[Math] Spectral properties of Cayley graphs

cayley-graphsgr.group-theorygraph theoryspectral-graph-theory

Let $G$ be a finite group. Do eigenvalues of its Cayley graph say anything about the algebraic properties of $G$? The spectrum of Cayley graph may depend on the presentation, so it's not a good invariant, but maybe something interesting can still be said here?

In the case of an infinite group, can Cayley graph be replaced by some suitable infinite-dimensional object (say, linear operator, a generalization of the graph's adjacency matrix) so that the object's spectral properties may carry some algebraic data about the group?

Best Answer

This paper, by A. Valette, is a survey devoted to this question, although he's more interested in infinite groups. In the infinite case, the "adjacency matrix" is a bounded operator on $\ell^2(\Gamma)$, and its spectrum makes sense. Of course, it depends on the generating set.

One of the first results he mentions is a theorem of Kesten : it is possible to recover the fact that $G$ is amenable, or free, by looking at this spectrum.

Related Question