arXiv · 2603.14306
Almost-Uniform Edge Sampling: Leveraging Independent-Set and Local Graph Queries
Abstract
A central theme in sublinear graph algorithms is the relationship between counting and sampling: can the ability to approximately count a combinatorial structure be leveraged to sample it nearly uniformly at essentially the same cost? We study (i) independent-set (IS) queries, which return whether a vertex set $S$ is edge-free, and (ii) two standard local queries: degree and neighbor queries. Eden and Rosenbaum (SOSA `18) proved that in the local-query model, uniform edge sampling is no harder than approximate edge counting. We extend this phenomenon to new settings. We establish sampling-counting equivalence for the hybrid model that combines IS and local queries, matching the complexity of edge-count estimation achieved by Adar, Hotam and Levi (2026), and an analogous equivalence for IS queries, matching the complexity of edge-count estimation achieved by Chen, Levi and Waingarten (SODA `20). For each query model, we show lower bounds for uniform edge sampling that essentially coincide with the known bounds for approximate edge counting.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
Tomer Adar, Amit Levi. 2026-03-15. Almost-Uniform Edge Sampling: Leveraging Independent-Set and Local Graph Queries. https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.14306
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.