On Estrada index of trees

Let G be a graph on n vertices, and let λ₁,λ₂,…,λ_n be its eigenvalues. The Estrada index is defined as . We determine the unique tree with maximum Estrada index among the trees on n vertices with given matching number, and the unique tree with maximum Estrada index among the trees on n vertices with fixed diameter. For , we also determine the tree with maximum Estrada index among the trees on n vertices with maximum degree Δ. It gives a partial solution to the conjecture proposed by Ili? and Stevanovi? in Ref. [14].     

On the Estrada and Laplacian Estrada indices of graphs

The Estrada index of a graph G is defined as , where λ₁,λ₂,…,λ_n are the eigenvalues of G. The Laplacian Estrada index of a graph G is defined as , where μ₁,μ₂,…,μ_n are the Laplacian eigenvalues of G. An edge grafting operation on a graph moves a pendent edge between two pendent paths. We study the change of Estrada index of graph under edge grafting operation between two pendent paths at two adjacent vertices. As the application, we give the result on the change of Laplacian Estrada index of bipartite graph under edge grafting operation between two pendent paths at the same vertex. We also determine the unique tree with minimum Laplacian Estrada index among the set of trees with given maximum degree, and the unique trees with maximum Laplacian Estrada indices among the set of trees with given diameter, number of pendent vertices, matching number, independence number and domination number, respectively.     

The Estrada index of trees

The Estrada index of a graph G is defined as , where λ₁,λ₂,…,λ_n are the eigenvalues of its adjacency matrix. We determine the unique tree with maximum Estrada index among the set of trees with given number of pendant vertices. As applications, we determine trees with maximum Estrada index among the set of trees with given matching number, independence number, and domination number, respectively. Finally, we give a proof of a conjecture in [J. Li, X. Li, L. Wang, The minimal Estrada index of trees with two maximum degree vertices, MATCH Commun. Math. Comput. Chem. 64 (2010) 799-810] on trees with minimum Estrada index among the set of trees with two adjacent vertices of maximum degree.     

Laplacian energy of a graph

Let G be a graph with n vertices and m edges. Let λ₁, λ₂, … , λ_n be the eigenvalues of the adjacency matrix of G, and let μ₁, μ₂, … , μ_n be the eigenvalues of the Laplacian matrix of G. An earlier much studied quantity is the energy of the graph G. We now define and investigate the Laplacian energy as . There is a great deal of analogy between the properties of E(G) and LE(G), but also some significant differences.     

Spectral radius and Hamiltonicity of graphs

Let G be a graph of order n and μ(G) be the largest eigenvalue of its adjacency matrix. Let be the complement of G.Write K_n-1+v for the complete graph on n-1 vertices together with an isolated vertex, and K_n-1+e for the complete graph on n-1 vertices with a pendent edge.We show that:If μ(G)?n-2, then G contains a Hamiltonian path unless G=K_n-1+v; if strict inequality holds, then G contains a Hamiltonian cycle unless G=K_n-1+e.If , then G contains a Hamiltonian path unless G=K_n-1+v.If , then G contains a Hamiltonian cycle unless G=K_n-1+e.     

Note on the energy of regular graphs

For a simple graph G, the energy E(G) is defined as the sum of the absolute values of all the eigenvalues of its adjacency matrix A(G). Let n,m, respectively, be the number of vertices and edges of G. One well-known inequality is that , where λ₁ is the spectral radius. If G is k-regular, we have . Denote . Balakrishnan [R. Balakrishnan, The energy of a graph, Linear Algebra Appl. 387 (2004) 287-295] proved that for each ?>0, there exist infinitely many n for each of which there exists a k-regular graph G of order n with k<n-1 and , and proposed an open problem that, given a positive integer n?3, and ?>0, does there exist a k-regular graph G of order n such that . In this paper, we show that for each ?>0, there exist infinitely many such n that . Moreover, we construct another class of simpler graphs which also supports the first assertion that .     

On bicyclic graphs with maximal energy

Let λ₁,λ₂,…,λ_n be the eigenvalues of a graph G of order n. The energy of G is defined as E(G)=|λ₁|+|λ₂|+?+|λ_n|. Let be the graph obtained from two copies of C₆ joined by a path P_n-10, B_n be the class of all bipartite bicyclic graphs that are not the graph obtained from two cycles C_a and C_b (a,b?10 and a≡b≡2 (mod 4)) joined by an edge. In this paper, we show that is the graph with maximal energy in B_n, which gives a partial solution to Gutman’s conjecture in Gutman and Vidovi? (2001) [I. Gutman, D. Vidovi?, Quest for molecular graphs with maximal energy: a computer experiment, J. Chem. Inf. Sci. 41 (2001) 1002-1005].     

On the spectral radii and the signless Laplacian spectral radii of c-cyclic graphs with fixed maximum degree

If G is a connected undirected simple graph on n vertices and n+c-1 edges, then G is called a c-cyclic graph. Specially, G is called a tricyclic graph if c=3. Let Δ(G) be the maximum degree of G. In this paper, we determine the structural characterizations of the c-cyclic graphs, which have the maximum spectral radii (resp. signless Laplacian spectral radii) in the class of c-cyclic graphs on n vertices with fixed maximum degree . Moreover, we prove that the spectral radius of a tricyclic graph G strictly increases with its maximum degree when , and identify the first six largest spectral radii and the corresponding graphs in the class of tricyclic graphs on n vertices.     

On conjugate adjacency matrices of a graph

Let G be a simple graph of order n. Let and , where a and b are two nonzero integers and m is a positive integer such that m is not a perfect square. We say that A^c=[c_ij] is the conjugate adjacency matrix of the graph G if c_ij=c for any two adjacent vertices i and j, for any two nonadjacent vertices i and j, and c_ij=0 if i=j. Let P_G(λ)=|λI-A| and denote the characteristic polynomial and the conjugate characteristic polynomial of G, respectively. In this work we show that if then , where denotes the complement of G. In particular, we prove that if and only if P_G(λ)=P_H(λ) and . Further, let P^c(G) be the collection of conjugate characteristic polynomials of vertex-deleted subgraphs G_i=G?i(i=1,2,…,n). If P^c(G)=P^c(H) we prove that , provided that the order of G is greater than 2.     

4-regular claw-free IM-extendable graphs

A graph G is induced matching extendable (shortly, IM-extendable), if every induced matching of G is included in a perfect matching of G. A graph G is claw-free, if G does not contain any induced subgraph isomorphic to K_1,3. The kth power of a graph G, denoted by G^k, is the graph with vertex set V(G) in which two vertices are adjacent if and only if the distance between them in G is at most k. In this paper, the 4-regular claw-free IM-extendable graphs are characterized. It is shown that the only 4-regular claw-free connected IM-extendable graphs are , and T_r, r?2, where T_r is the graph with 4r vertices u_i,v_i,x_i,y_i, 1?i?r, such that for each i with 1?i?r, {u_i,v_i,x_i,y_i} is a clique of T_r and . We also show that a 4-regular strongly IM-extendable graph must be claw-free. As a consequence, the only 4-regular strongly IM-extendable graphs are K₄×K₂, and .     

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.     

r-Strong edge colorings of graphs

Let G be a graph and for any natural number r, denotes the minimum number of colors required for a proper edge coloring of G in which no two vertices with distance at most r are incident to edges colored with the same set of colors. In [Z. Zhang, L. Liu, J. Wang, Adjacent strong edge coloring of graphs, Appl. Math. Lett. 15 (2002) 623-626] it has been proved that for any tree T with at least three vertices, . Here we generalize this result and show that . Moreover, we show that if for any two vertices u and v with maximum degree d(u,v)?3, then . Also for any tree T with Δ(T)?3 we prove that . Finally, it is shown that for any graph G with no isolated edges, .     

The largest eigenvalue of unicyclic graphs

Let G be a simple graph. Let λ₁(G) and μ₁(G) denote the largest eigenvalue of the adjacency matrix and the Laplacian matrix of G, respectively. Let Δ denote the largest vertex degree. If G has just one cycle, then

     

A spectral condition for odd cycles in graphs

Let G be a graph of sufficiently large order n, and let the largest eigenvalue μ(G) of its adjacency matrix satisfies . Then G contains a cycle of length t for every t?n/320This condition is sharp: the complete bipartite graph T₂(n) with parts of size ⌊n/2⌋ and ⌈n/2⌉ contains no odd cycles and its largest eigenvalue is equal to .This condition is stable: if μ(G) is close to and G fails to contain a cycle of length t for some t?n/321, then G resembles T₂(n).     

Total domination and total domination subdivision number of a graph and its complement

A set S of vertices of a graph G=(V,E) with no isolated vertex is a total dominating set if every vertex of V(G) is adjacent to some vertex in S. The total domination numberγ_t(G) is the minimum cardinality of a total dominating set of G. The total domination subdivision numbersd_γt(G) is the minimum number of edges that must be subdivided in order to increase the total domination number. We consider graphs of order n?4, minimum degree δ and maximum degree Δ. We prove that if each component of G and has order at least 3 and , then and if each component of G and has order at least 2 and at least one component of G and has order at least 3, then . We also give a result on stronger than a conjecture by Harary and Haynes.     

Total restrained domination in graphs with minimum degree two

In this paper, we continue the study of total restrained domination in graphs, a concept introduced by Telle and Proskurowksi (Algorithms for vertex partitioning problems on partial k-trees, SIAM J. Discrete Math. 10 (1997) 529-550) as a vertex partitioning problem. A set S of vertices in a graph G=(V,E) is a total restrained dominating set of G if every vertex is adjacent to a vertex in S and every vertex of V?S is adjacent to a vertex in V?S. The minimum cardinality of a total restrained dominating set of G is the total restrained domination number of G, denoted by γ_tr(G). Let G be a connected graph of order n with minimum degree at least 2 and with maximum degree Δ where Δ?n-2. We prove that if n?4, then and this bound is sharp. If we restrict G to a bipartite graph with Δ?3, then we improve this bound by showing that and that this bound is sharp.     

Rainbowness of cubic plane graphs

The rainbowness, rb(G), of a connected plane graph G is the minimum number k such that any colouring of vertices of the graph G using at least k colours involves a face all vertices of which receive distinct colours. For a connected cubic plane graph G we prove that

     

Hamiltonian path saturated graphs with small size

A graph G is said to be hamiltonian path saturated (HPS for short), if G has no hamiltonian path but any addition of a new edge in G creates a hamiltonian path in G. It is known that an HPS graph of order n has size at most and, for n?6, the only HPS graph of order n and size is K_n-1∪K₁. Denote by sat(n,HP) the minimum size of an HPS graph of order n. We prove that sat(n,HP)?⌊(3n-1)/2⌋-2. Using some properties of Isaacs’ snarks we give, for every n?54, an HPS graph G_n of order n and size ⌊(3n-1)/2⌋. This proves sat(n,HP)?⌊(3n-1)/2⌋ for n?54. We also consider m-path cover saturated graphs and P_m-saturated graphs with small size.     

On the skew energy of orientations of hypercubes

Let D be a digraph of order n and λ₁,λ₂,…,λ_n denote all the eigenvalues of the skew-adjacency matrix of D. The skew energy E_S(D) of D is defined as . In this paper, it is proved that for any positive integer k≥3, there exists a k-regular graph of order n having an orientation D with . This work positively answers a problem proposed by Adiga et al. [C. Adiga, R. Balakrishnan, Wasin So, The skew energy of a digraph, Linear Algebra Appl. 432 (2010) 1825-1835]. In addition, a digraph is also constructed such that its skew energy is the same as the energy of its underlying graph.     

Distance irredundance and connected domination numbers of a graph

Let k be a positive integer and G be a connected graph. This paper considers the relations among four graph theoretical parameters: the k-domination number γ_k(G), the connected k-domination number ; the k-independent domination number and the k-irredundance number ir_k(G). The authors prove that if an ir_k-set X is a k-independent set of G, then , and that for k?2, if ir_k(G)=1, if ir_k(G) is odd, and if ir_k(G) is even, which generalize some known results.