Spectral radius conditions for the rigidity of graphs (Q6046220)

Summary: Rigidity is the property of a structure that does not flex under an applied force. In the past several decades, the rigidity of graphs has been widely studied in discrete geometry and combinatorics. \textit{G. Laman} [J. Eng. Math. 4, 331--340 (1970; Zbl 0213.51903)] obtained a combinatorial characterization of rigid graphs in \(\mathbb{R}^2\). \textit{L. Lovász} and \textit{Y. Yemini} [SIAM J. Algebraic Discrete Methods 3, 91--98 (1982; Zbl 0497.05025)] proved that every \(6\)-connected graph is rigid in \(\mathbb{R}^2\). \textit{B. Jackson} and \textit{T. Jordán} [J. Comb. Theory, Ser. B 94, No. 1, 1--29 (2005; Zbl 1076.05021)] strengthened this result, and showed that every \(6\)-connected graph is globally rigid in \(\mathbb{R}^2\). Thus every graph with algebraic connectivity greater than \(5\) is globally rigid in \(\mathbb{R}^2\). In [Discrete Math. 344, No. 10, Article ID 112527, 9 p. (2021; Zbl 1469.05102)], \textit{S. M. Cioabă} et al. improved this bound, and proved that every graph with minimum degree at least \(6\) and algebraic connectivity greater than \(2+\frac{1}{\delta-1} \) (resp., \(2+\frac{2}{\delta-1})\) is rigid (resp., globally rigid) in \(\mathbb{R}^2\). In this paper, we study the rigidity of graphs in \(\mathbb{R}^2\) from the viewpoint of adjacency eigenvalues. Specifically, we provide a spectral radius condition for the rigidity (resp., globally rigidity) of \(2\)-connected (resp., \(3\)-connected) graphs with given minimum degree. Furthermore, we determine the unique graph attaining the maximum spectral radius among all minimally rigid graphs of order \(n\).