Bounds For Eigenvalues of The Adjacency Matrix
Bounds For Eigenvalues of The Adjacency Matrix
To cite this article: Pintu Bhunia, Santanu Bag & Kallol Paul (2019): Bounds for eigenvalues
of the adjacency matrix of a graph, Journal of Interdisciplinary Mathematics, DOI:
10.1080/09720502.2019.1630938
Article views: 4
Pintu Bhunia§
Department of Mathematics
Jadavpur University
Kolkata 700032
West Bengal
India
Santanu Bag †
Department of Mathematics
Vivekananda College For Women
Barisha
Kolkata 700008
West Bengal
India
Kallol Paul *
Department of Mathematics
Jadavpur University
Kolkata 700032
West Bengal
India
Abstract
We obtain bounds for the largest and least eigenvalues of the adjacency matrix of a
simple undirected graph. We find upper bound for the second largest eigenvalue of the
The first author would like to thank UGC, Govt. of India for the financial support in the form
of Junior Research Fellowship. The third author would like to thank RUSA 2.0, Jadavpur
University for the partial support.
§
E-mail: [email protected]
†
E-mail: [email protected]
*E-mail: [email protected] (Corresponding Author)
©
2 P. BHUNIA, S. BAG AND K. PAUL
adjacency matrix. We prove that the bounds obtained here improve on the existing bounds
and also illustrate them with examples.
1. Introduction
Suppose G = (V, E) be a simple undirected graph with n vertices
and e edges. Let V = {v1, v2, , vn} and di = deg(vi) denotes the degree of
the vertex vi for i = 1, 2,, n. The adjacency matrix associated with the
graph G is defined by A = (aij)n×n, where aij = 1, if vi ~ vj i.e., the vertex vi
is adjacent to vertex vj and aij = 0 otherwise. It is evident that A(G) is a
symmetric matrix with entries 0, 1 and entires in the main diagonal are
zero. For an n×n matrix A, the specrtum, s (A) is the set of all eigenvalues
of A and spectral radius, rs(A), is the largest absolute value of the
eigenvalues i.e., largest of |λ1 |,|λ2 |, … ,|λn |. Being a real symmetric
matrix A(G) has n real eigenvalues, say, λ1 (G), λ2 (G), … , λn (G), with
λi (G) ≥ λi +1 (G), i = 1, 2, … , n − 1. It is well known [1] that l1(G) > 0 is the
spectral radius of the adjacency matrix A(G) i.e., l1(G) = rs(A(G)). The
numerical range of an n × n real matrix A, written as, W(A), is defined as
t n
W ( A) = x Ax : x= (x1 , x2 , … , xn ) ∈ , ∑|xi |= 1 .
t n 2
i =1
It is easy to verify that the numerical range contains the spectrum and
for a symmetric matrix A(G), λn (G) ≤ x t A(G)x ≤ λ1 (G) for all x ŒRn with
∑ in=1|xi | = 1. Also λ1 (G)= sup{x A(G)x : x= (x1 , x2 , … , xn ) ∈ , ∑ i =1|xi |= 1}
2 t t n n 2
and
EIGENVALUES OF THE ADJACENCY MATRIX 3
cl(G) − 1
λ1 (G) ≤ 2e ,
cl(G)
where δ = min 1≤ i ≤ n{di } and cl(G) is the maximum size of the complete
subgraph of the graph G.
(2) Wilf [17] proved that
n −1
λ1 (G) ≤ 2e .
n
(4) Favaron et al.[7] proved that if mi be the average degree of the vertex
vi, then
λ1 (G) ≤ max{di mi : vi ∈ V }.
and
λn (G) ≥ − 2e − (n − 1)dn + (dn − 1)d1 ,
4 P. BHUNIA, S. BAG AND K. PAUL
(13) Das and Kumar [6] proved that if G be a simple graph with at least
one edge and d1 be the highest degree of G, then
where
= d j max{dk : v1 ∼ vk } and c1j is the cardinality of the common
neighbor between v1 and vj.
(14) Kumar [12] proved that if G be a simple graph of order n ≥ 2, then
1
λ1 (G) ≥ max di + d j + (di − d j )2 + 4cij2 .
j <i
2
In this paper we improve on the upper and lower bounds of the
largest eigenvalue. We also improve on the bounds of least eigenvalue.
We use the relation λn (G) ≤ x A(G)x ≤ λ1 (G) to improve on the bounds.
t
Lemma 2.1 : Let l be any eigenvalue of the adjacency matrix A(G) of a simple
graph G with n vertices and e edges. If x = (x1, x2, , xn)t is an eigenvector
corresponding to the eigenvalue l then
=λ xi ∑ x j for i 1, 2,..., n.
=
j , vi ∼ v j
⇒ λ xi =∑ xj . j , vi ∼ v j
Theorem 2.2 : Suppose G be a simple graph with n vertices and e edges. Let l1(G)
be the largest eigenvalue of the adjacency matrix A(G) and di denotes the degree
of the vertex vi. Then
λ1 (G) ≤ max
1≤ i ≤ n ∑d.
j , vi ∼ v j
j
So,
2
n n
λ2 = ∑ ∑aij x j
=i 1=j 1
6 P. BHUNIA, S. BAG AND K. PAUL
n n
λ2
⇒ = ∑(a
=i 1
2
1i
+ a22i +…+ ani2 )xi2 + 2 ∑
i ,=j 1, i < j
xi x j (a1i a1 j + a2 i a2 j +…+ ani anj )
n n
⇒ λ2 ≤ ∑d x
=i 1
i
2
i
+ ∑
i ,=j 1, i < j
(xi2 + x 2j )(a1i a1 j + a2 i a2 j +…+ ani anj ).
which is equal to a1i (d1 − a1i ) + a2 i (d2 − a2 i ) +…+ ani (dn − ani ). From
the definition of adjacency matrix it follows that aij = 1 if vi ~ vj, aij = 0
otherwise, degree of the vertex vi = di = ∑ nj=1 aij and so coefficient of xi2 is
∑ j , v ∼v (d j − 1). Hence
i j
n n
λ2 ≤
=i 1
∑d x + ∑ ∑
i
2
i
=i 1 j , v ∼ v
(d j − 1)xi2
i j
n
⇒ λ2 ≤
=i 1
∑ d
i
j , v ∼v
(
+ d j ∑
− 1) x2
i
i j
n
⇒ λ 2 ≤ ∑ di + ∑ d j − di xi2
=i 1 j , v ∼v
i j
n
⇒ λ 2 ≤ ∑ ∑ d j xi2
=i 1 j , v ∼ v
i j
n
⇒ λ 2 ≤ max
1≤ i ≤ n ∑ d ∑x
j , v ∼v
j
1
i=
2
i
i j
⇒ λ ≤ max
1≤ i ≤ n
∑d.
j , v ∼v
j
i j
λ1 (G) ≤ max
1≤ i ≤ n ∑d.
j , v ∼v
j
i j
Corollary 2.3 : If G is a regular graph with n vertices and degree of each vertex
is m then l1(G) = m. In particular, if G = Kn is a complete graph with n vertices
then l1(Kn) = n – 1.
Proof : Here di = m for each i = 1, 2,, n and so from Theorem 2.2, we get
1
l1(G) £ m. Choose x1= x2= ...= xn= so that xt A(G) x = m. Therefore
n
l1(G) = m. For a complete graph Kn, di = n – 1 and so l1(Kn) = n – 1.
Corollary 2.4 : If G = Km,n is a complete bipartite graph with the set of vertices V
and U consisting of m and n vertices respectively then λ1 (K m , n ) = mn .
Proof: Let V = {v1, v2, , vn} and U = {vm+1, vm+2, , vm+n} Then d1 = d2 =
... = dm = n and dm+1 = dm+2 = ... = dm+m = m. Then from Theorem 2.2, we
cos θ
get λ1 (G) ≤ mn . Choose xi = for each i = 1, 2,, m and xm + i = sin θ
m n
x t A(G)x
for each i = 1, 2,, n. Then= mn sin 2θ ≤ mn and for θ = π4 ,
x t A(G)x = mn . Hence λ1 (K m , n ) = mn .
Theorem 2.5 : Let T be a simple circuitless connected graph with n(≥ 2) vertices
and e edges. Then
max
1≤ i ≤ n
∑d
j , v ∼v
j
≤ e.
i j
Next assume the result to be true for any simple circuitless connected
graph with k vertices and e edges. Consider a simple circuitless connected
graph T¢ with k + 1 vertices, e¢ = e + 1 edges. Since T¢ is simple circuitless
8 P. BHUNIA, S. BAG AND K. PAUL
connected, there exists at least one vertex v1 (say) of degree 1. Let the
vertex v1 be adjacent to v2 by the edge e1. Let T″ be the graph obtained
by deleting the vertex v1 and the edge e1 from T¢. Therefore T″ is a simple
circuitless connected graph with k vertices and e¢ – 1 edges. Hence by
induction hypothesis we must have
max
2≤ i ≤ k +1 ∑d
j , v ∼v
j
≤ e ′ − 1.
i j
If v is adjacent to v2 in T¢ then
∑d
j , v ∼v
j
≤ e +1 =e ′.
j
Therefore,
max
1≤ i ≤ k + 1
∑d
j , v ∼v
j
≤ e ′.
i j
Remark 2.6 : For a simple circuitless connected graph G with at least one
edge, cl(G)= 2, n − 1= e , dn= 1 and hence
cl(G) − 1
λ1 (G) ≤ max
1≤ i ≤ n
∑d
j , v ∼v
j
≤ 2
cl(G)
e= 2e − (n − 1)dn + (dn − 1)d1 .
i j
This shows that the upper bounds mentioned in [14, Th. 1] and [6,
Th. 2.7] are weaker than the bound obtained by us for simple circuitless
connected graph with at least one edge.
This shows that the upper bound mentioned in [14, Th. 1] is weaker
than the bound obtained by us for a simple triangle free connected graph.
Theorem 3.1 : Suppose G(n, e) be a simple graph with n vertices v1, v2, , vn
and e(≥ 1) edges. Then
2e
(i ) λ1 (G) ≥ ,
n
2
(ii ) λ1 (G) ≥ n ∑ di dj ,
∑j d 2 v ∼v , i < j
j =1
i j
1 1 2e
= ∑ xi x j 2
x t A(G)x 2= ∑= n
.
v ∼v , i < j
i j
v ∼v , i < j
i j n n
10 P. BHUNIA, S. BAG AND K. PAUL
2e
Therefore, λ1 (G) ≥ n
.
Then
x t A(G)x = 2 ∑
v ∼v , i < j
xi x j
i j
2
⇒ x t A(G)x =
n ∑ di dj
∑dj j
2 v ∼v , i < j
i
j =1
2
⇒ λ1 (G) ≥ n ∑ di d j .
∑d
j =1
2 v ∼v , i < j
j
i j
Theorem 3.2 : Suppose G(n, e) be a simple graph with n vertices and e(≥ 1)
edges. Then
1
λ1 (G) ≥ ∑ dd ,
e vi ∼ v j , i < j i j
where di = degree of vi, for each i = 1, 2,, n. Moreover the equality holds
if G be a regular or complete bipartite graph.
x t A(G)x = 2 ∑ xi x j
v v , i < j
i j
EIGENVALUES OF THE ADJACENCY MATRIX 11
di d j
⇒ x t A(G)x = 2 ∑
v v , i < j 4e 2
i j
1
⇒ x t A(G)x = ∑ dd
e vi v j , i < j i j
1
⇒ λ1 (G) ≥ ∑ dd .
e vi v j , i < j i j
and so λ1 (G) = mn .
Remark 3.3 : The bound obtained by Das and Kumar [6, Th. 3.2] is weaker
than our bound for a complete graph with n > 2 vertices. For a complete
graph with n vertices we have, di = n – 1, for each i = 1, 2,, n. Then the
bound obtained by us in Theorem 3.2 is
1 1 e(n − 1)
e
∑
v ∼v , i < j
di d j =
e
∑
v ∼v , i < j
(n − 1) =
e
= n − 1.
i j i j
Again d1 ==d j n − 1, c1 j =
n − 2 and so the bound obtained by Das
and Kumar [6, Th. 3.2] is
Now,
Remark 3.4 : Similarly we can show that for a complete bipartite graph
G = Km,n with vertices m, n (m > 1, n > 1, m £ n the bound obtained in
Theorem 3.2 is better than that obtained by Das and Kumar [6, Th. 3.2],
Kumar [12, Th. 1].
where e is the number of edges, v1, v2, , vn are the vertices and di = degree
of the vertex vi.
Proof : Let x = (x1, x2, , xn)t ŒRn. Since chromatic number of the graph is 2
so it is possible to choose xi and xj so that they are of opposite signs when
vi ~ vj for all 1 ≤ i , j ≤ n, i ≠ j. Let
di dj
xi =− , x j = , if vi ∼ v j , 1 ≤ i , j ≤ n, i ≠ j.
2e 2e
EIGENVALUES OF THE ADJACENCY MATRIX 13
1
⇒ x t A(G)x =
− ∑ dd
e vi ∼ v j , i < j i j
1
⇒ λn (G) ≤ − ∑ dd .
e vi ∼ v j , i < j i j
Theorem 4.2 : Suppose G be a simple graph with n vertices and e edges. Then
λn (G) ≥ − max
1≤ i ≤ n
∑d
j , v ∼v j
,
i j
where v1, v2, , vn are the vertices and di = degree of the vertex vi.
Remark 4.3 : For any tree T with n vertices and e(≥ 1) edges the bound
obtained by us in Theorem 4.2 is better than the bound obtained in [6, Th.
4.1]. This follows from the fact that
− max ∑ d ≥ − e = − 2e − (n − 1)d + (d − 1)d .
1≤ i ≤ n j n n 1
j , vi ∼ v j
di − 1, vi ∼ v j
di′ =
d′i , otherwise
Using the above notations we now obtain an upper bound for the
second largest eigenvalue l2(G).
Theorem 5.1 : Suppose G be a simple graph with n vertices v1, v2, , vn with
deg(vi) = di, for each i = 1, 2,, n. Also assume that dj = max {d1, d2, , dn}. Then
λ2 (G) ≤ max
1≤ k ≤ n , k ≠ j
∑ d′ .
i , v ∼v
i
k i
Proof : Marcus and Mink [13] proved that if G be any simple graph and v
be any vertex in G, then
λi (G) ≥ λi (G − v) ≥ λi +1 (G) for i = 1, 2, … , n − 1.
Example 5.2 : Here we present two graphs G1 and G2 and their Huckel
matrices [11] associated with the molecular structure of the carbon skeleton
of 1,2-divinylcyclobutadiene and 1,4 - divinylbenzene respectively.
Figure 1
Graph G1 and the adjacency matrix A(G1)
EIGENVALUES OF THE ADJACENCY MATRIX 15
Figure 2
Graph G2 and the adjacency matrix A(G2)
Comparison of bounds.
In the following table we compare our upper bounds of largest
eigenvalue with a few known results for the Huckel matrices [11] A(G1)
and A(G2) representing the carbon skeleton of 1,2-divinylcyclobutadiene
and 1,4 - divinylbenzene respectively.
Bounds
Berman
Nikiforov Stanley obtained
Graphs and l1(G)
[14] [16] by us in
Zhang [3] Th. 2.2
G1 2.828 3.000 3.531 2.645 2.303
G2 3.162 2.449 4.000 2.449 2.214
The next table shows the comparison between our lower bounds of
largest eigenvalue with a few known results for the same Huckel matrices
A(G1) and A(G2).
16 P. BHUNIA, S. BAG AND K. PAUL
Bounds
Das and
Favaron Kumar obtained
Graphs Hong [8] Kumar l1(G)
et al. [7] [12] by us in
[6]
Th. 3.2
G1 2.000 1.732 2.000 2.135 2.203 2.303
G2 2.000 1.732 1.847 1.902 2.152 2.214
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