Efficient Algorithm for Generating Maximal L-Reflexive Trees

Abstract

The line graph of a graph G is another graph of which the vertex set corresponds to the edge set of G, and two vertices of the line graph of G are adjacent if the corresponding edges in G share a common vertex. A graph is reflexive if the second-largest eigenvalue of its adjacency matrix is no greater than 2. Reflexive graphs give combinatorial ground to generate two classes of algebraic numbers, Salem and Pisot numbers. The difficult question of identifying those graphs whose line graphs are reflexive (called L-reflexive graphs) is naturally attacked by first answering this question for trees. Even then, however, an elegant full characterization of reflexive line graphs of trees has proved to be quite formidable. In this paper, we present an efficient algorithm for the exhaustive generation of maximal L-reflexive trees.