Inverse Fiedler vector problem of a graph

Abstract

Given a graph and one of its weighted Laplacian matrix, a Fiedler vector is an eigenvector with respect to the second smallest eigenvalue. The Fiedler vectors have been used widely for graph partitioning, graph drawing, spectral clustering, and finding the characteristic set. This paper studies how the graph structure can control the possible Fiedler vectors for different weighted Laplacian matrices. For a given tree, we characterize all possible Fiedler vectors among its weighted Laplacian matrix. As an application, the characteristic set can be anywhere on a tree, except for the set containing a single leaf. For a given cycle, we characterize all possible eigenvectors corresponding to the second or the third smallest eigenvalue.