Reconstruction of a graph from 2–vicinities of its vertices

Abstract We prove that a connected graph of diameter at least 4 and of girth 7 or more (in particular, a tree) can be exactly reconstructed from metric balls of radius 2 of all its vertices. On the other hand, there exist graphs of diameter 3 and of girth 6 which are not reconstructible. This new graph theory problem is motivated by reconstruction of chemical compounds.