At the end of the spectrum: chromatic bounds for the largest eigenvalue of the normalized Laplacian

For a graph with largest normalized Laplacian eigenvalue λ _N and (vertex) coloring number χ , it is known that $\lambda_N\unicode{x2A7E} \chi/(\chi-1)$ . Here we prove properties of graphs for which this bound is sharp, and we study the multiplicity of $\chi/(\chi-1)$ . We then describe a family of...

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Main Authors: Lies Beers, Raffaella Mulas
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:Journal of Physics: Complexity
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1088/2632-072X/adcc71
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author Lies Beers
Raffaella Mulas
author_facet Lies Beers
Raffaella Mulas
author_sort Lies Beers
collection DOAJ
description For a graph with largest normalized Laplacian eigenvalue λ _N and (vertex) coloring number χ , it is known that $\lambda_N\unicode{x2A7E} \chi/(\chi-1)$ . Here we prove properties of graphs for which this bound is sharp, and we study the multiplicity of $\chi/(\chi-1)$ . We then describe a family of graphs with largest eigenvalue $\chi/(\chi-1)$ . We also study the spectrum of the 1-sum of two graphs (also known as graph joining or coalescing), with a focus on the maximal eigenvalue. Finally, we give upper bounds on λ _N in terms of χ . Our findings provide insights into the connection between several properties of networks, such as their coloring number, their normalized Laplacian spectrum, and the existence of cut vertices. This has potential applications to the analysis of complex systems such as biological and chemical networks.
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spelling doaj-art-d92a53850e5849da8d2cafba2c59ba4a2025-08-20T03:13:22ZengIOP PublishingJournal of Physics: Complexity2632-072X2025-01-016202500610.1088/2632-072X/adcc71At the end of the spectrum: chromatic bounds for the largest eigenvalue of the normalized LaplacianLies Beers0https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7905-5804Raffaella Mulas1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4995-6479Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam , Amsterdam, The NetherlandsVrije Universiteit Amsterdam , Amsterdam, The NetherlandsFor a graph with largest normalized Laplacian eigenvalue λ _N and (vertex) coloring number χ , it is known that $\lambda_N\unicode{x2A7E} \chi/(\chi-1)$ . Here we prove properties of graphs for which this bound is sharp, and we study the multiplicity of $\chi/(\chi-1)$ . We then describe a family of graphs with largest eigenvalue $\chi/(\chi-1)$ . We also study the spectrum of the 1-sum of two graphs (also known as graph joining or coalescing), with a focus on the maximal eigenvalue. Finally, we give upper bounds on λ _N in terms of χ . Our findings provide insights into the connection between several properties of networks, such as their coloring number, their normalized Laplacian spectrum, and the existence of cut vertices. This has potential applications to the analysis of complex systems such as biological and chemical networks.https://doi.org/10.1088/2632-072X/adcc711-sumcoloring numberlargest eigenvaluenormalized Laplacian
spellingShingle Lies Beers
Raffaella Mulas
At the end of the spectrum: chromatic bounds for the largest eigenvalue of the normalized Laplacian
Journal of Physics: Complexity
1-sum
coloring number
largest eigenvalue
normalized Laplacian
title At the end of the spectrum: chromatic bounds for the largest eigenvalue of the normalized Laplacian
title_full At the end of the spectrum: chromatic bounds for the largest eigenvalue of the normalized Laplacian
title_fullStr At the end of the spectrum: chromatic bounds for the largest eigenvalue of the normalized Laplacian
title_full_unstemmed At the end of the spectrum: chromatic bounds for the largest eigenvalue of the normalized Laplacian
title_short At the end of the spectrum: chromatic bounds for the largest eigenvalue of the normalized Laplacian
title_sort at the end of the spectrum chromatic bounds for the largest eigenvalue of the normalized laplacian
topic 1-sum
coloring number
largest eigenvalue
normalized Laplacian
url https://doi.org/10.1088/2632-072X/adcc71
work_keys_str_mv AT liesbeers attheendofthespectrumchromaticboundsforthelargesteigenvalueofthenormalizedlaplacian
AT raffaellamulas attheendofthespectrumchromaticboundsforthelargesteigenvalueofthenormalizedlaplacian