  A bar framework (G,p) in dimension r is a graph G whose vertices are points
p^1,...,p^n in R^r and whose edges are line segments between pairs of these
points. Two frameworks (G,p) and (G,q) are equivalent if each edge of (G,p) has
the same (Euclidean) length as the corresponding edge of (G,q). A pair of
non-adjacent vertices i and j of (G,p)is universally linked if
||p^i-p^j||=||q^i-q^j|| in every framework (G,q) that is equivalent to (G,p).
Framework (G,p) is universally rigid iff every pair of non-adjacent vertices of
(G,p) is universally linked. In this paper, we present a unified treatment of
the universal rigidity problem based on the geometry of spectrahedra. A
spectrahedron is the intersection of the positive semidefinite cone with an
affine space. This treatment makes it possible to tie together some known, yet
scattered, results and to derive new ones. Among the new results presented in
this paper are: (i) A sufficient condition for a given pair of non-adjacent
vertices of (G,p) to be universally linked. (ii) A new, weaker, sufficient
condition for a framework (G,p) to be universally rigid thus strengthening the
existing known condition. An interpretation of this new condition in terms of
the Strong Arnold Property and transversal intersection is also presented.
