arXiv · math/0310435
Waiting for a bat to fly by (in polynomial time)
Abstract
We observe returns of a simple random walk on a finite graph to a fixed node, and would like to infer properties of the graph, in particular properties of the spectrum of the transition matrix. This is not possible in general, but at least the eigenvalues can be recovered under fairly general conditions, e.g. when the graph has a node-transitive automorphism group. The main result is that by observing polynomially many returns, it is possible to estimate the spectral gap of such a graph up to a constant factor.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
Explore connections, maps & timelines
Itai Benjamini, Gady Kozma, Laszlo Lovasz, Dan Romik, Gabor Tardos. 2003-10-28. Waiting for a bat to fly by (in polynomial time). https://arxiv.org/abs/math/0310435
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.