Approximating the largest eigenvalue of network adjacency matrices

The largest eigenvalue of the adjacency matrix of a network plays an important role in several network processes (e.g., synchronization of oscillators, percolation on directed networks, and linear stability of equilibria of network coupled systems). In this paper we develop approximations to the largest eigenvalue of adjacency matrices and discuss the relationships between these approximations. Numerical experiments on simulated networks are used to test our results.