Adjacency eigenvalues of graphs without short odd cycles (Q2237217)

The authors consider a classical spectral Turán-type problem. Let $G$ be a graph and let $\lambda_1$ and $\lambda_2$ denote the largest and second largest eigenvalues of the adjacency matrix $A(G)$ of $G$, respectively. In this paper, the authors focus on graphs without short cycles, according to the adjacency eigenvalues of the graph. First, an upper bound on $\lambda_1^{2k}+\lambda_2^{2k}$ for $n$-vertex graphs with no odd cycle of length at most $2k+1$ is established, and all corresponding extremal graphs are identified. Second, a sufficient condition for non-bipartite graphs containing an odd cycle of length at most $2k+1$ in terms of its spectral radius is given. Finally, the authors characterize the unique graph having maximum spectral radius among the set of $n$-vertex non-bipartite graphs with odd girth at least $2k+3$. This last result solves an open problem proposed earlier by \textit{H. Lin} et al. [Comb. Probab. Comput. 30, No. 2, 258--270 (2020; Zbl 1466.05121)].