Impact of order three cycles in complex network spectra
The asymptotic behaviour of dynamical processes in networks can be expressed as a function of spectral properties of the Adjacency and Laplacian matrices. Although many theoretical results are known for the spectra of traditional configuration models, networks generated through these models fail to describe many topological features of real-world networks, in particular non-null values for the clustering coefficient. Here we study the effects of cycles or order three (triangles) in network spectra. By using recent advances in random matrix theory, we determine the spectrum distribution of the network Adjacency matrix as a function of the average number of triangles attached to each node for networks without modular structure and degree-degree correlations. Furthermore we show that cycles of order three have a weak influence on the Laplacian eigenvalues, fact that explains the recent controversy on the dynamics of clustered networks. Our findings can shed light in the study of how particular kinds of subgraphs influence network dynamics.