Generalizing theorems of Nosal and Nikiforov: triangles and quadrilaterals (Q2144519)

Given a simply connected graph \(G\) of size \(m\), the spectral radius \(\rho(G)\) of a graph \(G\) is the maximum modulo of eigenvalues of its adjacency matrix. Nosal's theorem states that if \(\rho(G)>\sqrt{m}\) then \(G\) contains a triangle. In this paper, the author first extends Nosal's theorem: any nonbipartite graph \(G\) of size \(m\) satisfying \(\rho(G)\geq \sqrt{m-2}\) contains a triangle unless \(G\) is one of some exceptional graphs. Furthermore, the author shows that if \(m\geq 27\) and \(\rho(G)\geq \sqrt{m-1}\) then \(G\) contains a quadrilateral unless \(G\) is one of four exceptional graphs. These results are nice and interesting.