Quantum Graphh

QUANTUM GRAPHS AND THEIR
SPECTRA
A Thesis
Submitted to the partial fulllme!t of the
re"uireme!ts for the de#ree of
Master of Philosophy
I!
MATHEMATICS
$%
DEEPA SINGH
IN&'RMATI'N TECHN'('G) * MANAGEMENT
S'CIET)+ $I,N'R
-./.0-.//
A1liated $%
EASTERN INSTITUTE &'R INTEGRATED (EARNING
AND MANAGEMENT+ SI22IM
Abstra
ct
We show that families of leafess quantum graphs that are isospectral
for the standard Laplacian are fnite. We show that the minimum
edge length is a spectral invariant. We give an upper bound for the
size of isospectral families in terms of the total edge length of the
quantum graphs.
We defne the Bloch spectrum of a quantum graph to be the
map that assigns to each element in the dirham co homology the
spectrum of an associated magnetic chrodinger operator. We
show that t he Bloch spectrum determi nes the Albanese torus! the
bloc" structure and the planarity of the graph. #t determines a
geometric dual of a planar graph. $his enables us to show that the
Bloch spectrum identifes and completely determines planar %&
connected quantum graphs.
Ac"nowledgem
ent
'irst and foremost! # would li"e to than" my advisor (r. )ipul
*ehrotra. Without his constant support! this thesis could never have
been written. +e let me freely choose a topic of research and fully
supported my decision although the topic that # fnally chose!
quantum graphs! is not at the center of his e,pertise. +e always
too" his time to meet with me. # am especially grateful for the
scrutiny with which +e loo"ed over my results. # do not remember
how many times # came to see his all e,cited about a new -proof . #
had found only to be shown that my arguments still had gaping
holes. +e taught me to write rigorous and readable math.
# would li"e to than"s the administration and +ead of my study
center *r. /radeep 0umar to guide me time to time about the thesis.
Contents
Abstract. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii
Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
1 Introduction 1
1.1 History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.1.1 Quantum graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.1.2 Spectral geometry and the problem of isospectrality. . . . . . 5
1.1. !he "loch spectrum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #
1.2 $%er%ie&. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . '
2 Combinatorial graph theory 1
2.1 Connecti%ity and the bloc( structure of a graph . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.2 Planarity of graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1'
2. )ual graphs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.* Spectra of combinatorial graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Quantum graphs and differential forms 2+
* A trace formula ,
5 -initeness of .uantum isospectrality *
5.1 An e/plicit bound on the si0e of is spectral families. . . . . . . . . . *,
+ )efining the Albanese torus of a .uantum graph *5
# !he "loch spectrum *1
#.1 !he "loch spectrum %ia differential forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . *1
#.2 !he "loch spectrum %ia characters of the fundamental group. . . . . 5,
#. 2.ui%alence of the t&o definitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,
1 !he homology of a .uantum graph 52
' )etermining graph properties from the "loch spectrum 5#
'.1 !he Albanese torus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5#
'.2 !he bloc( structure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +,
'. Planarity and dual graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +2
1, )etermining the edge lengths ++
11 )isconnected graphs +1
"ibliography #,
3ist of -igures
2.1 A .uantum graph and its bloc( structure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1#
2.2 !&o 24isomorphic graphs and one of their duals . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
5.1 A .uantum graph &ith %anishing terms in the trace formula . . . . . +
5.2 A .uantum graph &ith half integer edge length and only integer length
periodic orbits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . '
'.1 !he graph &ith the t&o cycles 5
i
and 5
6
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +*
Chapter 1
Introduction
!he relationship bet&een a space and the spectrum of a differential operator on it is
often %ery close. It is studied for manifolds7 orbifolds7 8iemann surfaces7
combinatorial graphs and .uantum graphs. !he .uestion to &hat degree the spectrum
of the 3aplace operator determines the underlying space &as populari0ed by 9ac in
:9ac++; in the manifold setting. <umerous e/amples of isospectrality ha%e been found7
see the history for references to some e/amples.
!his opens up a &hole array of ne& .uestions= >hich properties of a space are
spectrally determined? >hich classes of spaces are spectrally determined? Ho& can
one construct e/amples of isospectrality? Ho& big can isospectral families be? !rying
to ans&er these and related .uestions is at the heart of the field of spectral geometry.
In this thesis &e &ill restrict our attention to .uantum graphs. !hey are the most
recent ob6ect of interest in this field and often pro%ide a bridge bet&een manifolds and
combinatorial graphs.
$ur first result says that families of leafless isospectral .uantum graphs are finite7
that is7 there can be at most finitely many leafless .uantum graphs that ha%e the
1
@/
1.1 History
same spectrum.
!he main results in this thesis come from considering an entire collection of
operators and their spectra on a gi%en .uantum gr aph. >e sho& that this collection
of spectra determines %arious properties of the .uantum graph7 some of &hich are
not determined by the spectrum of a single operator. -or e/ample7 it determines the
bloc( structure &hich pro%ides a broad o%er%ie& of the structure of the graph. It also
determines &hether or not a .uantum graph is planar. It completely determines
.uantum graphs in a certain class of graphs.
>e &ill first gi%e some history and conte/t of the sub6ect and then gi%e a more
detailed o%er%ie& of this thesis.
1.1 History
1.1.1 Quantum graphs
A .uantum graph Aor metric graphB is a finite combinatorial graph &here each edge is
e.uipped &ith a positi%e finite length. Csually there is a Schrodinger operator acting
on the graph implicitly understood in the bac(ground. Some people put the operator
as part of the definition of a .uantum graph.
A function on a .uantum graph consists of a function on each edge7 &here the edges
are %ie&ed as inter%als. !he Schrodinger operator acts on the space of all functions
that ar e smooth on each edge and satisfy some suitable boundary condi t i ons at the
%ertices. A SchrDodinger operator is a second order differential operator on each edge
&ith leading term the standard 3aplacian

@

2
. !he first order part is called the
magnetic potential.
2
@/
1.1 History
!he spectrum of a Schrodinger operator on a .uantum graph is real7 discrete7
infinite7 and bounded from belo&7 it has a single accumulation point at infinity. !he
multiplicity of each eigen%alue is finite. !his is true in a significantly broader conte/t7
a proof can be found in :9uc,*;.
Quantum graphs are studied in mathematics and physics. !hey first arose in phys4
ical chemistry in the 1',s in &or( by Pauling. He used them as models for E4electron
orbitals in con6ugate molecules. !he atoms in the molecule are the %ertices7 the bonds
bet&een the atoms are the paths that the electrons tra%el on. !he mo%ement of the
electrons then obeys a Schrodinger e.uation. Quantum graphs are used to
appro/imate beha%ior and gain a theoretical understanding of ob6ects in macroscopic
physics and nanotechnology. !hey ser%e as simplified models in many settings
in%ol%ing &a%e propagation. Fathematicians li(e to study the spectral theory of
.uantum graphs because it offers a nice trade4off bet&een the richness of structure
for manifolds and the ease of computations of e/amples for combinatorial graphs.
!he sur%ey articles :9uc,1; and :Pos,'; pro%ide an e/cellent introduction and
numerous references to the literature.
!he fact that .uantum graphs are essentially 14dimensional ma(es e/plicit com4
putations possible in %arious situations. Assume the Schrodinger operator is of the
form

i
@
G AA/B

2
on all edges. !hen the eigen%alues can be found numerically as
the 0eros of the determinant of a %ersion of the ad6acency matri/ of the .uantum
graph. !he eigenfunctions are all simple sine &a%es on each edge. -or this (ind of
operator &e also ha%e algebraic relations bet&een the spectrum and the geometry of
the .uantum graphH that is7 there e/ists an e/act trace formula. !he trace formula
is one of the (ey tools in the study of .uantum graphs and their spectra. It is a
1.1 History
distributional e.uality &here the left side of the e.uation is an infinite sum o%er all
the eigen%alues of the Schrodinger operator. !he right side of the e.uation contains
geometrical information about the .uantum graph such as the total edge length7 and
the 2uler characteristic of the graph7 as &ell as an infinite sum o%er all periodic
orbits in the graph.
!race formulae or asymptotic e/pansions e/ist in a %ariety of settings. !he first
such formulae &ere the Selberg trace formula for manifolds &ith negati%e cur%ature
A:Sel5+;B7 and the Poisson summation formula for the 3aplacian on flat tori. Although
these t&o are e/act formulas7 other trace formulas on manifolds are 6ust asymptotic.
!he &a%e trace relates the eigen%alues of the 3aplacian on a closed surface to the
closed geodesics7 see :CdI#; and :)J#5;. Quantum graphs7 on the other hand7
admit e/act trace formulae. !he first trace formula for .uantum graphs &as pro%en
in :8ot1*;. He used heat (ernel methods and restricted himself to the standard
3aplacian and standard boundary conditions. Since then %arious generali0ations ha%e
been sho&n7 some based on heat (ernel methods7 others on &a%e (ernel techni.ues7
:9PS,#;7 :9S'';. !he trace formula can be interpreted as an inde/ theorem for
.uantum graphs7 :-9>,#;. !he paper :"2,1; gi%es an introduction and a sur%ey of
the %arious %ersions of the trace formula.
!he beha%ior and distribution of the eigen%alues and eigenfunctions has been
studied from %arious perspecti%es. !here are sharp lo&er bounds on the eigen%alues
in terms of the total edge length of the .uantum graph7 :-ri,5;. <odal domains
of eigenfunctions and their relation to isospectrality ha%e been studied in :JS>,*;7
:"SS,+;7 :"er,1; and :"$S,1;.
It has been obser%ed that .uantum graphs share many properties &ith .uantum
*
1.1 History
chaotic systems7 :9S'#;7 :9S'';. It is con6ectured that for a suitable generic se.uence
of .uantum graphs &ith increasing number of edges the limiting statistical
distribution of the eigen%alues coincides &ith the one for families of random matrices
&ith increasing ran(7 see :JS,+; and :9ea,1;.
1.1.2 Spectral geometry and the problem of isospectrality
!he first e/amples of isospectral non4isometric manifolds &ere found by Filnor in
:Fil+*;. !he fact that combinatorial graphs are not determined by their spectrum
is e%en older7 :CS5#;. !here are copious e/amples of isospectrality7 some references
are :SS>,+;7 :8S>,1; for isospectral orbifolds7 :Iig1,;7 :"us'2; and :"JJ'1; for
8iemann surfaces7 and :%",1;7 :JS,1;7 :"P"S,'; for .uantum graphs.
In all that follo&s &e &ill only consider finite combinatorial graphs7 finite .uantum
graphs &ith finite edge lengths and compact closed oriented manifolds. "y 8iemann
surface &e mean a compact oriented 24dimensional 8iemannian manifold &ith
constant cur%ature negati%e one.
It is &ell (no&n that certain features of a space are encoded in the spectrum. -or
instance7 in the combinatorial graph setting the number of %ertices of a combinatorial
graph is tri%ially spectrally determined. AIt is e.ual to the number of eigen%alues
counting multiplicities.B $ne can use >eyl asymptotic and the asymptotic of the
heat trace to sho& that the dimension7 %olume and total scalar cur%ature of
manifolds7 :"JF#1;7 and the dimension and %olume of 8iemannian orbifolds7 :)on#';
and :)JJ>,1;7 are spectrally determined. Quantum graphs admit a much stronger
e/4 act trace formula instead of 6ust asymptotic. !he trace formula directly sho&s
that the total edge length and the 2uler characteristic of a .uantum graph are
spectrally
5
1.1 History
determined. Fost of the results in this thesis come from a careful study of the other
terms in the trace formula.
$n the other hand7 many properties of a space are not spectrally determined.
!here are e/amples of isospectral manifolds &ith different fundamental groups :Iig1,;
and different ma/imal scalar cur%ature :JJS
G
'1;. $rientability of manifolds is not
spectrally determined either :">'5;7 :F8,1;. Isospectral orbifolds can ha%e
different isotropy orders7 :8S>,1;. !here are e/amples of isospectral combinatorial
and .uantum graphs &here one is planar and the other one is not7 see :C)S'5; and
:%",1;.
It has been sho&n that 24dimensional flat tori :"JF#1; and round spheres of
dimension up to + :!an#; are uni.uely determined by the spectrum of the standard
3aplacian among oriented manifolds. Complete combinatorial graphs are spectrally
determined :Chu'#;.
Constructions of isospectral manifolds are usually through the Sunada method7
:Sun15; and its generali0ations Asee :Jor,'; for a summaryB7 or the torus action
method7 :Jor,1; or :Sch,1;. !he Sunada method generali0es to %arious other settings
including combinatorial and .uantum graphs7 :"P"S,';. Isospectral combinatorial
graphs can also be found through e/plicit computations or through Seidel s&itching7
:Ser,,;.
!here e/ist smooth isospectral deformations of manifolds7 see for e/ample :J>1*;
and :Sch'';7 so the isospectral families are infinite in this case. It is con6ectured that
isospectral families of manifolds are compactH this &as first sho&n for plane domains
:$PS11a; and closed surfaces :$PS11b;. Since then it has been sho&n in some special
cases7 for e/ample manifolds &ith absolutely bounded sectional cur%ature :Kho'#;.
$n the other hand7 for 8iemann surfaces of genus g the si0e of an isospectral family
+
1.1 History
is at most e
#2,g
2
7 :"us'2;. -amilies of isospectral combinatorial graphs ha%e the same
number of %ertices and thus are tri%ially finite. >e &ill sho& in this thesis that
isospectral families of leafless .uantum graphs are finite and pro%e an upper bound
dependent on the total edge length of the .uantum graph.
1.1. !he "loch spectrum
!he ma6or theme of this thesis &ill be a %ariation of the .uestion of &hich properties
are spectrally determined. Instead of loo(ing at the spectrum of a single operator one
loo(s at a &hole collection of spectra. $ne then as(s to &hat degree the additional
spectra gi%e more information than a single spectrum. $ne &ay of doing so is to loo(
at the spectrum of the 3aplacian on manifolds acting on functions and differential
forms. !his approach has been used to sho& that the round sphere in all dimensions is
determined by the spectra of the 3aplacian acting on functions and 14forms7 :Pat#,;.
Another idea7 the one &e are going to use7 is to consider only operators acting on
functions but %ary the lo&er order terms of the differential operator. >e &ill loo(
at the spectra of all Schrodinger operators of the form Ad G 2EiLB
Ad G 2EiLB &here
the 14form L changes and call this collection of spectra the "loch spectrum of the
.uantum graph.
!he theory of the "loch spectrum or "loch theorem also goes by the name of
-lo.uet theory. It &as first in%ented by the mathematician Jaston -lo.uet in the
late 1'th century7 he used it to study certain periodic differential e.uations. It &as
then rein%ented and generali0ed to higher dimensions by the physicist -eli/ "loch in
the 1'2,s. He used it to describe the mo%ement of a free electron in a crystalline
material. !he mo%ement of the electron is described by the classical Schrodinger
#
1.1 History
e.uation7 modified by a potential that represents the atoms in the material. 8educed
2
2
to the 14dimensional case this means &e ha%e the Schrodinger e.uation

M
@ N A/B
G
2m
e @/
2
I A/BNA/B O PNA/B &ith a periodic potential I and then loo( for globally bounded

solutions. !he solutions ha%e the form NA/B O Q
P
A/Be
i P/
for some periodic function
Q
P
and are called "loch &a%es. !he set of P &here the Schrodinger e.uation has a
nontri%ial solution is the set of energy le%els.
In mathematical language this can be rephrased as follo&s. !he classical "loch
spectrum of a torus 8
n
R3 assigns to each character S = 3 C

the spectrum of the
standard 3aplacian acting on the space of functions on 8
n
that satisfy f A/ G lB O
SAlBf A/B for all l 3. See7 for e/ample7 :28!1*; for in%erse spectral results concerning
the "loch spectrum. As pointed out by Juillemin :Jui',;7 the "loch spectrum can
also be interpreted as the collection of spectra of all operators
acting on sections
of a tri%ial bundle7 as %aries o%er all connections &ith 0ero cur%ature. !he set of
these connections is gi%en by O Ad G iLB7 &here L is a harmonic 14form on 8
n
R3. A$ne may ta(e L to be any closed 14form7 but the spectrum depends only on
the cohomology class of L7 so one may al&ays assume L to be harmonic.B !he
correspondence &ith the classical notion is gi%en by the association of the character
SAlB O e
2EiLAlB
to the harmonic form L7 &here no& L is %ie&ed as a linear functional on
8
n
. !his interpretation of the "loch spectrum admits a generali0ation to operators
acting on sections of an arbitrary Hermitian line bundle o%er a torus7 &here no& one
considers all connections &ith7 say7 harmonic cur%ature7 see :JJ9>,1;.
>e &ill transplant this idea from tori to .uantum graphs. "oth notions of the
"loch spectrum of a torus can be carried o%er to .uantum graphs and &e &ill sho&
that they are e.ui%alent. >e &ill then as( &hich properties of a .uantum graph
1
1.2 $%er%ie&
are determined by the "loch spectrum and &hich classes of .uantum graphs can be
identified and characteri0ed by their "loch spectrum.
1.2 $%er%ie&
"efore &e del%e into .uantum graphs &e first need a fe& basic facts about combinato4
rial graphs collected in Chapter 2. >e &ill define the bloc( structure7 &hich contains
the broad structure of the graph. >e &ill then tal( about planarity of graphs and
ho& to detect it7 e/plain the notion of a dual of a planar graph and finally tal( about
the spectral theory of combinatorial graphs.
In Chapter &e &ill define .uantum graphs and then proceed to define a notion
of differential forms on .uantum graphs. >e &ill sho& that this notion reproduces
the e/pected de8ham cohomology and use the e/terior deri%ati%e d from functions to
14forms and its ad6oint to define the Schrodinger operators. !o ma(e the eigen%alue
problem &ell4defined &e need to impose some boundary conditions at the %ertices.
>e &ill impose the 9irchhoff boundary conditions on functions7 &hich re.uire that
the function be continuous and that the sum of the in&ard pointing deri%ati%es on
all edges incident at the %erte/ be 0ero. 9irchhoff conditions model a conser%ation
of flo&. -or 14forms &e use the naturally associated conditions. >e &ant that the
differential of a function that satisfies 9irchhoff boundary conditions satisfies the
boundary conditions for 14forms.
>e &ill cite and e/plain a trace formula in Chapter *. It is the main tool &e use
to e/tract information about the .uantum graph from the spectrum.
In Chapter 5 &e &ill consider the follo&ing .uestion=
Ho& big can a family of isospectral .uantum graphs be?
'
d8 d8
1.2 $%er%ie&
>e &ill consider the standard 3aplacian T
,
O d
d on a leafless .uantum graph.

>e sho& that the minimum edge length
1
is a spectral in%ariant and normali0e it to
be 1. It turns out that the si0e of isospectral families can then be bounded in terms of
the total edge length of the .uantum graph. Csing constructions of isospectral com4
binatorial graphs &e sho& that there e/ist isospectral families of e.uilateral .uantum
graphs &hose si0e gro&s e/ponentially in the total edge length of the .uantum graphs.
>e proceed to sho& the follo&ing upper bound=
!heorem 1.1. !he si0e of isospectral families of leafless .uantum graphs &ith min4
imum edge length 1 and total edge length L is at most e
#L lnALB
. In particular all
isospectral families are finite.
>e &ill define the notion of the Albanese torus of a .uantum graph in Chapter
+. It is defined as the .uotient of the real homology by the integer homology of the
graph. It inherits an inner product structure that ma(es it a 8iemannian manifold.
!he Albanese torus contains information about the length of the cycles in a .uantum
graph and about &hich cycles o%erlap.
>e &ill define the notion of "loch spectrum in Chapter #. Csing our notion of
differential forms &e define the "loch spectrum as the collection of all spectra of
Schrodinger operators of the form T
L
O Ad G 2EiLB
Ad G 2EiLB and %ary the 14form

L. Similarly to the setting of flat tori the spectrum depends only on the e.ui%alence
class of L in H
1
AJ7 8BRH
1
AJ7 KB. >e then introduce the "loch spectrum using
characters of the fundamental group. >e &ill sho& the e.ui%alence of the t&o notions
8
by associating the character S
L
A5B O e
2Ei
5
L
to a 14form L7 &here 5 E
1
AJB.
It is (no&n Asee Chapter # for detailsB that the spectrum of the standard 3aplacian
1
-or technical reasons a loop of length l is counted as t&o edges of length lR27 see 5.* for details.
1,
1.2 $%er%ie&
T
,
determines the dimension n of H
1
AJ7 8B. !hus from that spectrum alone7 &e (no&
that H
1
AJ7 8BRH
1
AJ7 KB is isomorphic as a torus Ai.e.7 as a 3ie groupB to 8
n
RK
n
.
Hence &e can %ie& the "loch spectrum as a map that associates a spectrum to each
L 8
n
RK
n
. >e ha%e no& set up all the machinery to start ans&ering our main
.uestion=
Fain problem. Suppose &e are gi%en a map that assigns a spectrum to each element
L of 8
n
RK
n
and &e (no& these spectra form the "loch spectrum of a .uantum graph J.
-rom this information7 can one reconstruct J both combinatorially and metrically?
In Chapter 1 &e sho& that the "loch spectrum determines the length of a shortest
representati%e of each element in H
1
AJ7 KB7 see !heorem 1.#. >e &ill consider a
generic 14form L7 i.e.7 one &hose orbit is dense in the torus 8
n
RK
n
7 and &e &ill 6ust
consider the spectra associated to an inter%al in the orbit of L 8
n
RK
n
. !heorem
1.# is the main theorem that relates the "loch spectrum to the .uantum graph. !he
other theorems are 6ust conse.uences from this one.
>e &ill use the results of Chapter 1 to find properties that are determined by the
"loch spectrum in Chapter '. >e sho& that this information can be used to compute
the lengths of all cycles in the .uantum graph and the lengths of their o%erlaps. !his
sho&s
!heorem 1.2. !he "loch spectrum determines the Albanese torus7 AlbAJB O H
1
AJ7 8BR
H
1
AJ7 KB7 of a .uantum graph as a 8iemannian manifold.
<ote that the spectrum of a single Schrodinger operator does not determine the
Albanese torus7 there are e/amples of isospectral .uantum graphs &ith different Al4
banese tori7 :%",1;. If the .uantum graph is e.uilateral the Albanese torus also
determines the comple/ity of the graph by a theorem in :9S,,;.
11
1.2 $%er%ie&
!heorem 1.. !he "loch spectrum determines the bloc( structure of a .uantum graph
Asee )efinition 2.12B.
!heorem 1.*. !he "loch spectrum determines &hether or not a graph is planar.
Planarity is not determined by the spectrum of a single Schrodinger operator7
:%",1;. !he information about the homology &e read out from the "loch spectrum
allo&s us to construct a geometric dual of a planar .uantum graph. >e use it to
reco%er the underlying combinatorial graph of a planar 4connected .uantum graph
from the "loch spectrum.
In Chapter 1, &e sho& that if &e (no& the underlying combinatorial graph and
it is 4connected and planar then the "loch spectrum determines the length of all
edges in the .uantum graph7 so &e can reco%er the full .uantum graph. !ogether
&ith results from the pre%ious chapter this implies=
!heorem 1.5. Planar 4connected graphs can be identified and completely recon4
structed from their "loch spectrum.
In the last chapter &e &ill treat disconnected graphs and sho& that our results
still hold in this case.
12
Chapter 2
Combinatorial graph theory
!his chapter collects %arious basic facts about combinatorial graphs that &ill be
re.uired later. !he material is mostly ta(en from :)ie,5;7 &hich pro%ides an e/cellent
introduction to the area.
)efinition 2.1. A directed combinatorial graph J is a finite set of %ertices I 7
a finite set of edges 2 or 2AJB7 and a function 2 I I that associates each edge
&ith its initial and terminal %ertices.
A combinatorial graph is a directed combinatorial graph &here &e ha%e Ufor4
gotten the directionsV of the edges7 that is7 &e consider the t&o edges A%7 %
0
B and A%
0
7 %B
as e.ui%alent.
!his definition of a combinatorial graph allo&s for loopsH that is7 edges that start
and end at the same %erte/7 and multiple edgesH that is7 se%eral edges &ith the same
start and end %erte/.
)efinition 2.2. A combinatorial graph &ithout loops and multiple edges is called a
simple graph.
1
Combinatorial graph theory
!he degree of a %erte/ is the number of edges that are incident to it. As both
ends of a loop are attached to the same %erte/7 adding a loop increases the degree of
the %erte/ by 2.
8emar( 2.. >e &ill assume throughout that our graphs are connected and in par4
ticular do not ha%e isolated %ertices7 &e &ill treat disconnected graphs in Chapter
11.
>e also assume that there are no %ertices of degree 2. $nce &e pass to .uantum
graphs7 t&o edges connected by a %erte/ of degree 2 &ith 9irchhoff boundary condition
beha%e e/actly the same &ay as a single longer edge does.
>e need %arious different notions of paths on a graph.
)efinition 2.*. 3et J be a directed combinatorial graph.
AiB A path in a graph is a finite alternating se.uence of edges and %ertices starting
and ending &ith a %erte/ such that e%ery edge sits in bet&een its t&o end
%ertices.
AiiB A closed &al( in a graph is an alternating cyclic se.uence of edges and %ertices
such that e%ery edge sits in bet&een its t&o end %ertices.
AiiiB An oriented cycle in a graph is a closed &al( that does not repeat any edges
or %ertices.
Ai%B A cycle is a subgraph that consists of a set of edges and %ertices that forms an
oriented cycle.
>hene%er &e use the &ord cycle &e mean it in this graph theoretical sense and
not in a homological sense. A graph &ithout any cycles is called a tree.
1*
2.1 Connecti%ity and the bloc( structure of a graph
)efinition 2.5. 3et 5
1
and 5
2
be t&o oriented cycles in a graph. >e say they ha%e
edges of positi%e o%erlap if they ha%e an edge in common and pass through it in
the same direction. >e say they ha%e edges of negati%e o%erlap if they ha%e an
edge in common and pass through it in opposite directions.
<ote that t&o oriented cycles can ha%e both edges of positi%e and negati%e o%erlap.
3emma 2.+. 2%ery graph admits a basis of its homology that consists of oriented
cycles.
Proof. Pic( a spanning tree of the graph. Associate to each edge of J not in the
spanning tree the oriented cycle that consists of this edge and the Auni.ueB path in
the spanning tree that connects its end points. !his collection of oriented cycles is a
basis of the homology.
)efinition 2.#. >e call a graph &ith no lea%es7 that is7 %ertices of degree 17 a leafless
graph.
!he spectrum of the 3aplacian not only determines the number of connected compo4
nents of a combinatorial or .uantum graph but it also contains more subtle informa4
tion about the connecti%ity. >e &ill sho& later that the "loch spectrum determines
the bloc( structure7 &hich pro%ides a broad %ie& of the structure of a graph. Here7
&e &ill introduce some of the language related to connecti%ity of graphs as &ell as
the definition of the bloc( structure.
15
)efinition 2.1. A graph J is called (4connected if any t&o %ertices %7 %
0
I can
be connected by ( dis6oint paths. !he paths are called dis6oint if they do not share
any edges or %ertices Aapart from % and %
0
B.
)efinition 2.'. A %erte/ % in J is called a cut %erte/ if J \ {%} is disconnected.
)efinition 2.1,. Consider the set of all cycles in the graph. )eclare t&o cycles
e.ui%alent if they ha%e at least one edge in common. !his generates an e.ui%alence
relation. A bloc( is the union of all cycles in one e.ui%alence class.
<ote that t&o cycles can be e.ui%alent e%en if they do not share an edge.
8emar( 2.11. !his is a slight de%iation from the standard definition. It is changed
to allo& graphs &ith loops and multiple edges. 2dges that are not part of any cycle
are not part of any bloc( in our definition. Csually these edges are counted as bloc(s7
too.
<ote that all loops in the graph are bloc(sH all other bloc(s are 24connected.
)efinition 2.12. >e define the bloc( structure of a graph as follo&s. 2ach bloc(
in the graph is replaced by a small circle that &e call a fat %erte/. !he cut %ertices
contained in this bloc( correspond to the different attaching points on the fat %erte/.
-or loops &e interpret their %erte/ as the cut %erte/ &here they are attached to the
rest of the graph.
All other bloc(s or remaining edges sharing one of the cut %ertices &ith the original
bloc( are connected at the respecti%e attaching point on the fat %erte/.
It does not matter ho& the different attaching points are arranged around the fat
%erte/. >e e/plicitly allo& se%eral fat %ertices to be directly connected to each other
&ithout an edge in bet&een.
1+
8emar( 2.1. Again this is a nonstandard definition. $ur definition contains the
same information about the graph as the standard one modulo the addition of loops
and multiple edges.
2/ample 2.1*. -igure 2.1 sho&s an e/ample of a graph and its bloc( structure. -or
simplicity of recognition all bloc(s in the graphs are either loops or copies of the
complete graph on * %ertices7 9
*
.
-igure 2.1= A .uantum graph and its bloc( structure
8emar( 2.15. Any cycle in the graph is confined to a single bloc(. !hus the %ertices
and edges in the bloc( structure ne%er form a cycle and the bloc( structure has a
tree4li(e shape.
>e &ill phrase the ne/t t&o lemmata in the conte/t of .uantum graphs as &e &ill
need them later on.
3emma 2.1+. 3et J be a .uantum tree &ith no %ertices of degree 2. !hen the table
of distances of all lea%es determines both the combinatorial tree underlying J and all
indi%idual edge lengths.
1#
Proof. Ji%en three lea%es "
i
7 "
6
and "
(
the restriction of the tree to the paths
bet&een these lea%es is shaped li(e a star. >e &ill denote the length of the three
branches by l
i
7 l
6
and l
(
. !he distances bet&een the lea%es determine the .uantities
l
i
G l
6
7 l
i
G l
(
and l
6
G l
(
and thus the three indi%idual lengths l
i
7 l
6
and l
(
. !his
means that gi%en a path bet&een t&o lea%es "
i
and "
6
and a third leaf "
(
&e can
find both
the point on the path from "
i
to "
6
&here the paths from "
i
and "
6
to "
(
branch
a&ay and the length of the path from this point to "
(
.
>e &ill use this fact repeatedly and proceed by induction on the number of lea%es.
If there are only t&o lea%es the tree consists of a single inter%al &ith length the
distance bet&een the t&o lea%es.
Suppose &e already ha%e a .uantum tree &ith lea%es "
1
7 . . . 7 "
n1
. >e no&
&ant to attach a ne& leaf "
n
. >e &ill first loo( at the lea%es "
1
and "
2
and find the
point on the path from "
1
to "
2
&here the paths to "
n
branch a&ay. If this point
is not a %erte/ of the tree7 &e create a ne& %erte/ and attach the leaf "
n
on an
edge of suitable length l
n
. If this point is a %erte/ of the tree &e (no& that the
attachment point of "
n
has to lie on the subtree branching a&ay from the path
from "
1
to "
2
starting at that %erte/. Pic( a leaf on this subtree7 &ithout loss of
generality "
7 and loo( at the path from "

1
to "

. >e can again find the point
on that path &here the paths to "
n
branch a&ay. If this point is not a %erte/ of
the tree &e found the attachment point7 other&ise &e ha%e reduced our search to a
strictly smaller subtree. >e &ill no& repeat this process. As &e reduce the search to a
strictly smaller subtree in each step the process has to stop after finitely many steps.
>e &ill either end up &ith an attachment point on an edge or on a subtree that
consists of a single %erte/. In either case &e can attach the ne& leaf "
n
on an edge
of suitable length l
n
.
11
2.2 Planarity of graphs
3emma 2.1#. 3et J
,
be a 4connected combinatorial graph and let J be a .uantum
graph &ith underlying combinatorial graph J
,
. !hen (no&ing J
,
and the length of
each cycle determines the length of each edge in J.
Proof. Ji%en an edge e there are at least dis6oint paths that connect its end %ertices
as J
,
is 4connected. !hus there are t&o cycles in J
,
that share the edge e and its
end %ertices but other&ise are dis6oint. )enote these t&o cycles by c
1
and c
2
. )enote
the closed &al( c
1
\ {e} Ac
2
\ {e}B by c

. Since c
1
and c
2
are dis6oint a&ay from e
the closed &al( c

is a cycle. !he length of e is gi%en by 23AeB O 3Ac
1
B G 3Ac
2
B 3Ac
B and thus determined by the lengths of the cycles.

A combinatorial graph is called planar if it admits an embedding into 8
2
&ithout edge4
crossings. Similarly7 a .uantum graph is planar if the underlying combinatorial graph
is planar. In other &ords7 planarity is independent of the edge lengths &e assigned
or of the e/istence of an isometric embedding. At first glance7 planarity seems to be
unrelated to the spectrum7 and indeed7 it is not determined by the spectrum of the
3aplacian. Ho&e%er7 once &e consider the entire "loch spectrum &e &ill sho& that
one can determine &hether a .uantum graph is planar or not.
Ji%en an embedding into 8
2
of a planar graph the faces of the embedding are the
connected components of 8
2
\ J. !he edge space of a graph is the -
2
4%ector space
of functions f = 2 -
2
. !he cycle space CAJB is the subspace generated by all
functions that are indicator functions of a cycle in the graph.
1'
!heorem 2.11. Fac3ane A1'#B :)ie,5;7 p.1,1
A graph is planar if and only if its cycle space has a sparse basis. Sparse means that
each edge is part of at most 2 cycles in the basis.
Corollary 2.1'. A graph is planar if and only if it admits a basis of its homology
consisting of oriented cycles ha%ing no edges of positi%e o%erlap.
Proof. 2ach cycle is confined to a single bloc( of the graph and t&o cycles in different
bloc(s share at most a single %erte/ and thus ha%e 0ero o%erlap. !hus it is sufficient
to pro%e the statement for 24connected graphs.
Assume J is planar and 24connected and choose an embedding into 8
2
. !he set
of boundaries of faces &ith the e/ception of the outer face forms a basis of CAJB
that consists of cycles and is sparse7 see :)ie,5;7 p.1'. >e orient all basis cycles
countercloc(&ise and get a basis of H
1
AJB. !hen no t&o oriented cycles can run
through the same edge in the same direction as no basis cycle can lie inside another
basis cycle. !hus there are no edges of positi%e o%erlap.
3et B be a basis for H
1
AJB. If all elements of B can be represented by oriented
cycles7 then B is also a basis for the cycle space. If J is not planar B is not sparse by
Fac3aneVs theorem. Hence there is an edge in J that is part of three cycles in B. <o
matter ho& these three cycles are oriented7 at least t&o of them ha%e to go through
this edge &ith the same orientation and thus ha%e edges of positi%e o%erlap.
Any basis of the homology &here e%ery basis element can be represented by a cycle
in the graph gi%es rise to a basis of the cycle space consisting of e/actly these cycles.
!hus if the graph is not planar any basis of cycles of the homology is not sparse by
Fac3aneVs theorem. !herefore there e/ists an edge that is part of three basis cycles.
<o matter ho& &e orient these three cycles7 t&o of them ha%e to go through this edge
2,
2. )ual graphs
&ith the same orientation and thus ha%e edges of positi%e o%erlap.
)efinition 2.2,. >e call a basis of H
1
AJB &ithout edges of positi%e o%erlap a non4
positi%e basis of the graph and remar( that a non4positi%e basis is al&ays sparse.
If J is 24connected and planar &e can find a sparse basis by pic(ing the boundaries
of faces. !his proposition states that the con%erse is true7 too.
Proposition 2.21. :F!,1; Ji%en a sparse basis of the cycle space of a 24connected
planar graph there e/ists an embedding into 8
2
such that all basis elements are bound4
aries of faces.
2. )ual graphs
If a graph is planar one can introduce a notion of its dual graph. It is based on the
faces of an embedding7 that is on the sparse basis &e defined abo%e. After &e ha%e
sho&n that the "loch spectrum determines planarity &e &ill analy0e the sparse basis
&e found further and use it to construct a dual of the graph. !his &ill e%entually lead
to our theorem that 4connected planar .uantum graphs are completely determined
by their spectrum.
>e &ill present t&o different &ays of defining the dual and list some properties.
)efinition 2.22. Ji%en a planar graph J &e associate to each embedding into the
plane a geometric dual graph J
. !he %ertices of J

are the faces in the embedding
of J. !he number of edges 6oining 2 %ertices in J

is the number of edges that the
corresponding faces in J ha%e in common.
)efinition 2.2. A cut of a graph J is a subset of AopenB edges S such that J \ S
is disconnected. A cut is minimal if no proper subset of S is a cut.
21
2. )ual graphs
)efinition 2.2*. Ji%en a planar graph J7 a graph J

is an abstract dual of J if
there is a bi6ecti%e map N = 2AJB 2AJ
B such that for any S 2AJB the set S is a

cycle in J if and only if NASB is a minimal cut in J
.
Proposition 2.25. A:)ie,5;7 p.1,5B Any geometric dual of a planar graph is an
abstract dual and %ice %ersa. A planar graph can ha%e multiple non4isomorphic duals.
Any dual of a planar graph is planar7 and J is a dual of J
. If J is 4connected7
then J

is uni.ue up to isomorphism.
)efinition 2.2+. >e call t&o graphs J and H 24isomorphic if there is a bi6ection
bet&een their edge sets that carries cycles to cycles. <ote that this does not imply
that the graphs are isomorphic.
2/ample 2.2#. -igure 2.2 sho&s t&o graphs that are 24isomorphic but not isomorphic.
In one of them the t&o %ertices of degree * are ad6acent7 in the other one they are
not. !he third graph is a common dual of them.
-igure 2.2= !&o 24isomorphic graphs and one of their duals
3emma 2.21. !&o planar graphs J and H are 24isomorphic if and only if they ha%e
the same set of abstract duals.
22
2
I
2.* Spectra of combinatorial graphs
Proof. 3et 1 = 2AJB 2AH B be a 24isomorphism and let J

be an abstract dual of
J &ith edge bi6ection N. !hen N 1
1
is an edge bi6ection that ma(es J

an
abstract dual of H .
3et J and H ha%e the same abstract duals and let J

be an abstract dual. 3et
N
1
be an edge bi6ection bet&een J and J

and let N
2
be an edge bi6ection bet&een
H and J
. !hen N
1
N
1
is a 24isomorphism bet&een J and H .
!he material in this section is mostly ta(en from ChungVs boo( :Chu'#;. !he spectral
theory of combinatorial graphs is %ery different from that of .uantum graphs because
the spectrum is finite in this case. <e%ertheless7 if a .uantum graph is e.uilateral
there is a close relation bet&een its spectrum and the spectrum of the underlying
combinatorial graph. >e &ill use this relation to carry o%er some e/amples of graph4
isospectrality to the .uantum graph setting.
)efinition 2.2'. >e define a &eight function & = I I < on a graph as
follo&s. If % O %
0
then &A%7 %
0
B is the number of edges bet&een % and %
0
. $n the
diagonal &A%7 %B is half the number of loops attached at %. <ote that the degree of a
%erte/ is gi%en by degA%B O
P
%
,
&A%7 %
0
B.
)efinition 2.,. 3et f = I 8 be a function on the %ertices of a combinatorial
graph. !hen the combinatorial 3aplacian T
C
acts as follo&s=
T
C
f A%B =O f A%B
W
&A%7 % Bf A% B
0 0
%
,
I
p
degA%BdegA%
0
B
2
2
1,
0
3emma 2.1. !he operator T
C
can be &ritten as the matri/
1
&A%7%B 0
AT
C
B
%7%
, O
degA%B
% O % 7
&A%7%
,
B
degA%BdegAuB
% O %
&here &e see functions on the combinatorial graph as %ectors in 8
I
. !he spectrum of
the operator T
C
is the AfiniteB list of eigen%alues of this matri/ including multiplicities.
)efinition 2.2. !he combinatorial spectrum of a combinatorial graphs is the
spectrum of T
C
. If t&o combinatorial graphs ha%e the same combinatorial spectrum
&e say they are graph4isospectral.
8emar( 2.. !here are alternati%e definitions of the spectrum of a combinatorial
graph. Some authors Afor e/ample :C)S'5;B call the collection of eigen%alues of the
ad6acency matri/ the spectrum of the graph. Ho&e%er7 all these definitions gi%e rise
to the same notion of isospectrality.
Proposition 2.*. :Chu'#; !he combinatorial spectrum uni.uely identifies complete
combinatorial graphs.
Proposition 2.5. :Chu'#; !he combinatorial spectrum of a graph determines &hether
or not it is bipartite.
!heorem 2.+. :"JJ'1;7 :Ser,,; !here are families of non4isomorphic graph4isospectral
combinatorial graphs of si0e that gro&s e/ponentially in the number of edges.
"roo(s7 Jornet and Justafson construct families of regular graph4isospectral com4
binatorial graphs on n edges of si0e
1
e
lnA2BnR12
in :"JJ'1;. !hese graphs contain loops
and multiple edges. Seress builds graph4isospectral families of simple regular graphs
of si0e
1
e
lnA2BnR2*
in :Ser,,;.
2*
8emar( 2.#. "oth of the abo%e constructions are based on the method of Seidel
s&itching. !he base case &or(s as follo&s. 3et J
1
O AI
1
7 2
1
B and J
2
O AI
2
7 2
2
B be
t&o
regular simple combinatorial graphs. >e &ill no& construct t&o ne& combinatorial
graphs J and
J
X
that are graph4isospectral. !he %erte/ set of J and J
X
is I
1
t I
2
.
All edges in J
1
and J
2
are also edges in J and J
X
. !he set of edges in J bet&een
I
1
and I
2
satisfies the follo&ing rule. 2ach %erte/ in I
1
is ad6acent to e/actly half
the %ertices in I
2
and e%ery %erte/ in I
2
is ad6acent to e/actly half the %ertices in I
1
.
!he edges in J
X
bet&een I
1
and I
2
are obtained through Us&itching edges on and off
V. >hene%er there is an edge bet&een %
1
I
1
and %
2
I
2
in J there is no edge
bet&een these t&o %ertices in J
X
. >hene%er there is no edge bet&een %
1
I
1
and
%
2
I
2
in J there is an edge bet&een these t&o %ertices in J
X
. !hat is7 &e s&itch
all the edges bet&een I
1
and I
2
to non4edges and %ice %ersa.
In order to obtain large graph4isospectral families one has to generali0e this
method. $ne uses ( regular simple combinatorial graphs and s&itches edges on and
off bet&een them7 see :"JJ'1; for a rigorous statement of the general theorem.
25
Chapter
Quantum graphs and differential
forms
)efinition .1. A .uantum graph J consists of the follo&ing data=
AiB A finite combinatorial graph &ith edge set 2 and %erte/ set I
AiiB A length function 3 = 2 8
Y,
that assigns a length to each edge
3et {e %} denote the set of edges e ad6acent to a %erte/ %.
3et L =O
P
3AeB denote the total edge length of the .uantum graph.
e2
8emar( .2. A .uantum graph has a natural topology and structure as a 14dimensional
C> comple/. !his gi%es a &ay to define the homology and cohomology of the .uan4
tum graph.
!he concept of differential forms on a .uantum graph &as introduced in :J$'1;.
)efinition .. A %ector field W on J consists of a %ector field on each edge. >e
see each edge as a closed inter%al7 that is7 as a 14dimensional manifold7 and use the
2+
Quantum graphs and differential forms
associated notion of %ector field. In particular a %ector field is multi%alued at the
%ertices.
3et Z
%7e
denote the out&ard unit normal for the edge e at the %erte/ %7 &here
again &e see the edge e as a 14dimensional manifold &ith boundary. 3et W
1
be an
au/iliary %ector field that is real and has constant length 1 on all edges.
)efinition .*. A ,4form f on J is a function that is C

on the edges7 that is
continuous7 and that satisfies the 9irchhoff boundary condition
W
Z
%7e
Af |
e
B O ,
e%
at all %ertices % I . >e denote the space of ,4forms by [
,
.
)efinition .5. A 14form L on J consists of a smooth 14form L
e
on each closed
edge e such that L satisfies the boundary condition
W
L
e
AZ
%7e
B O ,
e%
at all %ertices % I . >e denote the space of 14forms by [
1
.
)efinition .+. -or a real 14form L &e define the operator d
L
= [
,
[
1
through
the re.uirement
Ad
L
f BAW B =O W Af B G 2EiLAW B
f
for all %ector fields W . >e denote the operator d
,
by d.
8emar( .#. <ote that the boundary conditions for functions and 14forms are com4
patible. A function f satisfies 9irchhoff boundary conditions if and only if df satisfies
the boundary condition for 14forms.
2#
L
L
K
K
)efinition .1. >e define a hermitian inner product on [
,
by
Af7 gB =O
K
f A/BgA/Bd/
J
)efinition .'. >e define a hermitian inner product on [
1
by
AL7 \B =O
LAW
1
B\AW
1
Bd/ O
W
J
e2
K
3AeB
,
L
e
AW
1
|
e
B\
e
AW
1
|
e
Bd/
!his is clearly independent of the choice of the au/iliary %ector field W
1
.
>e are no& going to define the formal ad6oint of d
L
. -ormally it should satisfy
Ad

\7 f B O A\7 d
L
f
B
for all f [
,
. >e ha%e
A\7 d
L
f B O
K K
\AW
1
BW
1
Af Bd/ 2Ei
J J
\AW
1
BLAW
1
Bf d/
O W
1
A\AW
1
BBf d/ G
W
f A%B
W
\
e
AZ
%7e
B
J
K
2Ei
J
%I
LAW
1
B\AW
1
Bf d/
e%
&here &e used integration by parts. !he sum term %anishes because of the boundary
condition on 14forms. So &e find that d
satisfies
d

L
\ O W
1
A\AW
1
BB 2EiLAW
1
B\AW
1
B O d \ 2EiLAW
1
B\AW
1
B
&hich again is independent of the choice of W
1
.
21
2
L
f > AJB % I =
W
Z Af | B O ,
)efinition .1,. -or each edge e 2 &e define the Sobolo% space >
2
AeB as the
2
closure of C
2
A:,7 3AeB;B &ith respect to the norm ||f ||
2
=O
P
3AeB
8
|f
A6B
A/B|
2
d/.
6O, ,
>e define the global Sobolo% space >
2
AJB as the space of all functions f that are
continuous on the entire graph and that satisfy f |
e
>
2
AeB for all e 2.
)efinition .11. >e define a Schrodinger type operator
T
L
=O d

d
L
on [
,
. >e e/tend its domain to
)omAT
L
B =O
A B
2

%7e e
e%
8emar( .12. <ote that the introduction or remo%al of %ertices of degree 2 &ould
not change the space )omAT
L
B. !his 6ustifies our assumption that all graphs do not
ha%e %ertices of degree 2.
)efinition .1. >e denote the the set of eigen%alues7 ie the spectrum of T
L
including multiplicities by Spec
L
AJB.
Proposition .1*. :9uc,*; !he operator T
L
is elliptic. !he spectrum is discrete7
infinite7 bounded from belo&7 &ith a single accumulation point at infinity. !he multi4
plicity of each eigen%alue is finite.
!heorem .15. :J$'1; >e ha%e H
1
AJ7 CB O [
1
RdA[
,
B. !hus the definitions of
14forms and ,4forms produce the e/pected de8ham cohomology.
2'
n
E
Chapter *
A trace formula
In this chapter &e &ill present the trace formula &e are going to &or( &ith. Although
there are many different %ersions of it Asee :"2,1; for a sur%eyB all of them ha%e
essentially the same structure. $n the left side there is an infinite sum of some
test function e%aluated at all the eigen%alues including multiplicity. !he right side
contains a term in%ol%ing the total edge length of the .uantum graph7 an inde/ term
that simplifies to the 2uler characteristic for 9irchhoff boundary conditions7 and an
infinite sum o%er the periodic orbits in the .uantum graph.
>e &ill use the follo&ing.
!heorem *.1. :9S''; !he spectrum Spec
L
AJB O {(
2
}
n
of the operator T
L
deter4
mines the follo&ing e/act &a%e trace formula.
W
]A( (
n
B O
L
G SAJB]A(B G
n
1
W
2E
pP $
A
p
ALBe
i(l
p
G A
p
ALBe
i(l
p
Here the first sum is o%er the eigen%alues including multiplicities7 the ] are )irac ]
distributions.
,
degAtAbBB
. Here ]
A trace formula
L denotes the total edge length of the .uantum graph. SAJB O I 2 1 denotes
the 2uler characteristic.
!he second sum is o%er all periodic orbits7 l
p
denotes the length of a periodic
orbit. A periodic orbit is an oriented closed &al( in the .uantum graph A&ithout a
fi/ed starting pointB.
!he coefficients A
p
ALB are gi%en by
A
p
ALB O
X
l
p
e
2Ei
8
p
L
^
bp
_
tAbB
Here
X
l
p
is the length of the primiti%e periodic orbit that p is a repetition of. !he
e
2Ei
8
p
L
is the phase factor or Umagnetic flu/V. !he product is o%er the se.uence of
oriented edges or bonds in the periodic orbit. !he coefficient _
tAbB
at the terminal
%erte/ tAbB of each bond b is called the %erte/ scattering coefficient and is gi%en by
_
tAbB
O ]
tAbB
G
2
tAbB
is defined to be e.ual to one if the periodic orbit is
bac(trac(ing at the %erte/ tAbB and 0ero other&ise.
Proof. >e &ill not gi%e a complete proof of the trace formula here but merely gi%e a
s(etch of the proof and pro%ide some of the (ey ideas that go into pro%ing the trace
formula. $ur presentation here summari0es the proof gi%en in :9S'';.
>e &ill fi/ an orientation and a parametri0ation for the edges7 that is &e consider
a directed .uantum graph. !hen e%ery bond b O A%7 %
0
B has a natural orientation
from % to %
0
and a re%ersed orientation from %
0
to % denoted by b. >e identify the
bond b &ith the inter%al :,7 3AbB;. 3et W
b
be the %ector field of unit length along the
bond b that points in the direction of the terminal %erte/ of b.
>e first obser%e that all eigenfunctions of the SchrDodinger operator T
L
are sine
1
8
/
8
3AbB
degAtAbBB
A trace formula
&a%es on the indi%idual edges. !he eigenfunctions are al&ays of the form
N
b
A/B O e
2Ei
,
L
b

a
b
e
i(/
G aX
b
e
i(/

for some parameters a
b
and aX
b
. <ote that &e al&ays ha%e N
b
A/B O N
b
A3AbB /B.
!he %alue (
2
is an eigen%alue of the .uantum graph &hene%er there e/ists a choice
of the %alues of the parameters a
b
and aX
b
on all the bonds such that the 9irchhoff
boundary conditions are satisfied at all the %ertices. !his gi%es rise to a system of 22
linear e.uations that can be &ritten in finite dimensional matri/ form. !his is the (ey
step &here .uantum graphs beha%e better than arbitrary manifolds7 this reduction
to a finite problem is ultimately the reason &hy &e ha%e an e/act trace formula for
.uantum graphs instead of 6ust an asymptotic appro/imation. >e let
SA(7 LB =O )A(7 LB!
Here )A(7 LB
bb
, =O ]
bb
, e
i(3AbB2Ei
,
L
b
is a diagonal matri/ that encodes the metric
structure and the 14form L. !he matri/ ! encodes the combinatorial structure of
the graph. If the terminal %erte/ of the bond b is the initial %erte/ of the bond b
0
&e
set !
bb
, =O _
tAbB
O ]
tAbB
G
2
to be the %erte/ scattering coefficient at the %erte/
tAbB7 here ]
tAbB
is e.ual to 1 if b O b
0
and , other&iseH &e set !
bb
, =O , other&ise. !he
eigen%alues are no& gi%en by the secular e.uation
` A(B =O detAI d
2n
SA(7 LBB O ,
<ote that this e.uation is also used for numeric computations of the eigen%alues. >e
2

E
1
A trace formula
can no& apply a counting operation to ` A(B7 &e define
1 @
dA(B =O lim I m
a,
@(
log ` A( G iaB
< A(
0
B =O
K
(
,
(
,
a
,
dA(Bd(
$ne can sho& using the !aylor e/pansion of ` that < A(
0
B counts the 0eros of ` A(B
Aincluding multiplicitiesB in the inter%al :(
,
7 (
0
B. In other &ords7 as a distribution &e
ha%e
dA(B O
W
]A( (
n
B
n
!his means &e ha%e found the follo&ing distributional e.uality.
W
]A( (
n
B O
@
lim I m log det AI d
2n
SA( G ia7 LBB
E
a,
@(
n
It e.uates a sum o%er the eigen%alues &ith a .uantity that solely depends on the
combinatorial and metric features of the .uantum graph. !o get the e/pression of
the trace formula as stated abo%e one has to perform a series of sophisticated and
cle%er algebraic manipulations.
8emar( *.2. !he phase factor e
2Ei
8
p
L
of a periodic orbit only depends on its homology
class by Sto(es theorem. -or a contractible periodic orbit it is e.ual to 1.
Corollary *.. :9S''; !he -ourier transform of this trace formula is gi%en by=
W
e
ilP
n
O 2L]AlB G SAJB G
W
A
p
ALB]Al l
p
B G A
p
ALB]Al G l
p
B
n pP $
Chapter 5
-initeness of .uantum
isospectrality
!he goal of this chapter is to pro%e that any family of .uantum graphs &hose 3aplace
operators are isospectral is finite7 and to pro%ide an upper bound for the si0e of
isospectral families.
>e &ill analy0e the trace formula for T
,
from !heorem *.1. -irst &e need a
lemma that &ill guarantee the non4%anishing of certain terms in the trace formula.
3emma 5.1. Assume J is a leafless .uantum graph. !hen &e ha%e
AiB If p is a periodic orbit &ith an e%en number of bac(trac(s then A
p
Y ,.
AiiB If p is a periodic orbit &ith an odd number of bac(trac(s then A
p
b ,.
Proof. !he coefficients A
p
for the standard 3aplacian are gi%en by
A
p
O
X
l
p
^
_
tAbB
bp
*
deg %
deg %
5
1,
5
5 1,
5
5
1,
-initeness of .uantum isospectrality
!he Umagnetic flu/V term is 6ust 1 in this case.
!he length of a periodic orbit is al&ays strictly positi%e and thus has no influence
on the sign of A
p
. !he %erte/ scattering coefficient is
2
if the periodic orbit is not
bac( scattering and 1 G
2
if it is bac( scattering. As &e assumed degA%B the
sign of the product is e.ual to the parity of the number of bac( trac(s.
8emar( 5.2. !his means that the coefficient for a single periodic orbit is al&ays
non0ero. In general ho&e%er in can happen that se%eral different periodic orbits ha%e
e/actly the same length and the sum of their coefficients is 0ero so one &ould not see
them in the trace formula. It is sho&n in :JS,1; that .uantum graphs &ith rationally
independent edge lengths are spectrally determined. It is one of the (ey steps in
their proof to identify the set of edge lengths through the periodic orbits that 6ust
bac(trac( t&ice on a single edge. !he ne/t e/ample sho&s that this step fails if the
rational independence hypothesis is dropped.
2/ample 5.. !he .uantum graph in -igure 5.1 has an edge of length
2
. In order
to see this from the trace formula one &ould loo( for periodic orbits of length
2
.
Ho&e%er there are multiple periodic orbits of length
2
and the sum of all their
coefficients %anishes.
A periodic orbit of length
2
could either contain t&o edges of length
2
or t&o
edges of length 17 one edge of length
+
and one edge of length
#
or finally one edge of
5 5
length 1 and three edges of length
+
. !here is one periodic orbit containing t&o edges
of length
2
7 its coefficient is A
p
O
2
A
1
BA
1
B O
2
. !here are four periodic orbits
1, 5 2 2 2,
of the second type7 all of them ha%e coefficient A
p
O
2
A
1
B
A
1
B O
2
. !here are
5 2 2 1,
no periodic orbits of the third type. !hus the sum of all coefficients of periodic orbits
of length
2
is 0ero. !hus one &ould not notice the e/istence of an edge of length
2
5
5
-igure 5.1= A .uantum graph &ith %anishing terms in the trace formula
simply by loo(ing for periodic orbits of length
2
. As there are other periodic orbits
in the .uantum graph that contain this edge one might infer its e/istence from these.
Although the gi%en e/ample is not a simple graph it is possible to construct
e/amples of this phenomena &ith simple graphs.
8emar( 5.*. 3oops present a minor technical difficulty for some of the arguments in
this chapter. >hene%er a .uantum graph has a loop of length l &e &ill count it as
t&o edges of length lR2. !his comes from the fact that &e ma(e statements about the
shortest edge length but &hat &e sho& are statements about the shortest periodic
orbit in the .uantum graph. If a graph does not ha%e loops the shortest periodic
orbit has length e.ual to t&ice the shortest edge length. If an edge is a loop the
corresponding periodic orbit only has the length e.ual to once the length of this loop.
!his mirrors a similar special treatment of loops in combinatorial graphs7 see
)efinition 2.2'. Csing this con%ention &e can still say that any periodic orbit contains
+
2
2
2
at least t&o edges.
3emma 5.5. All leafless .uantum graphs isospectral to a gi%en .uantum graph ha%e
the same shortest edge length. !he multiplicity of that edge length may %ary.
Proof. !his follo&s from 3emma 5.1. !he shortest periodic orbit in a .uantum graph
consists of t&ice the shortest edge length. If there are se%eral edges of the same
shortest edge length there might be se%eral periodic orbits of minimum length but all
of them ha%e either t&o or 0ero bac(trac(s. !he 0ero bac(trac( case only happens if
there is a double edge &here both edges ha%e the shortest edge length. !hus all the A
p
coefficients of these periodic orbits &ill be positi%e and their sum cannot %anish.
8emar( 5.+. If &e allo& .uantum graphs &ith lea%es7 the coefficients A
p
for the
shortest periodic orbits can be positi%e or negati%e. It is not hard to construct an
e/ample &here the sum of these coefficients cancels out to 0ero. !his means there
might be isospectral .uantum graphs &ith lea%es &ith different minimum edge lengths.
3emma 5.#. 3et J and J
0
be t&o leafless .uantum graphs that are isospectral. !hen
all edge lengths of J
0
are
1
<4linear combinations of edge lengths occurring in J.
Proof. >e &ill sho& this by contradiction. Clearly all periodic orbits in J ha%e
lengths that are <4linear combinations of the edge lengths occurring in J. !hus all
terms in the trace formula for J &ill occur at lengths that are <4linear combinations
of the edge lengths occurring in J.
Suppose J
0
has edge lengths that are not
1
<4linear combinations of edge lengths
occurring in J. Consider the shortest length 3 of periodic orbits that in%ol%e at
least one edge length that is not a
1
<4linear combination of edge lengths occurring
in J. Any periodic orbit of length 3 contains e/actly one edge length that is not a
#
1
L
2
(
2
<4linear combination of edge lengths occurring in J. If it &ould in%ol%e t&o distinct
ne& lengths the periodic orbit consisting of t&ice the shorter of the t&o ne& length
&ould be shorter. !here are t&o possibilities of &hat the periodic orbits of length 3
can loo( li(e. 2ither they consist of t&ice the same ne& edge length &ith t&o or 0ero
bac(trac(s7 or they form a closed &al( in the graph that contains a ne& edge length
only once. If the periodic orbit contains a ne& edge length only once it has to be
homologous to a cycle in the graph7 as it has minimum length it is this cycle and thus
contains no bac( trac(s. <ote that both cases can occur at the same time in%ol%ing
different ne& edge lengths. !hus &e ha%e sho&n that any periodic orbit of length 3
has an e%en number of bac( trac(s and thus a positi%e coefficient A
p
by 3emma 5.1
and the trace formula of J
0
&ill ha%e a non4%anishing coefficient at length 3. !he
length 3 is not an <4linear combinations of the edge lengths occurring in J in either
of our t&o cases7 thus the trace formula for J does not in%ol%e a term at length 3.
!herefore the trace formulas for J and J
0
do not match and the .uantum graphs are
not isospectral.
8emar( 5.1. !here are .uantum graphs &ith edges of integer and half integer length
such that all periodic orbits ha%e integer length. -igure 5.2 sho&s an e/ample of such
a .uantum graph.
8emar( 5.'. !his lemma fails for graphs &ith degree 1 %ertices or for a more general
operator of the form d

d
L
. -or the standard 3aplacian on arbitrary .uantum graphs
one can sho& a similar lemma saying that all edge lengths are
1
<4linear combinations
of the edge lengths occurring in J for some ( but it is not clear &hether there is a
bound on (. -or a general operator7 this (ind of argument does not imply any
restrictions because &e ha%e no information about the coefficients of periodic orbits
1
2
-igure 5.2= A .uantum graph &ith half integer edge length and only integer length
periodic orbits
that are cycles in the graph.
!heorem 5.1,. All families of leafless .uantum graphs that are isospectral for the
standard 3aplacian are finite.
Proof. >e &ill pro%e the follo&ing e.ui%alent statement=
-or a gi%en leafless .uantum graph J there are at most finitely many non4isomorphic
leafless .uantum graphs that are isospectral to J for the standard 3aplacian.
>ithout loss of generality &e &ill assume that the shortest edge length in J is 1.
3et L be the total edge length of J. 3et J
0
be a .uantum graph that is isospectral
to J for the standard 3aplacian. !hen J
0
&ill also ha%e total edge length L by the
trace formula *.17 and minimum edge length 1 by 3emma 5.5. All edge lengths
occurring in J
0
&ill be
1
<4linear combinations of the edge lengths in J by 3emma
5.#. !hus there e/ists a finite list of possible edge lengths that can occur in J
0
.
!he .uantum graph J
0
can ha%e at most bLc edges. !here are only finitely many
non4isomorphic combinatorial graphs &ith bLc or less edges. !hus the underlying
combinatorial graph of J
0
has to be one of this finite list of graphs &ith at most bLc
edges.
'
5.1 An e/plicit bound on the si0e of isospectral families
!here is only a finite number of &ays to assign the finite number of possible edge
lengths to each of the finitely many possible combinatorial graphs. !hus there are
only finitely many .uantum graphs that are isospectral to J.
5.1 An e/plicit bound on the si0e of isospectral
families
>e can find a lo&er bound on the si0e of isospectral families by loo(ing at large
families of isospectral combinatorial graphs and then apply the follo&ing result.
!heorem 5.11. :Cat'#; 3et J be a regular e.uilateral .uantum graph. !hen the spec4
trum of J is completely and e/plicitly determined by the spectrum of the underlying
combinatorial graph.
In particular if t&o regular e.uilateral .uantum graphs ha%e graph4isospectral un4
derlying combinatorial graphs they are isospectral as .uantum graphs as &ell.
Corollary 5.12. !here are families of isospectral e.uilateral pair&ise non4isomorphic
.uantum graphs &hose si0e gro&s e/ponentially in the number of edges. If &e nor4
mali0e the edge length to be 1 the si0e of the families gro&s e/ponentially in the total
edge lengths of the .uantum graphs.
Proof. !his is a direct conse.uence of the e/istence of families of graph4isospectral
pair&ise non4isomorphic combinatorial graphs of si0e gro&ing e/ponentially in the
number of edges7 see :"JJ'1; and :Ser,,;7 !heorem 2.+7 combined &ith !heorem
5.11 abo%e.
*,
3emma 5.1. Any leafless .uantum graph &ith total edge length L7 2uler character4
istic S and minimum edge length 1 can ha%e at most
F =O min{bLc7 S }
edges.
Proof. If the .uantum graph has minimum edge length 1 and total edge length L it
can ha%e at most bLc edges.
If a .uantum graph is leafless and does not ha%e %ertices of degree 2 all its %ertices
ha%e degree at least . !his implies
2
2
I
$n the other hand &e ha%e
2 I G 1 O S
Put together this implies
2 S
8emar( 5.1*. !he same e.uations also yield the t&o bounds
1
2
I G 1 S 2
)efinition 5.15. >e define a list of possible edge lengths to be a list of edge
lengths Apossibly &ith repetitionB that could form the set of all edge lengths occurring
*1
2
2
iO1 i
i
i
in a .uantum graph that is isospectral to J.
2%ery such list satisfies the follo&ing properties.
AiB 2%ery edge length in the list is a
1
<4linear combination of the edge lengths in
J.
AiiB !he sum of the edge lengths of all the edges in the list is L.
AiiiB 2%ery edge length in J is a
1
<4linear combination of the edge lengths in the
list.
Ai%B !he shortest edge length occurring in the list is 1.
<ote that each such list contains at most F items by 3emma 5.1.
3emma 5.1+. !here are at most F
*bLc
different lists of possible edge lengths.
Proof. 3et 1 O l
1
. . . l
n
denote the edge lengths in J Aincluding repetitionsB.
3et 1 O e
1
. . . e
m
denote a list of possible edge lengths. >e then ha%e n F
and m F by 3emma 5.1. 2%ery e
6
can be &ritten as e
6
O
P
n
L
6
l
i
for some
coefficients L
6
{,7
1
7 17

7 27 . . .}. >e also ha%e
i
2 2
m m n m n
L O
W
e
6
O
W W
L
6
l
i

W W
L
6
6O1 6O1
i
iO1 6O1
i
iO1
In order to count the number of lists of possible edge lengths &e ha%e to choose
nm F
2
coefficients L
6
such that the sum o%er all of them is at most L. !he
number of possibilities can be bounded as follo&s. Start &ith all a
6
0ero and then
choose one coefficient L
6
and increase it by
1
7 do this 2bLc times. !his gi%es an upper
i
2
bound of AF
2
B
2bLc
O F
*bLc
for the total number of lists of possible edge length.
*2
2
A
2
2
2
<ote that this bound does not use the property that the l
i
are
1
<4linear combi4
nations of the e
6
.
!heorem 5.1#. Any family of isospectral leafless .uantum graphs &ith common min4
imum edge length 1 and total edge length L is at most of si0e
A
2
F G 1B
2F
F cF
*bLc
!his means that the si0e of isospectral families can be bounded by L

#L
O e
#L logALB
.
Proof. !he graph J has at most F edges7 as it is leafless e%ery %erte/ has degree
at least three so J has at most
2
F %ertices. >e need to bound the number of
combinatorial graphs &ith at most F edges on at most
2
F %ertices. !here are

F B
possibilities for the end %ertices of each edge7 so there are at most A
2
F B
2F
combinatorial graphs &ith F edges on
2
F %ertices. As this includes graphs &ith
isolated %ertices this is also a bound for graphs &ith at most
2
F %ertices. !o bound
the number of graphs &ith at most F edges &e &ill add in a U(ill %erte/V and say that
any edge that has the U(ill %erte/V at one of its ends is not part of the graph. !his
gi%es the bound A
2
F G 1B
2F
for the number of combinatorial graphs &ith at most

F %ertices and at most F edges.
"y 3emma 5.1+ &e ha%e at most F
*bLc
lists of possible edge length.
If &e are gi%en a combinatorial graph &ith at most F edges and a list of at most
F possible edge lengths there are at most F c &ays to assign the edge lengths to the
graph. >e are ignoring the fact that the combinatorial graph might not ha%e the
same number of edges as the list of possible edge lengths in &hich case there &ould
be 0ero &ays to assign the lengths.
*
Putting the three estimates together the ma/imal si0e of an isospectral family is
bounded by
A
2
F G 1B
2F
F cF
*bLc
!o get the bound that in%ol%es only the total edge length &e note that F L by
the definition of F and that F c b F
F
.
**
Chapter +
)efining the Albanese torus of a
.uantum graph
!he dacobian and its dual7 the Albanese torus ha%e been studied for combinatorial
graphs7 see :<ag'#; and :9S,,;. >e &ill generali0e this to .uantum graphs. If the
.uantum graph is e.uilateral7 our definition reco%ers theirs.
!he Albanese torus or Albanese %ariety is a classic in%ariant of algebraic %arieties
and comple/ manifolds studied since the 1'th century. "oth the Albanese torus and
the dacobian carry a natural comple/ structure induced from the space of holomorphic
14forms. !he comple/ structure does not carry o%er to combinatorial or .uantum
graphs7 in fact the tori donVt e%en ha%e to be e%en dimensional. $n the other hand7
the inner product structure is induced from the inner product on harmonic 14forms
and this idea carries o%er to combinatorial and .uantum graphs.
)efinition +.1. >e call a 14form L harmonic if d
L [
,
and dd
L O ,.
3emma +.2. :J$'1; A 14form L is harmonic if and only if LAW
1
B is constant on all
*5
)efining the Albanese torus of a .uantum graph
edges &here W
1
is the au/iliary %ector field of constant length 1.
3emma +.. :J$'1; Any \ [
1
admits a uni.ue Hodge decomposition of the form
\ O dN G
\
X
&here N [
,
and \
X
is harmonic.
!hus each cohomology class has e/actly one harmonic representati%e.
If \ is real7 then so are N and \
X
.
)efinition +.*. >e define an inner product on H
1
AJ7 8B by
A:L;7 :\;B =O ALX7
\
X
B
&here LX and \
X
are the uni.ue harmonic representati%es of :L; and :\; and the
inner product is the hermitian inner product &e defined in .'.
3et orA2B be the set of oriented edges7 &e call an element b orA2B a bond. 3et
b denote a re%ersal of orientation. 3et oAbB and tAbB be the origin and terminal %erte/
of a bond b.
3et A be an abelian group7 the coefficients of the homology. 3et C
,
AJ7 AB be the
free A4module &ith generators in I . 3et C
1
AJ7 AB be the A4module generated by
orA2B modulo the relation b O b. !he boundary map @ = C
1
AJ7 AB C
,
AJ7 AB is
defined by @AbB =O tAbB oAbB and linearity. >e then ha%e H
1
AJ7 AB O (erA@B.
>e ha%e the natural pairing A:L;7 :p;B 7
8
p
L for any :L; H
1
AJ7 8B and :p;
H
1
AJ7 8B. !his ma(es these t&o spaces dual to each other and induces an inner
product on H
1
AJ7 8B.
*+
)efining the Albanese torus of a .uantum graph
3emma +.5. !his inner product is e.ui%alent to the one &e get on H
1
AJ7 8B as a
subspace of C
1
AJ7 8B &ith the inner product gi%en by
e e
0
O
3AeB e O e
0
3AeB e O e
0
, other&ise
on edges and bilinear e/tension.
!his might seem an a&(&ard inner product if one thin(s of %ectors but the better
analogy &ould be to thin( of characteristic functions of sets in 8
n
&ith an 3
2
inner
product.
8emar( +.+. !he inner product plays &ell &ith our notion of edges of positi%e and
negati%e o%erlap in )efinition 2.5. !he inner product of t&o cycles is e.ual to the
difference bet&een the length of the edges of positi%e and negati%e o%erlap.
)efinition +.#. !he Albanese torus of a .uantum graph is the 8iemannian torus
AlbAJB =O H
1
AJ7 8BRH
1
AJ7 KB
&ith inner product as in +.5. !he dacobian torus of a .uantum graph is the 8ie4
mannian torus
d acAJB =O H
1
AJ7 8BRH
1
AJ7
KB
&ith inner product as in +.*. <ote that these are dual tori.
*#
Chapter #
!he "loch spectrum
In this chapter &e &ill introduce the "loch spectrum7 first using differential forms
and then using characters of the fundamental group. >e sho& that the t&o notions
are e.ui%alent.
8emar( #.1. !he spectrum of the standard 3aplacian determines the 2uler character4
istic %ia the trace formula *.1. !he multiplicity of the eigen%alue 0ero is e.ual to the
number of connected components7 dim H
,
AJ7 KB. !hus the spectrum of the standard
3aplacian determines the dimension of H
1
AJ7 KB.
#.1 !he "loch spectrum %ia differential forms
Proposition #.2. 3et L [
1
and N [
,
be real and let \ O L G dN. 3et f be an
eigenfunction of T
L
&ith eigen%alue P. !hen e
2EiN
f is an eigenfunction of T
\
&ith
the same eigen%alue. !hat is7 t&o operators &hose 14forms differ by an e/act 14form
ha%e the same spectrum.
*1
\
\
\
L
d
L
f
d8
H
1
d8
H
1
d8 d8
d8 d8 d8 d8
d8 d8
#.1 !he "loch spectrum %ia differential forms
Proof. >e ha%e
d
\
d
\

e
2EiN
f

O d

dAe
2EiN
f B G 2Eie
2EiN
f L G 2Eie
2EiN
f dN

O d

e
2EiN
df G 2Eie
2EiN
f L

O d

e
2EiN
d
L
f

O d

e
2EiN
d
L
f

2EiLAW
1
Be
2EiN
d
L
f AW
1
B 2EidNAW
1
Be
2EiN
d
L
f AW
1
B
O e
2EiN
d
d
L
f 2EiLAW
1
Be
2EiN
d
L
f AW
1
B
O e
2EiN
d
!hus f is an eigenfunction for T

L
if and only if e
2EiN
f is an eigenfunction for T
\
&ith the same eigen%alue.
8emar( #.. <ote that Spec
L
AJB depends only on the coset of :L; in H
1
AJ7 8BR
d8
AJ7 KB.
)efinition #.*. >e define the "loch spectrum Spec
"l
AJB of a .uantum graph to
be the map that associates to each :L; the spectrum Spec
L
AJB &here :L; H
1
AJ7 8BR
d8
AJ7 KB.
<ote that &e assume that &e only (no& H
1
AJ7 8BRH
1
AJ7 KB as an abstract
torus &ithout any 8iemannian structure.
)efinition #.5. >e say that t&o .uantum graphs J and J
0
are "loch isospectral if
there is a 3ie group isomorphism e = H
1
AJ7 8BRH
1
AJ7 KB H
1
AJ
0
7 8BRH
1
AJ
0
7 KB
such that Spec
L
AJB O Spec
eALB
AJ
0
B for all :L; H
1
AJ7 8BRH
1
AJ7 KB.
*'
S
S
d8
#.2 !he "loch spectrum %ia characters of the fundamental group
8emar( #.+. If J is a tree its entire "loch spectrum 6ust consists of the spectrum of
the standard 3aplacian T
,
and thus does not contain any additional information.
#.2 !he "loch spectrum %ia characters of the fun4
damental group
3et J
X
be the uni%ersal co%er of J and let E
1
AJB denote the fundamental group. !hen
E
1
AJB acts by dec( transformations on
E
1
AJB.
J
X
. 3et S = E
1
AJB C

be a character
of
>e &ill study functions f
X
= J
X
C that are continuous7 satisfy 9irchhoff
boundary conditions at the %ertices7 and that obey the transformation la&
f
X
A5/B O
SA5Bf
X
A/B
for all / J
X
and 5 E
1
AJB. >e refer to the space of these functions as [
,
AJ
X
B.
>e associate to the character S the spectrum of the standard 3aplacian d
d on
J
X
restricted to functions in [
,
AJ
X
B7 &e &ill denote it by SpecAJ7 SB.
)efinition #.#. >e call the map that associates to each character S of E
1
AJB the
spectrum SpecAJ7 SB the E
1
4spectrum of J.
#. 2.ui%alence of the t&o definitions
!heorem #.1. !he "loch spectrum Spec
"l
AJB and the E
1
4spectrum of a .uantum
graph are e.ual. !here is a one4to4one correspondence :L; 7 S
L
bet&een H
1
AJ7 8BR
5,
H
1
d8
S
L
L
#. 2.ui%alence of the t&o definitions
d8
AJ7 KB and the set of characters of E
1
AJB. It is gi%en by
S
L
A5B O e
2Ei
8
5
L
It induces the e.uality SpecAJ7 S
L
B O Spec
L
AJB.
Proof. !he integral does not depend on either the representati%e in E
1
AJB nor on
the one in H
1 AJ7 8B so this gi%es a &ell defined map. >e also ha%e S
L
A5
1
5
2
B O
S
L
A5
1
BS
L
A5
2
B so this defines a character.
3et f = J C and let f
X
= J
X
C be the lift of f . 3et LX be the pullbac( of L.
As
H
1
AJ
X
B is tri%ial LX is e/act and there e/ists a function 1X = J
X
C such that LX
O d1X.
3et gXA/B =O e
2Ei1XA/B
f
X
A/B. >e claim that gX is an eigenfunction in the E
1
4
spectrum
if and only if T
L
f O Pf . >e need to sho& that gX
[
,
AJ
X
B and that TgX O PgX.
3et 5 E
1
AJB and let 5X
be the Auni.ueB path in
J
X
from / to 5/. >e ha%e
1XA5/B 1XA/B O
8
5X
d1X by Sto(eVs theorem. So &e get
gXA5/B O e
2Ei1XA5/B
f
X
A5/B O e
2Ei
8
5X
LX
e
2Ei1XA/B
f
X
A/B O S
A5BgXA/B
"y Proposition #.2 &e ha%e
TgX O Te
2Ei1X
f
X
O e
2Ei1X
T
LX
f
X
!hus gX is an eigenfunction &ith eigen%alue P if and only if f is.
8emar( #.'. !his theorem mirrors a similar result for tori7 see :Jui',;.
51
Chapter 1
!he homology of a .uantum graph
In this chapter &e &ill analy0e the spectrum and the trace formula and e/tract infor4
mation about the homology of the graph from it.
"efore &e state and pro%e the main theorem of this chapter &e need a fe& defini4
tions and a technical lemma.
)efinition 1.1. >e call a periodic orbit minimal if it has minimal length &ithin its
homology class.
8emar( 1.2. <ote that in general a gi%en element in the homology might ha%e more
than one minimal periodic orbit that represents it.
$n the other hand7 all closed &al(s that contain no edge repetitions7 and in
particular all cycles are minimal. A cycle is also the uni.ue minimal periodic orbit
in its homology class.
)efinition 1.. >e call a 14form L generic if the image of the ray tL in the torus
H
1 1
d8
AJ7 8BRH
d8
AJ7 KB is dense. !he LVs &ith this property are dense. >e pic( and
fi/ a single generic L.
52
6
)efinition 1.*. !o the fi/ed generic L &e associate the follo&ing data.
AiB 3et f be the linear map f = H
1
AJ7 KB 8 gi%en by :p; 7 2E
8
p
L. It associates
to each periodic orbit its magnetic flu/.
AiiB >e call the absolute %alues of the magnetic flu/es g =O |fA:p;B| O 2E

8
p
L

the
fre.uencies associated to L.
AiiiB >e &ill denote the length of the minimal periodic orbitAsB associated to a fre4
.uency g by lAgB.
8emar( 1.5. !he map f is t&o4to4one Ae/cept at 0eroB because &e pic(ed L to be
generic. !he set of all fre.uencies g union their negati%es g and 0ero forms a finitely
generated free abelian subgroup of 8 that is isomorphic to H
1
AJ7 KB %ia the map f.
3emma 1.+. 3et f be a function that is a linear combination of se%eral cosine &a%es
&ith different Apositi%eB fre.uencies.
(
f AtB O
W
Z
6
cosAg
6
tB
6O1
!hen the %alues f AtB for t :,7 aB determine both ( and the indi%idual fre.uencies
g
1
7 . . . 7 g
(
.
Proof. Assume &ithout loss of generality that , b g
1
b . . . b g
(
. >e &ill sho& that
&e can determine g
(
and Z
(
and then use induction. >e &ill loo( at the collection of
deri%ati%es of f at t O ,. >e ha%e
(
f
A2nB
A,B O A1B
n
W
Z
6
g
2n
6O1
5
n

!here e/ists a uni.ue number P Y , such that
b lim
f
A2nB
A,B
APB
n
b and lim
n
f
A2nB
A,B
O ,
APB
n
and &e ha%e P O g
2
and lim
n
f
A2nB
A,B
O Z . >e can no& loo( at the ne& function7
(
APB
n (
f
X
AtB =O f AtB Z
(
cosAg
(
tB
repeat the process7 and determine g
(1
and Z
(1
. After finitely many steps &e &ill
end up &ith the constant function ,.
!he follo&ing theorem is the (ey lin( bet&een the "loch spectrum and the .uan4
tum graph. All further theorems are 6ust conse.uences of this one.
!heorem 1.#. Ji%en a generic L7 see )efinition 1.7 the part of the "loch spectrum
Spec
tL
AJB for t :,7 aB determines the length of the minimal periodic orbitAsB of each
element in H
1
AJ7 KB.
Proof. >e &ill sho& &e can read off the set of fre.uencies g7 see )efinition 1.*7
associated to the generic L from the "loch spectrum and determine the length lAgB
for each fre.uency.
>e &ill loo( at the continuous family of 14forms LAtB O tL and the associated
operators T
LAtB
for our fi/ed generic L and t :,7 aB. If &e plug the eigen%alues of
these operators into the -ourier transform of the trace formula &e get a family of dis4
tributions. 2ach of these distributions is a locally finite sum of )irac4]4distributions
Aplus a constant termB. !he support of each of these ]4distributions is the length
of the periodic orbitAsB it is associated to and thus depends only on the underlying
.uantum graph and not on the 14form7 see *..
5*
p
p
Any periodic orbit p that is homologically non4tri%ial has a corresponding partner
p &hich is the same closed &al( &ith opposite orientation. !heir coefficients are
related by A
p
ALB O A
p
ALB as the %erte/ scattering coefficients and the length are the
same and the magnetic flu/ changes sign. !hus for each such pair &e &ould obser%e a
factor of the form 28eA
p
AtLB in the -ourier transform of the trace formulae for T
LAtB
.
>e ha%e
28eA
p
AtB O 28e

X
l
p
e
2Eit
8
p
L
^
bp
c
_
tAbB
O Z cos
K
2E Lt
p
by !heorem *.1 &here Z O 2
X
l
p
Q
b
p
_
tAbB
. So for each such pair of periodic orbits there
is a magnetic flu/ fA:p;B O 2E
8
L and a factor Z that is al&ays non0ero. Foreo%er the
factor Z is positi%e if the periodic orbit contains no bac(trac(s. As the magnetic flu/
appears in a cosine &a%e &e can only (no& its absolute %alue7 that is7 the fre.uency7
see )efinition 1.*.
Pic( a length of periodic orbits l. If &e loo( at the family of 14forms LAtB &e
get a continuous family of coefficients A
l
AtB O
P
l Ol
A
p
AtB. As &e did not ma(e any
assumptions on the underlying .uantum graph there can be multiple periodic orbits
&ith the same length. !hus each coefficient A
l
AtB is a linear combination of a constant
term and se%eral cosine &a%es &ith different fre.uencies. !he constant part comes
from homologically tri%ial periodic orbits of length l. !he cosine &a%es correspond
to the homologically nontri%ial periodic orbits of length l. >e can no& apply 3emma
1.+ to the function A
l
AtB and read off all the fre.uencies occurring at that length.
As &e go through the different lengths in the spectra starting at 0ero &e &ill pic(
up a collection of different fre.uencies. 2ach fre.uency &ill appear multiple times
at different lengths since there are multiple periodic orbits that represent the same
element in the homology and thus ha%e the same fre.uency.
55
!he fre.uency corresponding to a particular element in H
1
AJ7 KB can only be
reali0ed by periodic orbits that represent this element in the homology because &e
pic(ed L to be generic7 see 1.. Joing through the lengths starting at 0ero this
fre.uency can appear at the earliest at the length of the corresponding minimal
periodic orbitAsB. !he minimal periodic orbits need not be uni.ue but as they are
minimal they contain no bac(trac(s. !hus their Z coefficients are all strictly bigger
than ,7 so their sum cannot %anish and the fre.uency &ill indeed appear in the
coefficient A
l
AtB at the minimal length. !his gi%es us the length lAgB associated to
each fre.uency g.
8emar( 1.1. As &e pic(ed L to be generic7 the ma/imal number of fre.uencies that
are linearly independet o%er Q is e.ual to dim H
1
AJ7 KB. !hus &e can obser%e from
the number of rationally independent fre.uencies &hether an arbitrary L is generic
or not.
8emar( 1.'. >ithout any genericity assumptions on the edge lengths in the .uantum
graph it can happen that there are multiple non4minimal periodic orbits that are
homologous and of the same length. >e &ould not be able to distinguish them
directly in the trace formula7 it can e%en happen that their Z 4coefficients cancel out
and &e &ould not obser%e them at all.
5+
Chapter '
)etermining graph properties from
the "loch spectrum
>e &ill no& use the information gained in the last chapter and translate it into graph
properties that are determined by the "loch spectrum.
'.1 !he Albanese torus
3emma '.1. Ji%en a fre.uency g the follo&ing t&o statements are e.ui%alent=
AiB !he minimal periodic orbit associated to g is a cycle in the graph.
AiiB !here are no t&o fre.uencies h7 h
0
7 g O |h h
0
| &ith the property that lAhB G
lAh
0
B lAgB.
Proof. >e &ill pro%e both directions by contradiction.
Assume the minimal periodic orbit associated to g is not a cycle7 then it has to
go through some %erte/ at least t&ice. !hus &e can separate the periodic orbit into
5#
t&o shorter periodic orbits. 3et h and h
0
be the fre.uencies associated to the t&o
pieces. !hen g O |h h
0
| and because the t&o pieces are not necessarily minimal
lAhB G lAh
0
B lAgB.
Con%ersely7 suppose g admits a decomposition g O |h h
0
|. 3et c
g
7 c
h
and
c
h
, denote the minimal periodic orbits associated to the fre.uencies. If &e ha%e
lAhB G lAh
0
B O lAgB then c
g
O c
h
c
h
, and c
h
and c
h
, must ha%e a %erte/ in common
so c
g
is not a cycle. If &e ha%e lAhB G lAh
0
B b lAgB then the periodic orbits c
h
and c
h
,
are dis6oint and c
g
reali0es the connection bet&een them so it uses the edges bet&een
them t&ice and is not a cycle.
8emar( '.2. 3et g
1
and g
2
be t&o fre.uencies such that the associated minimal
periodic orbits c
1
and c
2
are cycles. !hese cycles ha%e an orientation induced from
the 14form L. !he fre.uency g
1
G g
2
corresponds to the pair of periodic orbits that
is homologous to c
1
c
2
and Ac
1
c
2
B. !hus if lAg
1
G g
2
B b lAg
1
B G lAg
2
B then
c
1
and c
2
ha%e edges of negati%e o%erlap. !he fre.uency |g
1
g
2
| corresponds to
the pair of periodic orbits that is homologous to c
1
Ac
2
B and Ac
1
B c
2
. !hus if
lAg
1
g
2
B b lAg
1
B G lAg
2
B then c
1
and c
2
ha%e edges of positi%e o%erlap.
!heorem '.. !he "loch spectrum of J determines the Albanese torus AlbAJB as a
8iemannian manifold.
Proof. Pic( a minimal set of generators g
1
7 . . . 7 g
n
of the group spanned by the
fre4 .uencies such that the associated minimal periodic orbits are all cycles. Such
a basis e/ists by 3emma 2.+. Associate to them a set of %ectors %
1
7 . . . 7 %
n
satisfying
|%
i
|
2
=O lAg
i
B and 2h%
i
7 %
6
i =O lAg
i
G g
6
B lA|g
i
g
6
|B for all i O 6. !his uni.uely
determines a torus &ith spanning %ectors %
1
7 . . . 7 %
n
.
51
If the cycles associated to g
i
and g
6
share no edges &e ha%e lAg
i
G g
6
B O lA|g
i
g
6
|B lAg
i
B G lAg
6
B so the associated %ectors are orthogonal.
If the cycles associated to g
i
and g
6
share edges the length lAg
i
G g
6
B is t&ice the
length of all edges of positi%e o%erlap plus the length of all edges that are part of one
cycle but not the other. !he length lA|g
i
g
6
|B is t&ice the length of all edges of
negati%e o%erlap plus the length of all edges that are part of one cycle but not the
other. !hus lAg
i
G g
6
B lA|g
i
g
6
|B is t&ice the difference of the length of edges of
positi%e o%erlap and the length of edges of negati%e o%erlap.
!herefore the torus is isomorphic to the Albanese torus of the .uantum graph by
3emma +.5.
!he comple/ity of a graph is the number of spanning trees.
Corollary '.*. If the .uantum graph is e.uilateral the "loch spectrum determines
the comple/ity of the graph.
Proof. !his follo&s directly from a theorem in :9S,,;. -or combinatorial graphs the
comple/ity of the graph is gi%en by 9 AJB O
p
%olAAlbAJBB. !he Albanese torus of
an e.uilateral .uantum graph is identical to the Albanese torus of the underlying
combinatorial graph.
8emar( '.5. 3ea%es in a graph are in%isible to the homology. So it is not clear
&hether the entire "loch spectrum gi%es us any more information about them than
the spectrum of a single SchrDodinger type operator. !here are e/amples of trees that
are isospectral for the standard 3aplacian7 see for e/ample :JS,1;.
8emar( '.+. !he Albanese torus distinguishes the isospectral e/amples of %an "elo&
in :%",1;. !hus the spectrum of a single SchrDodinger type operator does not
determine
5'
i
2

'.2 !he bloc( structure
the Albanese torus. In one of the t&o graphs t&o periodic orbits of length can be
composed to get a periodic orbit of length *. !hus the lattice that corresponds to the
Albanese torus contains t&o %ectors of length &hose sum has length *. In the other
graph this is not the case. In particular these t&o graphs are not "loch isospectral
by !heorem '..
!heorem '.#. !he "loch spectrum of a leafless .uantum graph determines its bloc(
structure Asee )efinition 2.12B. It also determines the dimension of the homology of
each bloc(.
Proof. Pic( a minimal set of generators g
1
7 . . . 7 g
n
fre4 .uencies such that the associated minimal periodic orbits are all cycles. A
cycle is necessarily contained &ithin a single bloc(7 see 2.15. )eclare t&o generators
e.ui%a4 lent if the associated cycles share edges regardless of orientation. !his
generates an e.ui%alence relation. 3et " be the set of e.ui%alence classes7 it
corresponds to the set of bloc(s of J7 see 2.12. !he number of generators in each
e.ui%alence class is the dimension of the homology of that bloc(.
3et "
1
7 "
2
". 3et {g
6
}
i
be the subset of fre.uencies that is "
6
7 6 O 17 2. !hen
&e can find the distance bet&een the t&o bloc(s by computing
1
1 2 1 2
dA"
1
7 "
2
B =O min

lAg
i
G g
i
,
B lAg
i
B lAg
i
,
B

i7i
,
!hat is &e compute the distance bet&een any basis cycle in one bloc( to any basis
cycle in the other and minimi0e o%er all pairs of basis cycles in the bloc(s. !his
+,
distance is greater e.ual 0ero and e.ual to 0ero if and only if the bloc(s share a
%erte/.
>e &ill no& set up a situation &here &e can apply 3emma 2.1+. !o do so &e need
to find out &hich bloc(s are lea%es in the bloc( structure and &hich ones are inner
%ertices. >e &ill then cut the bloc( structure into smaller pieces such that all bloc(s
are lea%es in the smaller pieces.
>hene%er &e ha%e a triple of bloc(s satisfying dA"
2
7 "
B Y dA"
1
7 "
2
B G dA"
1
7 "
B7
that is7 a failure of the triangle ine.uality7 &e (no& that "
1
has to be an inner %erte/ in
the bloc( structure of J. !he path bet&een the bloc(s "
2
and "

has to pass through
"
1
and use some edges &ithin the bloc( "
1
. $nce &e ha%e identified a bloc(7 say "
1
7 as
an inner bloc( &e can separate the remaining bloc(s into groups depending on &here
the path from the bloc( to "
1
is attached on "
1
. If dA"
i
7 "
6
B Y dA"
1
7 "
i
B G dA"
1
7 "
6
B
then the paths from "
1
to "
i
and "
6
are attached at different cut %ertices of "
1
7 if
dA"
i
7 "
6
B dA"
1
7 "
i
B G dA"
1
7 "
6
B they are attached at the same cut %erte/. >ithin
each of these groups the bloc( "
1
is a leaf in the bloc( structure.
!hus &e ha%e cut the initial bloc( structure into se%eral smaller pieces each of
them including "
1
and "
1
is a leaf in each of them. >e can repeat this process of
identifying an inner bloc( and cutting the bloc( structure into smaller pieces on each
of these pieces until all the pieces ha%e no inner bloc( %ertices. !his reduces the
problem to reco%ering the bloc( structure of graphs &here all bloc(s are lea%es.
All remaining inner %ertices ha%e to be %ertices of the initial graph J and thus
ha%e degree at least . As J is leafless all lea%es in the bloc( structure are fat %ertices.
Hence &e can reco%er the bloc( structure of each of the smaller pieces by using 3emma
2.1+. >e can then find the bloc( structure of the entire graph by gluing the pieces
+1
'. Planarity and dual graphs
together at the inner bloc(s.
!heorem '.1. !he "loch spectrum determines &hether or not a graph is planar.
Proof. !he homology admits infinitely many bases7 but a graph has only finitely many
cycles and thus there are only finitely many bases consisting of cycles. !hus there are
only finitely many minimal sets of generators g
1
7 . . . 7 g
n
fre.uencies such that the minimal periodic orbits associated to them are all cycles.
Ji%en such a basis &e can choose for each generator to either (eep the orientation
induced by L or choose the re%erse orientation. )enote the basis elements &ith a
choice of orientation by 5
1
O g
1
7 . . . 7 5
n
O g
n
. -or any pair of oriented basis
elements 5
i
and 5
6
&e can chec( &hether the associated cycles ha%e edges of positi%e
o%erlap by chec(ing &hether lA|5
i
G 5
6
|B lA|5
i
|B lA|5
6
|B Y ,7 see '.2. !hus &e can
chec( &hether the 5
1
7 . . . 7 5
n
correspond to a basis of the homology that consists
of oriented cycles ha%ing no positi%e o%erlap. !he graph is planar if and only if &e
can find such a basis by !heorem 2.1'.
8emar( '.'. Planarity is a property that is not determined by the spectrum of a
single Schrodinger type operator. !here is an e/ample of t&o isospectral .uantum
graphs in :%",1; &here one is planar and the other one is not.
If the graph is planar &e &ill fi/ a non4positi%e basis 5
1
7 . . . 7 5
n
Asee )efinition
2.2,B coming from the fre.uencies g
1
7 . . . 7 g
n
. >e (no& that the basis elements
are the boundaries of the inner faces in a suitable embedding of the graph by
3emma
2.21. >e &ill use this fact to construct an abstract dual of the graph.
+2
!heorem '.1,. !he "loch spectrum of a planar7 24connected graph determines a
dual of the graph. !hus the "loch spectrum determines planar7 24connected graphs up
to 24isomorphism Asee 3emma 2.21B.
"efore &e sho& this &e need t&o lemmata.
3emma '.11. 3et J be planar and 24connected. In the embedding &here the 5
1
7 . . . 7
5
n
are the boundaries of the inner faces the boundary of the outer face is gi%en
by
n
5
,
=O
W
5
l
lO1
!he sign orients it so that it does not ha%e edges of positi%e o%erlap &ith any of the
5
l
.
!he boundary of the outer face 5
,
is a cycle in the graph because J is 24connected.
3emma '.12. 3et J be planar and 24connected. !hen &e can determine the number
of edges that any t&o of the cycles 5
,
7 . . . 7 5
n
ha%e in common.
Proof. 8ecall that g
i
O |5
i
|. If lAg
i
G g
6
B lAg
i
B G lAg
6
B then 5
i
and 5
6
share no
edges. >e &ill assume from no& on that lAg
i
G g
6
B b lAg
i
B G lAg
6
B. Suppose 5
i
and 5
6
share ( edges or single %ertices.
-igure '.1 sho&s the graph J. Here 5
i
and 5
6
bound the t&o big faces and the e
l
are the edges or single %ertices these t&o cycles share. !he remainder of the graph is
contained inside the small cycles labeled c
l
7 l O 17 . . . 7 ( 1 and outside the big
cycle c
(
.
>e can decompose the minimal periodic orbit associated to the fre.uency g
i
G g
6
into se%eral cycles c
1
7 . . . 7 c
(
by applying 3emma '.1 repeatedly. !hese cycles do
not
+
-igure '.1= !he graph &ith the t&o cycles 5
i
and 5
6
share any edges7 they can share %ertices. If the decomposition yields ( cycles7 then
5
i
and 5
6
ha%e ( distinct components in common. 2ach of these components is either
a single edge or a %erte/. >hene%er it is a %erte/ that means that t&o of the c
l
ha%e
this %erte/ in common and thus ha%e distance 0ero from each other. As &e can chec(
for any pair c
l
and c
l
, &hether lAc
l
G c
l
, B O lAc
l
B G lAc
l
, B &e can find all instances
&here this happens. All remaining common components then must correspond to a
common edge of 5
i
and 5
6
.
8emar( '.1. 3emma '.12 is false &ithout the planarity assumption. !here e/ist t&o
cycles 5
1
7 5
2
in 9
7
that share edges but 5
1
5
2
is homologous to a single cycle.
!hese t&o cycles ha%e no edges of positi%e o%erlap.
Proof. of !heorem '.1,=
!he cycles 5
,
7 . . . 7 5
n
are the set of all boundaries of faces in a suitable embedding
of the graph. !herefore they are the %ertices of a geometric dual. "y 3emma '.12
&e (no& the number of edges any t&o of these faces ha%e in common7 &hich
corresponds to the number of edges bet&een the t&o %ertices in the geometric dual.
!he particular geometric dual &e get from this process depends on the non4positi%e
basis &e ha%e chosen.
+*
Corollary '.1*. !he "loch spectrum identifies and determines planar7 4connected
graphs combinatorially.
Proof. <ote that 4connected implies 24connected7 see )efinition 2.1. A graph is 24
connected if its bloc( structure consists of a single fat %erte/. >e ha%e sho&n that
&e can identify planar graphs in !heorem '.1. >e found a geometric dual of a 24
connected planar graph in !heorem '.1,. If the dual of the dual is 4connected it &ill
be uni.ue and therefore isomorphic to the original graph.
+5
Chapter 1,
)etermining the edge lengths
In this chapter &e &ill sho& that &e can reco%er all the edge lengths of a 4connected
planar graph if &e (no& the underlying combinatorial graph.
!he "loch spectrum only gi%es us a map from the abstract torus H
1
AJ7 8BR
H
1
AJ7 KB to the spectra. "y !heorem 1.# &e (no& the length of the minimal pe4
riodic orbitAsB associated to each element in H
1
AJ7 KB. Here &e need a little more7
&e &ant to associate the lengths &e get from the "loch spectrum &ith the periodic
orbits in the combinatorial graph.
>hen &e construct a dual graph in !heorem '.1, &e can (eep trac( of the lengths
associated to the minimal set of generators g
1
7 . . . 7 g
n
fre.uencies. !he %ertices of the dual graph correspond to these fre.uencies. !he
%ertices of the dual graph then correspond to a set of cycles in the dual of the dual
that generates the homology. If the graph is 4connected the dual of the dual is
isomorphic to the original graph so &e can associate the fre.uencies and their lengths
to the periodic orbits in the graph.
!heorem 1,.1. !he "loch spectrum identifies and completely determines 4
connected
++
)etermining the edge lengths
planar .uantum graphs.
Proof. >e ha%e already sho&n in Corollary '.1* that the "loch spectrum identifies
4connected planar .uantum graphs and determines their underlying combinatorial
graph. All that remains to be sho&n is that &e can determine all the edge lengths.
"y the remar(s abo%e the "loch spectrum determines the length of all cycles in the
graph. >e can no& apply 3emma 2.1# to determine the lengths of all the edges.
8emar( 1,.2. $ne can sho& that gi%en the "loch spectrum and the underlying com4
binatorial graph of an arbitrary .uantum graph one can associate the fre.uencies
from the "loch spectrum and their lengths to the closed &al(s in the combinatorial
graph. Ho&e%er7 using this information to determine all the indi%idual edge lengths
is more delicate.
+#
Chapter 11
)isconnected graphs
8emar( 11.1. >hen &e bounded the si0e of isospectral families in !heorem 5.1# &e
estimated the total number of combinatorial graphs &ith a gi%en number of edges.
!his estimate counts combinatorial graphs independent of &hether there are con4
nected or not. !herefore the bound gi%en in this theorem is %alid for all .uantum
graphs7 connected or not.
If &e do not assume that the .uantum graph is connected &e get a component4&ise
%ersion of !heorem 1.#.
Proposition 11.2. 3et J be a .uantum graph that may or may not be connected.
!hen the spectrum of the standard 3aplacian T
,
determines the number of connected
components. )enote the connected components by J
1
7 . . . 7 J
(
.
Ji%en a generic L7 see )efinition 1.7 the part of the "loch spectrum Spec
tL
AJB
for t :,7 aB determines the groups H
1
AJ
i
7 KB and the length of the minimal periodic
orbitAsB of each element in H
1
AJ
i
7 KB for each component i O 17 . . . 7 (.
Proof. !he multiplicity of the eigen%alue , of the standard 3aplacian T
,
is e.ual to
+1
)isconnected graphs
the number of connected components.
!he trace formula in !heorem *.1 still holds for disconnected graphs. !he t&o
sums o%er eigen%alues and periodic orbits are 6ust unions o%er the connected compo4
nents. !he total length of the .uantum graph is additi%e and the 2uler characteristic
is &ell defined for disconnected graphs7 too.
!hus &e can copy most of the proof of !heorem 1.# %erbatim and read out a set
of fre.uencies from the "loch spectrum. 2%ery fre.uency &e get is associated to a
single periodic orbit that belongs to only one of the connected components. If the
sum of t&o fre.uencies is a fre.uency7 then these t&o fre.uencies belong to the same
connected component of J. If it is not they belong to different connected components.
!hus the set of fre.uencies Aunion their negati%es and 0eroB &ill not form one finitely
generated free abelian subgroup of 8 that is isomorphic to H
1
AJ7 KB. Instead it &ill
form ( dis6oint Aapart from 0eroB finitely generated free abelian subgroups of 8 that
are isomorphic to the H
1
AJ
i
7 KB for i O 17 . . . 7 (.
>e can no& assign a length to each fre.uency the same &ay as in !heorem 1.#.
As all our subse.uent theorems are 6ust conse.uences of !heorem 1.# they also
hold component4&ise.
Corollary 11.. !heorems '.7 '.#7 '.17 '.1, and 1,.1 all hold component4&ise.
+'
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QUANTUM GRAPHS AND THEIR

d on a leafless .uantum graph.

Ad G 2EiLB and %ary the 14form

7 and loo( at the path from "

B and thus determined by the lengths of the cycles.

B such that for any S 2AJB the set S is a

!his means that the si0e of isospectral families can be bounded by L

!hus f is an eigenfunction for T

!he homology of a .uantum graph

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