Large Fixed-Diameter Graphs are Good Expanders

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that large graphs with fixed small diameter inherently possess strong expansion properties across various definitions, linking low-diameter network design with expander graph theory.

Contribution

It proves that sufficiently large fixed-diameter graphs must be good expanders under multiple expansion definitions, unifying network design principles.

Findings

Large fixed-diameter graphs exhibit strong expansion properties.

The results hold for directed and undirected graphs.

Expansion quality improves with graph size and fixed diameter.

Abstract

We revisit the classical question of the relationship between the diameter of a graph and its expansion properties. One direction is well understood: expander graphs exhibit essentially the lowest possible diameter. We focus on the reverse direction, showing that "sufficiently large" graphs of fixed diameter and degree must be "good" expanders. We prove this statement for various definitions of "sufficiently large" (multiplicative/additive factor from the largest possible size), for different forms of expansion (edge, vertex, and spectral expansion), and for both directed and undirected graphs. A recurring theme is that the lower the diameter of the graph and (more importantly) the larger its size, the better the expansion guarantees. Aside from inherent theoretical interest, our motivation stems from the domain of network design. Both low-diameter networks and expanders are prominent approaches to designing high-performance networks in parallel computing, HPC, datacenter networking, and beyond. Our results establish that these two approaches are, in fact, inextricably intertwined. We leave the reader with many intriguing questions for future research.