Subdivision and Graph Eigenvalues

Abstract

This paper investigates the asymptotic nature of graph spectra when some edges of a graph are subdivided sufficiently many times. In the special case where all edges of a graph are subdivided, we find the exact limits of the $k$-th largest and $k$-th smallest eigenvalues for any fixed $k$. It is expected that after subdivision, most eigenvalues of the new graph will lie in the interval $[-2,2]$. We examine the eigenvalues of the new graph outside this interval, and we prove several results that might be of independent interest.