NEW UPPER BOUND ON THE LARGEST LAPLACIAN EIGENVALUE OF GRAPHS

Let G = (V;E) be a simple, undirected graph with maximum and minimum degree ∆ and respectively, and let A be the adjacency matrix and Q be the Laplacianmatrix of G. In the past decades, the Laplacian spectrum has received much more and more attention, since it has been applied to several elds, such as randomized algorithms, combinatorial optimization problems and machine learning. In this paper, we compute lower and upper bounds for the largest Laplacian eigenvalue which is related with a given maximum and minimum degree and a given number of vertices and edges. We also compare our results in this paper with some known results

The Importance of Network Topology in Local Contribution Games

We consider a model of content contribution in peer-to-peer networks with linear quadratic payoffs and very general interaction patterns. We find that Nash equilibria of this game always exist; moreover, they are computable by solving a linear complementarity problem. The equilibrium is unique when goods are strategic complements or weak substitutes and contributions are proportional to a network centrality measure called the Bonacich index. In the case of public goods, the equilibrium is non-unique and characterized by k-order maximal independent sets. The structure of optimal networks is always star-like when the game exhibits strict or weak complements. Under public good scenarios, while star-like networks remain optimal in the best case, they also yield the worst-performing equilibria. We also discuss a network-based policy for improving the equilibrium performance of networks by the exclusion of a single player.Engineering and Applied Science

Matrix norms and rapid mixing for spin systems

We give a systematic development of the application of matrix norms to rapid mixing in spin systems. We show that rapid mixing of both random update Glauber dynamics and systematic scan Glauber dynamics occurs if any matrix norm of the associated dependency matrix is less than 1. We give improved analysis for the case in which the diagonal of the dependency matrix is $\mathbf{0}$ (as in heat bath dynamics). We apply the matrix norm methods to random update and systematic scan Glauber dynamics for coloring various classes of graphs. We give a general method for estimating a norm of a symmetric nonregular matrix. This leads to improved mixing times for any class of graphs which is hereditary and sufficiently sparse including several classes of degree-bounded graphs such as nonregular graphs, trees, planar graphs and graphs with given tree-width and genus.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/08-AAP532 the Annals of Applied Probability (http://www.imstat.org/aap/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Unsolved Problems in Spectral Graph Theory

Spectral graph theory is a captivating area of graph theory that employs the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of matrices associated with graphs to study them. In this paper, we present a collection of $20$ topics in spectral graph theory, covering a range of open problems and conjectures. Our focus is primarily on the adjacency matrix of graphs, and for each topic, we provide a brief historical overview.Comment: v3, 30 pages, 1 figure, include comments from Clive Elphick, Xiaofeng Gu, William Linz, and Dragan Stevanovi\'c, respectively. Thanks! This paper will be published in Operations Research Transaction

Connectivity and spanning trees of graphs

This dissertation focuses on connectivity, edge connectivity and edge-disjoint spanning trees in graphs and hypergraphs from the following aspects.;1. Eigenvalue aspect. Let lambda2(G) and tau( G) denote the second largest eigenvalue and the maximum number of edge-disjoint spanning trees of a graph G, respectively. Motivated by a question of Seymour on the relationship between eigenvalues of a graph G and bounds of tau(G), Cioaba and Wong conjectured that for any integers d, k ≥ 2 and a d-regular graph G, if lambda 2(G)) \u3c d -- 2k-1d+1 , then tau(G) ≥ k. They proved the conjecture for k = 2, 3, and presented evidence for the cases when k ≥ 4. We propose a more general conjecture that for a graph G with minimum degree delta ≥ 2 k ≥ 4, if lambda2(G) \u3c delta -- 2k-1d+1 then tau(G) ≥ k. We prove the conjecture for k = 2, 3 and provide partial results for k ≥ 4. We also prove that for a graph G with minimum degree delta ≥ k ≥ 2, if lambda2( G) \u3c delta -- 2k-1d +1 , then the edge connectivity is at least k. As corollaries, we investigate the Laplacian and signless Laplacian eigenvalue conditions on tau(G) and edge connectivity.;2. Network reliability aspect. With graphs considered as natural models for many network design problems, edge connectivity kappa\u27(G) and maximum number of edge-disjoint spanning trees tau(G) of a graph G have been used as measures for reliability and strength in communication networks modeled as graph G. Let kappa\u27(G) = max{lcub}kappa\u27(H) : H is a subgraph of G{rcub}. We present: (i) For each integer k \u3e 0, a characterization for graphs G with the property that kappa\u27(G) ≤ k but for any additional edge e not in G, kappa\u27(G + e) ≥ k + 1. (ii) For any integer n \u3e 0, a characterization for graphs G with |V(G)| = n such that kappa\u27(G) = tau( G) with |E(G)| minimized.;3. Generalized connectivity. For an integer l ≥ 2, the l-connectivity kappal( G) of a graph G is defined to be the minimum number of vertices of G whose removal produces a disconnected graph with at least l components or a graph with fewer than l vertices. Let k ≥ 1, a graph G is called (k, l)-connected if kappa l(G) ≥ k. A graph G is called minimally (k, l)-connected if kappal(G) ≥ k but ∀e ∈ E( G), kappal(G -- e) ≤ k -- 1. A structural characterization for minimally (2, l)-connected graphs and some extremal results are obtained. These extend former results by Dirac and Plummer on minimally 2-connected graphs.;4. Degree sequence aspect. An integral sequence d = (d1, d2, ···, dn) is hypergraphic if there is a simple hypergraph H with degree sequence d, and such a hypergraph H is a realization of d. A sequence d is r-uniform hypergraphic if there is a simple r- uniform hypergraph with degree sequence d. It is proved that an r-uniform hypergraphic sequence d = (d1, d2, ···, dn) has a k-edge-connected realization if and only if both di ≥ k for i = 1, 2, ···, n and i=1ndi≥ rn-1r-1 , which generalizes the formal result of Edmonds for graphs and that of Boonyasombat for hypergraphs.;5. Partition connectivity augmentation and preservation. Let k be a positive integer. A hypergraph H is k-partition-connected if for every partition P of V(H), there are at least k(| P| -- 1) hyperedges intersecting at least two classes of P. We determine the minimum number of hyperedges in a hypergraph whose addition makes the resulting hypergraph k-partition-connected. We also characterize the hyperedges of a k-partition-connected hypergraph whose removal will preserve k-partition-connectedness