Cubic graphs with no eigenvalues in the interval (-2,0)

Abstract

We give a complete characterisation of the cubic graphs with no eigenvalues in the interval $(-2,0)$. There is one thin infinite family consisting of a single graph on $6n$ vertices for each $n \geqslant 2$, and five ``sporadic'' graphs, namely the $3$-prism $K_3 \mathbin{\square} K_2$, the complete bipartite graph $K_{3,3}$, the Petersen graph, the dodecahedron and Tutte's $8$-cage. The proof starts by observing that if a cubic graph has no eigenvalues in $(-2,0)$ then its local structure around a girth-cycle is very constrained. Then a separate case analysis for each possible girth shows that these constraints can be satisfied only by the known examples. All but one of these case analyses can be completed by hand, but for girth five there are sufficiently many cases that it is necessary to use a computer for the analysis.