A Random Graph Growth Model

Abstract

A growing random graph is constructed by successively sampling without replacement an element from the pool of virtual vertices and edges. At start of the process the pool contains $N$ virtual vertices and no edges. Each time a vertex is sampled and occupied, the edges linking the vertex to previously occupied vertices are added to the pool of virtual elements. We focus on the edge-counting at times when the graph has $n\leq N$ occupied vertices. Two different Poisson limits are identified for $n\asymp N^{1/3}$ and $N-n\asymp 1$. For the bulk of the process, when $n\asymp N$, the scaled number of edges is shown to fluctuate about a deterministic curve, with fluctuations being of the order of $N^{3/2}$ and approximable by a Gaussian bridge.