Limiting spectral distribution for the adjacency matrix of the Watts-Strogatz random graph

The Watts-Strogatz random graph model on $n$ vertices with parameters $K$ (a positive even integer) and $p \in [0, 1]$ is constructed in two steps. First, one starts with a ring lattice on $n$ vertices, where each vertex is connected to its $K/2$ nearest neighbors on each side. Each edge in turn is then independently rewired with probability $p$ by replacing one endpoint with a uniformly chosen vertex not already adjacent to it. We study the empirical eigenvalue distribution of the adjacency matrix for this model, whose entries are highly dependent due to the rewiring construction. In the regime where both $K$ and $pK$ grow to infinity with the vertex size $n$, we show that, after appropriate scaling, the empirical eigenvalue distribution converges to the semicircle law. The proof is based on a novel coupling argument that approximates the adjacency matrix by a sum of two independent random matrices, one a sparse Wigner matrix and the other a random band matrix. In the case where $K$ and $p$ remain fixed, we propose conjectural formulas for the first five moments of the limiting eigenvalue distribution. These conjectures are supported by a convergence result relating the Watts-Strogatz model to another random graph model, together with numerical simulations.