Proof of a conjecture of V. Nikiforov (Q2428640)

It is shown that for a simple graph \(G\) of order \(n\), \(\mu(G)+ \mu (\overline{G}) \leq 4n/3 + o(n)\), where \(\mu(G)\) is the maximum eigenvalue of the adjacency matrix of \(G\). As a corollary of this result and a previous result of \textit{P.~Csikvári} [Discrete Math. 309, No. 13, 4522--4526 (2009; Zbl 1194.05084)] this implies that \(\mu(G) + \mu(\overline{G}) \leq 4n/3 - 1\), which proves the conjecture of \textit{V.~Nikiforov} [Discrete Math. 307, No. 6, 774--780 (2007; Zbl 1122.15020)]. The proof used analytic tools and norms and linear operators in \({\mathcal L}^2[0, 1]\).