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Spectral Sensitivity


The spectral sensitivity of a Boolean function f:{0,1}^n->{0,1} is the largest eigenvalue lambda(f) of the adjacency matrix of its sensitivity graph. This is the spanning subgraph of the hypercube graph whose edges join inputs differing in one coordinate and having different function values (Meiburg 2026).

The sensitivity graph is bipartite, with the two parts given by the values 0 and 1. Consequently lambda(f) is also the spectral radius of its adjacency matrix. Its largest vertex degree is the Boolean function sensitivity s(f), giving

 sqrt(s(f))<=lambda(f)<=s(f).

For the disjunction of n inputs, the sensitivity graph consists of a star graph and isolated vertices, so lambda(f)=sqrt(n) while s(f)=n.

Meiburg (2026) reported a total Boolean function on 2,017,584 variables with bs(f)>=14011 and lambda(f)<=89.0162, where bs(f) is block sensitivity. Iterated composition gives a family with lambda(f)->infty and bs(f)=Omega(lambda(f)^(2.127)), where Omega is big-Omega notation. GPT-5.6 Sol supplied a key construction idea, and Aristotle and Claude supported Lean formalization. The released Lean statement uses exponent 2.12 rather than 2.127 and asserts an unbounded ratio bs(f)/lambda(f)^2. As of Oct. 8, 2026, independent mathematical review and an independent rebuild of that development had not been reported (VibeMathed 2026).


See also

Adjacency Matrix, Block Sensitivity, Boolean Function Sensitivity, Spectral Radius

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References

Meiburg, A. "Block Sensitivity Can Exceed Spectral Sensitivity Squared." 1 Aug 2026. https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.00851.VibeMathed. "Is Block Sensitivity at Most Quadratic in Spectral Sensitivity? (Aaronson, Ben-David, Kothari, Rao and Tal)." Oct. 7, 2026. https://vibemathed.com/problem/block-sensitivity-spectral-sensitivity-squared.

Cite this as:

Weisstein, Eric W. "Spectral Sensitivity." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/SpectralSensitivity.html

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