On the spectral characterization of mixed extensions of \(P_3\) (Q2315437)

Summary: A mixed extension of a graph \(G\) is a graph \(H\) obtained from \(G\) by replacing each vertex of \(G\) by a clique or a coclique, whilst two vertices in \(H\) corresponding to distinct vertices \(x\) and \(y\) of \(G\) are adjacent whenever \(x\) and \(y\) are adjacent in \(G\). If \(G\) is the path \(P_3\), then $H$ has at most three adjacency eigenvalues unequal to \(0\) and \(-1\). The first author [Discrete Math. 342, No. 10, 2760--2764 (2019; Zbl 1417.05119)] classified the graphs with the mentioned eigenvalue property. Using this classification we investigate mixed extension of \(P_3\) on being determined by the adjacency spectrum. We present several cospectral families, and with the help of a computer we find all graphs on at most 25 vertices that are cospectral with a mixed extension of \(P_3\).