive integer k such that ; the least such k is referred to as the exponent of A and is denoted by γ(A). For a polyhedral cone K, the maximum value of γ(A), taken over all K-primitive matrices A, is called the exponent of K and is denoted by γ(K). It is proved that the maximum value of γ(K) as K runs through all n-dimensional minimal cones (i.e., cones having n+1 extreme rays) is n²-n+1 if n is odd, and is n²-n if n is even, the maximum value of the exponent being attained by a minimal cone with a balanced relation for its extreme vectors. The K-primitive matrices A such that γ(A) attain the maximum value are identified up to cone-equivalence modulo positive scalar multiplication.     

The copositive completion problem: Unspecified diagonal entries

In [L. Hogben, C.R. Johnson, R. Reams, The copositive matrix completion problem, Linear Algebra Appl. 408 (2005) 207-211] it was shown that any partial (strictly) copositive matrix all of whose diagonal entries are specified can be completed to a (strictly) copositive matrix. In this note we show that every partial strictly copositive matrix (possibly with unspecified diagonal entries) can be completed to a strictly copositive matrix, but there is an example of a partial copositive matrix with an unspecified diagonal entry that cannot be completed to a copositive matrix.     

A lower bound for the spectral radius of a digraph

We show that the spectral radius ρ(D) of a digraph D with n vertices and c₂ closed walks of length 2 satisfies Moreover, equality occurs if and only if D is the symmetric digraph associated to a -regular graph, plus some arcs that do not belong to cycles. As an application of this result, we construct new sharp upper bounds for the low energy of a digraph, which extends Koolen and Moulton bounds of the energy to digraphs.     

Connected graphs with maximal Q-index: The one-dominating-vertex case

By the signless Laplacian of a (simple) graph G we mean the matrix Q(G)=D(G)+A(G), where A(G),D(G) denote respectively the adjacency matrix and the diagonal matrix of vertex degrees of G. For every pair of positive integers n,k, it is proved that if 3?k?n-3, then H_n,k, the graph obtained from the star K_1,n-1 by joining a vertex of degree 1 to k+1 other vertices of degree 1, is the unique connected graph that maximizes the largest signless Laplacian eigenvalue over all connected graphs with n vertices and n+k edges.     

Lower bounds for the energy of digraphs

The energy of a digraph D is defined as , where z₁,…,z_n are the eigenvalues of D. In this article we find lower bounds for the energy of digraphs in terms of the number of closed walks of length 2, extending in this way the result obtained by Caporossi et al. [G. Caporossi, D. Cvetkovi?, I. Gutman, P. Hansen, Variable neighborhood search for extremal graphs. 2. Finding graphs with extremal energy, J. Chem. Inf. Comput. Sci. 39 (1999) 984-996]: for all graphs G with m edges. Also, we study digraphs with three eigenvalues.     

New upper bounds on the spectral radius of trees with the given number of vertices and maximum degree

This paper studies the problem of estimating the spectral radius of trees with the given number of vertices and maximum degree. We obtain the new upper bounds on the spectral radius of the trees, and the results are the best upper bounds expressed by the number of vertices and maximum degree, at present.