A Spectral Moore Bound for Bipartite Semiregular Graphs

Let $b(k,\ell,\theta)$ be the maximum number of vertices of valency $k$ in a $(k,\ell)$-semiregular bipartite graph with second largest eigenvalue $\theta$. We obtain an upper bound for $b(k,\ell,\theta)$ for $0 < \theta < \sqrt{k-1} + \sqrt{\ell-1}$. This bound is tight when there exists a distance-biregular graph with particular parameters, and we develop the necessary properties of distance-biregular graphs to prove this.Comment: 20 page

Distance-Biregular Graphs and Orthogonal Polynomials

This thesis is about distance-biregular graphs– when they exist, what algebraic and structural properties they have, and how they arise in extremal problems. We develop a set of necessary conditions for a distance-biregular graph to exist. Using these conditions and a computer, we develop tables of possible parameter sets for distancebiregular graphs. We extend results of Fiol, Garriga, and Yebra characterizing distance-regular graphs to characterizations of distance-biregular graphs, and highlight some new results using these characterizations. We also extend the spectral Moore bounds of Cioaba et al. to semiregular bipartite graphs, and show that distance-biregular graphs arise as extremal examples of graphs meeting the spectral Moore bound

Quantum Walks on Oriented Graphs

This thesis extends results about periodicity and perfect state transfer to oriented graphs. We prove that if a vertex a is periodic, then elements of the eigenvalue support lie in Z √∆ for some squarefree negative integer ∆. We find an infinite family of orientations of the complete graph that are periodic. We find an example of a graph with both perfect state transfer and periodicity that is not periodic at an integer multiple of the period, and we prove and use Gelfond-Schneider Theorem to show that every oriented graph with perfect state transfer between two vertices will have both vertices periodic. We find a complete characterization of when perfect state transfer can occur in oriented graphs, and find a new example of a graph where one vertex has perfect state transfer to multiple other vertices

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead