The minimax inverse eigenvalue problem for matrices whose graph is a generalized star of depth 2

In this paper, we study an inverse eigenvalue problem, referred to as the minimax inverse eigenvalue problem, of constructing matrices whose graph is a special type of tree called a generalized star of depth 2. A scheme of labelling the vertices of such a tree is introduced in order to express the corresponding matrices in a number of special forms. We then solve the minimax inverse eigenvalue problem of constructing such matrices from given eigen data consisting of the minimal and maximal eigenvalues of each of the leading principal submatrices of the required matrices. We pose an open problem of solving the minimax inverse eigenvalue problem for matrices described by arbitrary trees.