Graphs determined by their $A_α$-spectra

Huiqiu Lin, Xiaogang Liu, Jie Xue

Published 2017-09-04Version 1

Let $G$ be a graph with $n$ vertices, and let $A(G)$ and $D(G)$ denote respectively the adjacency matrix and the degree matrix of $G$. Define $$ A_{\alpha}(G)=\alpha D(G)+(1-\alpha)A(G) $$ for any real $\alpha\in [0,1]$. The collection of eigenvalues of $A_{\alpha}(G)$ together with multiplicities are called the \emph{$A_{\alpha}$-spectrum} of $G$. A graph $G$ is said to be \emph{determined by its $A_{\alpha}$-spectrum} if all graphs having the same $A_{\alpha}$-spectrum as $G$ are isomorphic to $G$. We first prove that some graphs are determined by its $A_{\alpha}$-spectrum for $0\leq\alpha<1$, including the complete graph $K_m$, the star $K_{1,n-1}$, the path $P_n$, the union of cycles and the complement of the union of cycles, the union of $K_2$ and $K_1$ and the complement of the union of $K_2$ and $K_1$, and the complement of $P_n$. Setting $\alpha=0$ or $\frac{1}{2}$, those graphs are determined by $A$- or $Q$-spectra. Secondly, when $G$ is regular, we show that $G$ is determined by its $A_{\alpha}$-spectrum if and only if the join $G\vee K_m$ is determined by its $A_{\alpha}$-spectrum for $\frac{1}{2}<\alpha<1$. Furthermore, we also show that the join $K_m\vee P_n$ is determined by its $A_{\alpha}$-spectrum for $\frac{1}{2}<\alpha<1$. In the end, we pose some related open problems for future study.