Maxima of the $Q$-index of non-bipartite graphs: forbidden short odd cycles

Abstract

Let $G$ be a non-bipartite graph which does not contain any odd cycle of length at most $2k+1$. In this paper, we determine the maximum $Q$-index of $G$ if its order is fixed, and the corresponding extremal graph is uniquely characterized. Moreover, if the size of $G$ is given, the maximum $Q$-index of $G$ and the unique extremal graph are also proved.