The minimal spectral radius with given independence number (Q6185801)

The authors show that among simple connected graphs with \(n\) vertices and the independence number \(\lceil n/2\rceil-1\), the minimum spectral radius of adjacency matrix is attained for the cycle when \(n\) is odd, and when \(n\) is even, then for a graph obtained by joining two cycles on approximately \(n/3\) vertices by a path of length approximately \(n/3\), where the exact lengths of the cycles and the path further depend on the value of \(n\) modulo 6.