On the Main Eigenvalues of Universal Adjacency Matrices and U-Controllable Graphs

A universal adjacency matrix U of a graph G is a linear combination of the 0–1 adjacency matrix A, the diagonal matrix of vertex degrees D, the identity matrix I and the matrix J each of whose entries is 1. A main eigenvalue of U is an eigenvalue having an eigenvector that is not orthogonal to the all–ones vector. It is shown that the number of distinct main eigenvalues of U associated with a simple graph G is at most the number of orbits of any automorphism of G. The definition of a U–controllable graph is given using control–theoretic techniques and several necessary and sufficient conditions for a graph to be U–controllable are determined. It is then demonstrated that U–controllable graphs are asymmetric and that the converse is false, showing that there exist both regular and non–regular asymmetric graphs that are not U–controllable for any universal adjacency matrix U. To aid in the discovery of these counterexamples, a γ–Laplacian matrix L (γ) is used, which is a simplified form of U. It is proved that any U–controllable graph is a L (γ)–controllable graph for some parameter γ.