Maximum nullity of outerplanar graphs and the path cover number

Let G=(V,E) be a graph with V={1,2,…,n}. Define S(G) as the set of all n×n real-valued symmetric matrices A=[a_ij] with a_ij≠0,i≠j if and only if ij∈E. By M(G) we denote the largest possible nullity of any matrix A∈S(G). The path cover number of a graph G, denoted P(G), is the minimum number of vertex disjoint paths occurring as induced subgraphs of G which cover all the vertices of G.There has been some success with relating the path cover number of a graph to its maximum nullity. Johnson and Duarte [5], have shown that for a tree T,M(T)=P(T). Barioli et al. [2], show that for a unicyclic graph G,M(G)=P(G) or M(G)=P(G)-1. Notice that both families of graphs are outerplanar. We show that for any outerplanar graph G,M(G)?P(G). Further we show that for any partial 2-path G,M(G)=P(G).     

The signless Laplacian spectral radius of tricyclic graphs and trees with k pendant vertices

In this paper, we consider the following problem: of all tricyclic graphs or trees of order n with k pendant vertices (n,k fixed), which achieves the maximal signless Laplacian spectral radius?We determine the graph with the largest signless Laplacian spectral radius among all tricyclic graphs with n vertices and k pendant vertices. Then we show that the maximal signless Laplacian spectral radius among all trees of order n with k pendant vertices is obtained uniquely at T_n,k, where T_n,k is a tree obtained from a star K_1,k and k paths of almost equal lengths by joining each pendant vertex to one end-vertex of one path. We also discuss the signless Laplacian spectral radius of T_n,k and give some results.     

On the diameters of commuting graphs

The commuting graph of a ring R, denoted by Γ(R), is a graph whose vertices are all non-central elements of R and two distinct vertices x and y are adjacent if and only if xy = yx. Let D be a division ring and n ? 3. In this paper we investigate the diameters of Γ(M_n(D)) and determine the diameters of some induced subgraphs of Γ(M_n(D)), such as the induced subgraphs on the set of all non-scalar non-invertible, nilpotent, idempotent, and involution matrices in M_n(D). For every field F, it is shown that if Γ(M_n(F)) is a connected graph, then diam Γ(M_n(F)) ? 6. We conjecture that if Γ(M_n(F)) is a connected graph, then diam Γ(M_n(F)) ? 5. We show that if F is an algebraically closed field or n is a prime number and Γ(M_n(F)) is a connected graph, then diam Γ(M_n(F)) = 4. Finally, we present some applications to the structure of pairs of idempotents which may prove of independent interest.     

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.     

On the signless Laplacian spectral radius of graphs with cut vertices

In this paper, we show that among all the connected graphs with n vertices and k cut vertices, the maximal signless Laplacian spectral radius is attained uniquely at the graph G_n,k, where G_n,k is obtained from the complete graph K_n-k by attaching paths of almost equal lengths to all vertices of K_n-k. We also give a new proof of the analogous result for the spectral radius of the connected graphs with n vertices and k cut vertices (see [A. Berman, X.-D. Zhang, On the spectral radius of graphs with cut vertices, J. Combin. Theory Ser. B 83 (2001) 233-240]). Finally, we discuss the limit point of the maximal signless Laplacian spectral radius.     

Graphs with maximal signless Laplacian spectral radius

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. It is known that connected graphs G that maximize the signless Laplacian spectral radius ρ(Q(G)) over all connected graphs with given numbers of vertices and edges are (degree) maximal. For a maximal graph G with n vertices and r distinct vertex degrees δ_r>δ_r-1>?>δ₁, it is proved that ρ(Q(G))<ρ(Q(H)) for some maximal graph H with n+1 (respectively, n) vertices and the same number of edges as G if either G has precisely two dominating vertices or there exists an integer such that δ_i+δ_r+1-i?n+1 (respectively, δ_i+δ_r+1-i?δ_l+δ_r-l+1). Graphs that maximize ρ(Q(G)) over the class of graphs with m edges and m-k vertices, for k=0,1,2,3, are completely determined.     

The Laplacian spectral radius of some bipartite graphs

In this paper, we study the largest Laplacian spectral radius of the bipartite graphs with n vertices and k cut edges and the bicyclic bipartite graphs, respectively. Identifying the center of a star K_1,k and one vertex of degree n of K_m,n, we denote by the resulting graph. We show that the graph (1?k?n-4) is the unique graph with the largest Laplacian spectral radius among the bipartite graphs with n vertices and k cut edges, and (n?7) is the unique graph with the largest Laplacian spectral radius among all the bicyclic bipartite graphs.     

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.     

The inverse inertia problem for graphs: Cut vertices, trees, and a counterexample

Let G be an undirected graph on n vertices and let S(G) be the set of all real symmetric n×n matrices whose nonzero off-diagonal entries occur in exactly the positions corresponding to the edges of G. The inverse inertia problem for G asks which inertias can be attained by a matrix in S(G). We give a complete answer to this question for trees in terms of a new family of graph parameters, the maximal disconnection numbers of a graph. We also give a formula for the inertia set of a graph with a cut vertex in terms of inertia sets of proper subgraphs. Finally, we give an example of a graph that is not inertia-balanced, which settles an open problem from the October 2006 AIM Workshop on Spectra of Families of Matrices described by Graphs, Digraphs and Sign Patterns. We also determine some restrictions on the inertia set of any graph.     

Graphs with certain families of spanning trees

Sufficient conditions are given in terms of δ(G) and Δ(T), for a graph G with n vertices to contain a tree T with n vertices. One of these sufficient conditions is used to calculate some of the Ramsey numbers for the pair tree-star. Also necessary conditions are given, in terms of δ(G), for a graph G with n vertices to contain all trees with n vertices.     

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

     

Bijective linear maps on semimodules spanned by Boolean matrices of fixed rank

Let M_m,n(B) be the semimodule of all m×n Boolean matrices where B is the Boolean algebra with two elements. Let k be a positive integer such that 2?k?min(m,n). Let B(m,n,k) denote the subsemimodule of M_m,n(B) spanned by the set of all rank k matrices. We show that if T is a bijective linear mapping on B(m,n,k), then there exist permutation matrices P and Q such that T(A)=PAQ for all A∈B(m,n,k) or m=n and T(A)=PA^tQ for all A∈B(m,n,k). This result follows from a more general theorem we prove concerning the structure of linear mappings on B(m,n,k) that preserve both the weight of each matrix and rank one matrices of weight k². Here the weight of a Boolean matrix is the number of its nonzero entries.     

Eigenvalues and degree deviation in graphs

Let G be a graph with n vertices and m edges and let μ(G) = μ₁(G) ? ? ? μ_n(G) be the eigenvalues of its adjacency matrix. Set s(G)=∑_u∈V(G)∣d(u)-2m/n∣. We prove that

     

On the maximal energy tree with two maximum degree vertices

For a simple graph G, the energy E(G) is defined as the sum of the absolute values of all eigenvalues of its adjacent matrix.For Δ?3 and t?3, denote by T_a(Δ,t) (or simply T_a) the tree formed from a path P_t on t vertices by attaching Δ-1P₂’s on each end of the path P_t, and T_b(Δ,t) (or simply T_b) the tree formed from P_t+2 by attaching Δ-1P₂’s on an end of the P_t+2 and Δ-2P₂’s on the vertex next to the end.In Li et al.(2009) [16] proved that among trees of order n with two vertices of maximum degree Δ, the maximal energy tree is either the graph T_a or the graph T_b, where t=n+4-4Δ?3.However, they could not determine which one of T_a and T_b is the maximal energy tree.This is because the quasi-order method is invalid for comparing their energies.In this paper, we use a new method to determine the maximal energy tree.It turns out that things are more complicated.We prove that the maximal energy tree is T_b for Δ?7 and any t?3, while the maximal energy tree is T_a for Δ=3 and any t?3.Moreover, for Δ=4, the maximal energy tree is T_a for all t?3 but one exception that t=4, for which T_b is the maximal energy tree.For Δ=5, the maximal energy tree is T_b for all t?3 but 44 exceptions that t is both odd and 3?t?89, for which T_a is the maximal energy tree.For Δ=6, the maximal energy tree is T_b for all t?3 but three exceptions that t=3,5,7, for which T_a is the maximal energy tree.One can see that for most cases of Δ, T_b is the maximal energy tree,Δ=5 is a turning point, and Δ=3 and 4 are exceptional cases, which means that for all chemical trees (whose maximum degrees are at most 4) with two vertices of maximum degree at least 3, T_a has maximal energy, with only one exception T_a(4,4).     

Strong linear preservers of rank reverse permutability on triangular matrices

Let F be a field with ∣F∣ > 2 and T_n(F) be the set of all n × n upper triangular matrices, where n ? 2. Let k ? 2 be a given integer. A k-tuple of matrices A₁, …, A_k ∈ T_n(F) is called rank reverse permutable if rank(A₁ A₂ ? A_k) = rank(A_k A_k−1 ? A₁). We characterize the linear maps on T_n(F) that strongly preserve the set of rank reverse permutable matrix k-tuples.     

Determinant of the distance matrix of a tree with matrix weights

Let T be a tree with n vertices and let D be the distance matrix of T. According to a classical result due to Graham and Pollack, the determinant of D is a function of n, but does not depend on T. We allow the edges of T to carry weights, which are square matrices of a fixed order. The distance matrix D of T is then defined in a natural way. We obtain a formula for the determinant of D, which involves only the determinants of the sum and the product of the weight matrices.     

Maximum hitting time for random walks on graphs

For x and y vertices of a connected graph G, let T_G(x, y) denote the expected time before a random walk starting from x reaches y. We determine, for each n > 0, the n-vertex graph G and vertices x and y for which T_G(x, y) is maximized. the extremal graph consists of a clique on ?(2n + 1)/3?) (or ?)(2_n ? 2)/3?) vertices, including x, to which a path on the remaining vertices, ending in y, has been attached; the expected time T_G(x, y) to reach y from x in this graph is approximately 4_n³/27.     

Structure of digraphs associated with quadratic congruences with composite moduli

We assign to each positive integer n a digraph G(n) whose set of vertices is H={0,1,…,n-1} and for which there exists a directed edge from a∈H to b∈H if . Associated with G(n) are two disjoint subdigraphs: G₁(n) and G₂(n) whose union is G(n). The vertices of G₁(n) correspond to those residues which are relatively prime to n. The structure of G₁(n) is well understood. In this paper, we investigate in detail the structure of G₂(n).     

Bounds on the eigenvalues of graphs with cut vertices or edges

In this paper, we characterize the extremal graph having the maximal Laplacian spectral radius among the connected bipartite graphs with n vertices and k cut vertices, and describe the extremal graph having the minimal least eigenvalue of the adjacency matrices of all the connected graphs with n vertices and k cut edges. We also present lower bounds on the least eigenvalue in terms of the number of cut vertices or cut edges and upper bounds on the Laplacian spectral radius in terms of the number of cut vertices.