Connectivity and eigenvalues of graphs with given girth or clique number

TL;DR

This paper establishes spectral bounds that guarantee certain connectivity properties of graphs with specified girth and clique number, extending previous linear algebra-based results.

Contribution

It introduces new spectral conditions involving Laplacian eigenvalues that ensure minimum edge and vertex connectivity in graphs with given girth and clique constraints.

Findings

Spectral bounds for edge-connectivity based on Laplacian eigenvalues.

Characterization of vertex-connectivity using eigenvalue ratios.

Improvement and extension of previous linear algebra results on graph connectivity.

Abstract

Let $\kappa'(G)$, $\kappa(G)$, $\mu_{n-1}(G)$ and $\mu_1(G)$ denote the edge-connectivity, vertex-connectivity, the algebraic connectivity and the Laplacian spectral radius of $G$, respectively. In this paper, we prove that for integers $k\geq 2$ and $r\geq 2$, and any simple graph $G$ of order $n$ with minimum degree $\delta\geq k$, girth $g\geq 3$ and clique number $\omega(G)\leq r$, the edge-connectivity $\kappa'(G)\geq k$ if $\mu_{n-1}(G) \geq \frac{(k-1)n}{N(\delta,g)(n-N(\delta,g))}$ or if $\mu_{n-1}(G) \geq \frac{(k-1)n}{\varphi(\delta,r)(n-\varphi(\delta,r))}$, where $N(\delta,g)$ is the Moore bound on the smallest possible number of vertices such that there exists a $\delta$-regular simple graph with girth $g$, and $\varphi(\delta,r) = \max\{\delta+1,\lfloor\frac{r\delta}{r-1}\rfloor\}$. Analogue results involving $\mu_{n-1}(G)$ and $\frac{\mu_1(G)}{\mu_{n-1}(G)}$ to characterize vertex-connectivity of graphs with fixed girth and clique number are also presented. Former results in [Linear Algebra Appl. 439 (2013) 3777--3784], [Linear Algebra Appl. 578 (2019) 411--424], [Linear Algebra Appl. 579 (2019) 72--88], [Appl. Math. Comput. 344-345 (2019) 141--149] and [Electronic J. Linear Algebra 34 (2018) 428--443] are improved or extended.