Inertia, Independence and Expanders

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Tang, Quanyu, Zhang, Shengtong, Elphick, Clive
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Tang, Quanyu
Zhang, Shengtong
Elphick, Clive
author_facet Tang, Quanyu
Zhang, Shengtong
Elphick, Clive
contents Let $G$ be a graph on $n$ vertices, independence number $α(G)$, Lovász theta function $\vartheta(G)$, and Shannon capacity $Θ(G)$. We define $n_{\ge0}(G)$ to be the minimum number of non-negative eigenvalues taken over all Hermitian weighted adjacency matrices of $G$. It is well known that $α(G) \le Θ(G) \le \vartheta(G)$ and $α(G) \le n_{\ge0}(G)$. Continuing a long line of work, we investigate the relationships between $ α(G) $, $ \vartheta(G) $, $Θ(G)$, and $ n_{\ge 0}(G) $. We prove a conjecture of Kwan and Wigderson, showing that for every integer $k$, there exists a graph $G$ with $α(G) \leq 2$ and $n_{\ge 0}(G) \ge k$. In addition, we prove that for every integer $k$, there exists a graph $G$ with $Θ(G) \leq 3$ and $n_{\ge 0}(G) \ge k$. Both results rely on a new observation: if the complement of $G$ contains a good spectral expander, then $n_{\geq 0}(G)$ must be large. We also show that $\vartheta(G)$ can be exponentially larger than $n_{\ge 0}(G)$, improving a recent result of Ihringer.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_07305
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Inertia, Independence and Expanders
Tang, Quanyu
Zhang, Shengtong
Elphick, Clive
Combinatorics
Primary 05C50, Secondary 05C35, 05C48, 05C69
Let $G$ be a graph on $n$ vertices, independence number $α(G)$, Lovász theta function $\vartheta(G)$, and Shannon capacity $Θ(G)$. We define $n_{\ge0}(G)$ to be the minimum number of non-negative eigenvalues taken over all Hermitian weighted adjacency matrices of $G$. It is well known that $α(G) \le Θ(G) \le \vartheta(G)$ and $α(G) \le n_{\ge0}(G)$. Continuing a long line of work, we investigate the relationships between $ α(G) $, $ \vartheta(G) $, $Θ(G)$, and $ n_{\ge 0}(G) $. We prove a conjecture of Kwan and Wigderson, showing that for every integer $k$, there exists a graph $G$ with $α(G) \leq 2$ and $n_{\ge 0}(G) \ge k$. In addition, we prove that for every integer $k$, there exists a graph $G$ with $Θ(G) \leq 3$ and $n_{\ge 0}(G) \ge k$. Both results rely on a new observation: if the complement of $G$ contains a good spectral expander, then $n_{\geq 0}(G)$ must be large. We also show that $\vartheta(G)$ can be exponentially larger than $n_{\ge 0}(G)$, improving a recent result of Ihringer.
title Inertia, Independence and Expanders
topic Combinatorics
Primary 05C50, Secondary 05C35, 05C48, 05C69
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.07305