Distance-regular graphs

This is a survey of distance-regular graphs. We present an introduction to distance-regular graphs for the reader who is unfamiliar with the subject, and then give an overview of some developments in the area of distance-regular graphs since the monograph 'BCN' [Brouwer, A.E., Cohen, A.M., Neumaier, A., Distance-Regular Graphs, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1989] was written.Comment: 156 page

Developments on Spectral Characterizations of Graphs

In [E.R. van Dam and W.H. Haemers, Which graphs are determined by their spectrum?, Linear Algebra Appl. 373 (2003), 241-272] we gave a survey of answers to the question of which graphs are determined by the spectrum of some matrix associated to the graph. In particular, the usual adjacency matrix and the Laplacian matrix were addressed. Furthermore, we formulated some research questions on the topic. In the meantime some of these questions have been (partially) answered. In the present paper we give a survey of these and other developments.2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: 05C50Spectra of graphs;Cospectral graphs;Generalized adjacency matrices;Distance-regular graphs

An Odd Characterization of the Generalized Odd Graphs

2010 Mathematics Subject Classification: 05E30, 05C50;distance-regular graphs;generalized odd graphs;odd-girth;spectra of graphs;spectral excess theorem;spectral characterization

On almost distance-regular graphs

Distance-regular graphs are a key concept in Algebraic Combinatorics and have given rise to several generalizations, such as association schemes. Motivated by spectral and other algebraic characterizations of distance-regular graphs, we study `almost distance-regular graphs'. We use this name informally for graphs that share some regularity properties that are related to distance in the graph. For example, a known characterization of a distance-regular graph is the invariance of the number of walks of given length between vertices at a given distance, while a graph is called walk-regular if the number of closed walks of given length rooted at any given vertex is a constant. One of the concepts studied here is a generalization of both distance-regularity and walk-regularity called $m$-walk-regularity. Another studied concept is that of $m$-partial distance-regularity or, informally, distance-regularity up to distance $m$. Using eigenvalues of graphs and the predistance polynomials, we discuss and relate these and other concepts of almost distance-regularity, such as their common generalization of $(\ell,m)$-walk-regularity. We introduce the concepts of punctual distance-regularity and punctual walk-regularity as a fundament upon which almost distance-regular graphs are built. We provide examples that are mostly taken from the Foster census, a collection of symmetric cubic graphs. Two problems are posed that are related to the question of when almost distance-regular becomes whole distance-regular. We also give several characterizations of punctually distance-regular graphs that are generalizations of the spectral excess theorem

The Laplacian spectral excess theorem for distance-regular graphs

The spectral excess theorem states that, in a regular graph G, the average excess, which is the mean of the numbers of vertices at maximum distance from a vertex, is bounded above by the spectral excess (a number that is computed by using the adjacency spectrum of G), and G is distance-regular if and only if equality holds. In this note we prove the corresponding result by using the Laplacian spectrum without requiring regularity of G