[Math] Graphs where every two vertices have odd number of mutual neighbours

graph theory

There was a rather cute question last week about graphs where every pair of distinct vertices has an odd number of mutual neighbours.

The question was to show that such a graph must have an odd number of vertices, and it can be accomplished with a nice algebraic graph theory argument.

But let's up the ante a bit: can we actually characterize the graphs with this property?

Here are some examples in the family:

  • complete graphs of odd order
  • anything obtained by gluing together a bunch of odd complete graphs at a single vertex
  • a graph of the form A – B – C where A and C have the "even" version of this property (every pair of vertices have even number common neighbours) B is an odd complete graph, and A is completely joined to B, B completely joined to C.

Is this the lot?

Best Answer

Take a Steiner triple system on $v$ points. Let $X$ be the graph with the $v(v-1)/6$ triples as its vertices, two triples adjacent if the have exactly one point in common. We need $v\equiv1,3$ modulo 6. Then two adjacent triples have exactly $(v+3)/2$ common neighbours, and two disjoint triples have exactly 9 common neighbours. If we take $v\equiv3,7$ modulo 12 we get examples.

Of course I am just constructing strongly regular graphs with $\lambda$ and $\mu$ odd. The are strongly regular graphs with this property besides the ones listed, for example generalized quadrangles with $s$ and $t$ even. Further examples appear in Andries Brouwer's on-line tables (http://www.win.tue.nl/~aeb/graphs/srg/srgtab.html), or Gordon Royle's (http://units.maths.uwa.edu.au/~gordon/remote/srgs/).

This suggest that a classification might be difficult.

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