arXiv subjects

Anthony Bonato

Publications and source records attributed to Anthony Bonato.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

The Iterated Local Directed Transitivity Model for Social Networks

We introduce a new directed graph model for social networks, based on the transitivity of triads. In the Iterated Local Directed Transitivity (ILDT) model, new nodes are born over discrete time-steps, and inherit the link structure of their parent nodes. The ILDT model may be viewed as a directed analogue of the ILT model for undirected graphs introduced in \cite{ilt}. We investigate network science and graph theoretical properties of ILDT digraphs. We prove that the ILDT model exhibits a densification power law, so that the digraphs generated by the models densify over time. The number of directed triads are investigated, and counts are given of the number of directed 3-cycles and transitive $3$-cycles. A higher number of transitive 3-cycles are generated by the ILDT model, as found in real-world, on-line social networks. In many instances of the chosen initial digraph, the model eventually generates graphs with Hamiltonian directed cycles. We finish with a discussion of the eigenvalues of the adjacency matrices of ILDT directed graphs, and provide further directions.

cs.SI↗

arXiv2020

The Game of Cops and Eternal Robbers

We introduce the game of Cops and Eternal Robbers played on graphs, where there are infinitely many robbers that appear sequentially over distinct plays of the game. A positive integer $t$ is fixed, and the cops are required to capture the robber in at most $t$ time-steps in each play. The associated optimization parameter is the eternal cop number, denoted by $c_t^{\infty},$ which equals the eternal domination number in the case $t=1,$ and the cop number for sufficiently large $t.$ We study the complexity of Cops and Eternal Robbers, and show that game is NP-hard when $t$ is a fixed constant and EXPTIME-complete for large values of $t$. We determine precise values of $c_t^{\infty}$ for paths and cycles. The eternal cop number is studied for retracts, and this approach is applied to give bounds for trees, as well as for strong and Cartesian grids.

cs.DM↗

arXiv2020

Iterated Global Models for Complex Networks

We introduce the Iterated Global model as a deterministic graph process that simulates several properties of complex networks. In this model, for every set $S$ of nodes of a prescribed cardinality, we add a new node that is adjacent to every node in $S$. We focus on the case where the size of $S$ is approximately half the number of nodes at each time-step, and we refer to this as the half-model. The half-model provably generate graphs that densify over time, have bad spectral expansion, and low diameter. We derive the clique, chromatic, and domination numbers of graphs generated by the model.

cs.DM↗

arXiv2020

Probabilistically Faulty Searching on a Half-Line

We study $p$-Faulty Search, a variant of the classic cow-path optimization problem, where a unit speed robot searches the half-line (or $1$-ray) for a hidden item. The searcher is probabilistically faulty, and detection of the item with each visitation is an independent Bernoulli trial whose probability of success $p$ is known. The objective is to minimize the worst case expected detection time, relative to the distance of the hidden item to the origin. A variation of the same problem was first proposed by Gal in 1980. Then in 2003, Alpern and Gal [The Theory of Search Games and Rendezvous] proposed a so-called monotone solution for searching the line ($2$-rays); that is, a trajectory in which the newly searched space increases monotonically in each ray and in each iteration. Moreover, they conjectured that an optimal trajectory for the $2$-rays problem must be monotone. We disprove this conjecture when the search domain is the half-line ($1$-ray). We provide a lower bound for all monotone algorithms, which we also match with an upper bound. Our main contribution is the design and analysis of a sequence of refined search strategies, outside the family of monotone algorithms, which we call $t$-sub-monotone algorithms. Such algorithms induce performance that is strictly decreasing with $t$, and for all $p \in (0,1)$. The value of $t$ quantifies, in a certain sense, how much our algorithms deviate from being monotone, demonstrating that monotone algorithms are sub-optimal when searching the half-line.

cs.DS↗

arXiv2020

Bounds on the localization number

We consider the localization game played on graphs, wherein a set of cops attempt to determine the exact location of an invisible robber by exploiting distance probes. The corresponding optimization parameter for a graph $G$ is called the localization number and is written $ζ(G)$. We settle a conjecture of \cite{nisse1} by providing an upper bound on the localization number as a function of the chromatic number. In particular, we show that every graph with $ζ(G) \le k$ has degeneracy less than $3^k$ and, consequently, satisfies $χ(G) \le 3^{ζ(G)}$. We show further that this degeneracy bound is tight. We also prove that the localization number is at most 2 in outerplanar graphs, and we determine, up to an additive constant, the localization number of hypercubes.

math.CO↗

arXiv2019

Improved Bounds for Burning Fence Graphs

Graph burning studies how fast a contagion, modeled as a set of fires, spreads in a graph. The burning process takes place in synchronous, discrete rounds. In each round, a fire breaks out at a vertex, and the fire spreads to all vertices that are adjacent to a burning vertex. The burning number of a graph $G$ is the minimum number of rounds necessary for each vertex of $G$ to burn. We consider the burning number of the $m \times n$ Cartesian grid graphs, written $G_{m,n}$.\ For $m = ω(\sqrt{n})$, the asymptotic value of the burning number of $G_{m,n}$ was determined, but only the growth rate of the burning number was investigated in the case $m = O(\sqrt{n})$, which we refer to as fence graphs. We provide new explicit bounds on the burning number of fence graphs $G_{c\sqrt{n},n}$, where $c > 0$.

math.CO↗

arXiv2019

Centrality in dynamic competition networks

Competition networks are formed via adversarial interactions between actors. The Dynamic Competition Hypothesis predicts that influential actors in competition networks should have a large number of common out-neighbors with many other nodes. We empirically study this idea as a centrality score and find the measure predictive of importance in several real-world networks including food webs, conflict networks, and voting data from Survivor.

cs.SI↗

arXiv2019

Optimizing the trade-off between number of cops and capture time in Cops and Robbers

The cop throttling number $th_c(G)$ of a graph $G$ for the game of Cops and Robbers is the minimum of $k + capt_k(G)$, where $k$ is the number of cops and $capt_k(G)$ is the minimum number of rounds needed for $k$ cops to capture the robber on $G$ over all possible games in which both players play optimally. In this paper, we construct a family of graphs having $th_c(G)= Ω(n^{2/3})$, establish a sublinear upper bound on the cop throttling number, and show that the cop throttling number of chordal graphs is $O(\sqrt{n})$. We also introduce the product cop throttling number $th_c^{\times}(G)$ as a parameter that minimizes the person-hours used by the cops. This parameter extends the notion of speed-up that has been studied in the context of parallel processing and network decontamination. We establish bounds on the product cop throttling number in terms of the cop throttling number, characterize graphs with low product cop throttling number, and show that for a chordal graph $G$, $th_c^{\times}=1+rad(G)$.

math.CO↗

arXiv2019

Approximation Algorithms for Graph Burning

Numerous approaches study the vulnerability of networks against social contagion. Graph burning studies how fast a contagion, modeled as a set of fires, spreads in a graph. The burning process takes place in synchronous, discrete rounds. In each round, a fire breaks out at a vertex, and the fire spreads to all vertices that are adjacent to a burning vertex. The selection of vertices where fires start defines a schedule that indicates the number of rounds required to burn all vertices. Given a graph, the objective of an algorithm is to find a schedule that minimizes the number of rounds to burn graph. Finding the optimal schedule is known to be NP-hard, and the problem remains NP-hard when the graph is a tree or a set of disjoint paths. The only known algorithm is an approximation algorithm for disjoint paths, which has an approximation ratio of 1.5.

math.CO↗

arXiv2019

The Iterated Local Model for Social Networks

On-line social networks, such as in Facebook and Twitter, are often studied from the perspective of friendship ties between agents in the network. Adversarial ties, however, also play an important role in the structure and function of social networks, but are often hidden. Underlying generative mechanisms of social networks are predicted by structural balance theory, which postulates that triads of agents, prefer to be transitive, where friends of friends are more likely friends, or anti-transitive, where adversaries of adversaries become friends. The previously proposed Iterated Local Transitivity (ILT) and Iterated Local Anti-Transitivity (ILAT) models incorporated transitivity and anti-transitivity, respectively, as evolutionary mechanisms. These models resulted in graphs with many observable properties of social networks, such as low diameter, high clustering, and densification. We propose a new, generative model, referred to as the Iterated Local Model (ILM) for social networks synthesizing both transitive and anti-transitive triads over time. In ILM, we are given a countably infinite binary sequence as input, and that sequence determines whether we apply a transitive or an anti-transitive step. The resulting model exhibits many properties of complex networks observed in the ILT and ILAT models. In particular, for any input binary sequence, we show that asymptotically the model generates finite graphs that densify, have clustering coefficient bounded away from 0, have diameter at most 3, and exhibit bad spectral expansion. We also give a thorough analysis of the chromatic number, domination number, Hamiltonicity, and isomorphism types of induced subgraphs of ILM graphs.

math.CO↗

arXiv2019

A Sublinear Bound on the Cop Throttling Number of a Graph

We provide a sublinear bound on the cop throttling number of a connected graph. Related to the graph searching game Cops and Robbers, the cop throttling number, written $\mathrm{th}_c(G)$, is given by $\mathrm{th}_c(G)=\min_k\{k+\mathrm{capt}_k(G)\}$, in which $\mathrm{capt}_k(G)$ is the $k$-capture time, or the length of a game of Cops and Robbers with $k$ cops on the graph $G$, assuming both players play optimally. No general sublinear bound was known on the cop throttling number of a connected graph. Towards a question asked by Breen et al., we prove that $\mathrm{th}_c(G)\leq \frac{(2+o(1))n\sqrt{W(\log(n))}}{\sqrt{\log(n)}},$ where $W=W(x)$ is the Lambert W function.

math.CO↗

arXiv2018

Topological directions in Cops and Robbers

We survey results at the intersection of topological graph theory and the game of Cops and Robbers, focusing on results, conjectures, and open problems for the cop number of a graph embedded on a surface. After a discussion on results for planar graphs, we consider graphs of higher genus. In 2001, Schroeder conjectured that if a graph has genus $g,$ then its cop number is at most $g + 3.$ While Schroeder's bound is known to hold for planar and toroidal graphs, the case for graphs with higher genus remains open. We consider the capture time of graphs on surfaces and examine results for embeddings of graphs on non-orientable surfaces. We present a conjecture by the second author, and in addition, we survey results for the lazy cop number, directed graphs, and Zombies and Survivors.

math.CO↗

arXiv2018

Dynamic Competition Networks: detecting alliances and leaders

We consider social networks of competing agents that evolve dynamically over time. Such dynamic competition networks are directed, where a directed edge from nodes $u$ to $v$ corresponds a negative social interaction. We present a novel hypothesis that serves as a predictive tool to uncover alliances and leaders within dynamic competition networks. Our focus is in the present study is to validate it on competitive networks arising from social game shows such as Survivor and Big Brother.

cs.SI↗

arXiv2018

Geometric random graphs and Rado sets in sequence spaces

We consider a random geometric graph model, where pairs of vertices are points in a metric space and edges are formed independently with fixed probability $p$ between pairs within threshold distance $δ$. A countable dense set in a metric space is {\sl Rado} if this random model gives, with probability 1, a graph that is unique up to isomorphism. In earlier work, the first two authors proved that in finite dimensional spaces $\mathbb{R}^n$ equipped with the $\ell_{\infty}$ norm, all countable dense set satisfying a mild non-integrality condition are Rado. In this paper, we extend this result to infinite-dimensional spaces. If the underlying metric space is a separable Banach space, then we show in some cases that we can almost surely recover the Banach space from such a geometric random graph. More precisely, we show that in the sequence spaces $c$ and $c_0$, for measures $μ$ satisfying certain conditions, $μ^\N$-almost all countable sets are Rado. Moreover, with probability 1, in $c$ as in $c_0$, all graphs obtained from the random geometric model with a randomly chosen dense countable vertex set are isomorphic to each other. Finally, we show that representatives of the isomorphism classes obtained in this way from $c$ and $c_0$ are non-isomorphic to each other, and also non-isomorphic to their counterparts obtained from finite dimensional spaces.

math.CO↗

arXiv2017

Bounds on the burning numbers of spiders and path-forests

Graph burning is one model for the spread of memes and contagion in social networks. The corresponding graph parameter is the burning number of a graph $G$, written $b(G)$, which measures the speed of the social contagion. While it is conjectured that the burning number of a connected graph of order $n$ is at most $\lceil \sqrt{n} \rceil$, this remains open in general and in many graph families. We prove the conjectured bound for spider graphs, which are trees with exactly one vertex of degree at least 3. To prove our result for spiders, we develop new bounds on the burning number for path-forests, which in turn leads to a $\frac 3 2$-approximation algorithm for computing the burning number of path-forests.

math.CO↗

arXiv2017

Characterizations and algorithms for generalized Cops and Robbers games

We propose a definition of generalized Cops and Robbers games where there are two players, the Pursuer and the Evader, who each move via prescribed rules. If the Pursuer can ensure that the game enters into a fixed set of final positions, then the Pursuer wins; otherwise, the Evader wins. A relational characterization of the games where the Pursuer wins is provided. A precise formula is given for the length of the game, along with an algorithm for computing if the Pursuer has a winning strategy whose complexity is a function of the parameters of the game. For games where the position of one player does not affect the available moves of he other, a vertex elimination ordering characterization, analogous to a cop-win ordering, is given for when the Pursuer has a winning strategy.

math.CO↗

arXiv2017

Common adversaries form alliances: modelling complex networks via anti-transitivity

Anti-transitivity captures the notion that enemies of enemies are friends, and arises naturally in the study of adversaries in social networks and in the study of conflicting nation states or organizations. We present a simplified, evolutionary model for anti-transitivity influencing link formation in complex networks, and analyze the model's network dynamics. The Iterated Local Anti-Transitivity (or ILAT) model creates anti-clone nodes in each time-step, and joins anti-clones to the parent node's non-neighbor set. The graphs generated by ILAT exhibit familiar properties of complex networks such as densification, short distances (bounded by absolute constants), and bad spectral expansion. We determine the cop and domination number for graphs generated by ILAT, and finish with an analysis of their clustering coefficients. We interpret these results within the context of real-world complex networks and present open problems.

math.CO↗

arXiv2017

Cops and Robbers ordinals of cop-win trees

A relational characterization of cop-win graphs was provided by Nowakowski and Winkler in their seminal paper on the game of Cops and Robbers. As a by-product of that characterization, each cop-win graph is assigned a unique ordinal, which we refer to as a CR-ordinal. For finite graphs, CR-ordinals correspond to the length of the game assuming optimal play, with the cop beginning the game in a least favourable initial position. For infinite graphs, however, the possible values of CR-ordinals have not been considered in the literature until the present work. We classify the CR-ordinals of cop-win trees as either a finite ordinal, or those of the form $α+ ω$, where $α$ is a limit ordinal. For general infinite cop-win graphs, we provide an example whose CR-ordinal is not of this form. We finish with some problems on characterizing the CR-ordinals in the general case of cop-win graphs.

math.CO↗