Disproof of a conjecture on the minimum spectral radius and the domination number

Abstract: Let $G_{n,\gamma}$ be the set of all connected graphs on $n$ vertices with domination number $\gamma$. A graph is called a minimizer graph if it attains the minimum spectral radius among $G_{n,\gamma}$. Very recently, Liu, Li and Xie [Linear Algebra and its Applications 673 (2023) 233--258] proved that the minimizer graph over all graphs in $\mathbb{G}{n,\gamma}$ must be a tree. Moreover, they determined the minimizer graph among $G{n,\lfloor\frac{n}{2}\rfloor}$ for even $n$, and posed the conjecture on the minimizer graph among $G_{n,\lfloor\frac{n}{2}\rfloor}$ for odd $n$. In this paper, we disprove the conjecture and completely determine the unique minimizer graph among $G_{n,\lfloor\frac{n}{2}\rfloor}$ for odd $n$.