On graphs having minimal fourth adjacency coefficient

Abstract

Let $G$ be a graph with order $n$ and adjacency matrix $\mathbf{A}(G)$. The adjacency polynomial of $G$ is defined as $\phi(G;\lambda) =det(\lambda\mathbf{I}-\mathbf{A}(G))=\sum_{i=0}^n\mathbf{a_i}(G)\lambda^{n-i}$. Hereafter, $\mathbf{a}_i(G)$ is called the $i$-th adjacency coefficient of $G$. Denote by $\mathfrak{G}_{n,m}$ the set of all connected graphs having $n$ vertices and $m$ edges. A graph $G$ is said $4$-Sachs minimal if $$\mathbf{a}_4(G)=min\{\mathbf{a}_4(H)|H\in \mathfrak{G}_{n,m}\}.$$ The value $min\{\mathbf{a}_4(H)|H\in \mathfrak{G}_{n,m}\}$ is called the minimal $4$-Sachs number in $\mathfrak{G}_{n,m}$, denoted by $\bar{\mathbf{a}}_4(\mathfrak{G}_{n,m})$. In this paper, we study the relationship between the value $\mathbf{a}_4(G)$ and its structural properties. Especially, we give a structural characterization on $4$-Sachs minimal graphs, showing that each $4$-Sachs minimal graph contains a difference graph as its spanning subgraph (see Theorem 8). Then, for $n\ge 4$ and $n-1\le m\le 2n-4$, we determine all $4$-Sachs minimal graphs together with the corresponding minimal $4$-Sachs number $\bar{\mathbf{a}}_4(\mathfrak{G}_{n,m})$.