arXiv subjects

John Haslegrave

Publications and source records attributed to John Haslegrave.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2023

Sum index, difference index and exclusive sum number of graphs

We consider two recent conjectures of Harrington, Henninger-Voss, Karhadkar, Robinson and Wong concerning relationships between the sum index, difference index and exclusive sum number of graphs. One conjecture posits an exact relationship between the first two invariants; we show that in fact the predicted value may be arbitrarily far from the truth in either direction. In the process we establish some new bounds on both the sum and difference index. The other conjecture, that the exclusive sum number can exceed the sum index by an arbitrarily large amount, follows from known, but non-constructive, results; we give an explicit construction demonstrating it. Simultaneously with the first version of this paper appearing, Harrington et al. updated their preprint with two counterexamples to the first conjecture; however, their counterexamples only give a discrepancy of 1, and only in one direction. They therefore modified the conjecture from an equality to an inequality; our results show that this is still false in general.

math.CO↗

arXiv2022

Ramsey numbers of cycles versus general graphs

The Ramsey number $R(F,H)$ is the minimum number $N$ such that any $N$-vertex graph either contains a copy of $F$ or its complement contains $H$. Burr in 1981 proved a pleasingly general result that for any graph $H$, provided $n$ is sufficiently large, a natural lower bound construction gives the correct Ramsey number involving cycles: $R(C_n,H)=(n-1)(χ(H)-1)+σ(H)$, where $σ(H)$ is the minimum possible size of a colour class in a $χ(H)$-colouring of $H$. Allen, Brightwell and Skokan conjectured that the same should be true already when $n\geq |H|χ(H)$. We improve this 40-year-old result of Burr by giving quantitative bounds of the form $n\geq C|H|\log^4χ(H)$, which is optimal up to the logarithmic factor. In particular, this proves a strengthening of the Allen-Brightwell-Skokan conjecture for all graphs $H$ with large chromatic number.

math.CO↗

arXiv2022

Crux and long cycles in graphs

We introduce a notion of the \emph{crux} of a graph $G$, measuring the order of a smallest dense subgraph in $G$. This simple-looking notion leads to some generalisations of known results about cycles, offering an interesting paradigm of `replacing average degree by crux'. In particular, we prove that \emph{every} graph contains a cycle of length linear in its crux. Long proved that every subgraph of a hypercube $Q^m$ (resp. discrete torus $C_3^m$) with average degree $d$ contains a path of length $2^{d/2}$ (resp. $2^{d/4}$), and conjectured that there should be a path of length $2^{d}-1$ (resp. $3^{d/2}-1$). As a corollary of our result, together with isoperimetric inequalities, we close these exponential gaps giving asymptotically optimal bounds on long paths in hypercubes, discrete tori, and more generally Hamming graphs. We also consider random subgraphs of $C_4$-free graphs and hypercubes, proving near optimal bounds on lengths of long cycles.

math.CO↗

arXiv2022

On the relationship between variable Wiener index and variable Szeged index

We resolve two conjectures of Hriňáková, Knor and Škrekovski (2019) concerning the relationship between the variable Wiener index and variable Szeged index for a connected, non-complete graph, one of which would imply the other. The strong conjecture is that for any such graph there is a critical exponent in $(0,1]$, below which the variable Wiener index is larger and above which the variable Szeged index is larger. The weak conjecture is that the variable Szeged index is always larger for any exponent exceeding $1$. They proved the weak conjecture for bipartite graphs, and the strong conjecture for trees. In this note we disprove the strong conjecture, although we show that it is true for almost all graphs, and for bipartite and block graphs. We also show that the weak conjecture holds for all graphs by proving a majorization relationship.

math.CO↗

arXiv2022

Degrees in link graphs of regular graphs

We analyse an extremal question on the degrees of the link graphs of a finite regular graph, that is, the subgraphs induced by non-trivial spheres. We show that if $G$ is $d$-regular and connected but not complete then some link graph of $G$ has minimum degree at most $\lfloor 2d/3\rfloor-1$, and if $G$ is sufficiently large in terms of $d$ then some link graph has minimum degree at most $\lfloor d/2\rfloor-1$; both bounds are best possible. We also give the corresponding best-possible result for the corresponding problem where subgraphs induced by balls, rather than spheres, are considered. We motivate these questions by posing a conjecture concerning expansion of link graphs in large bounded-degree graphs, together with a heuristic justification thereof.

math.CO↗

arXiv2022

The number and average size of connected sets in graphs with degree constraints

The average size of connected vertex subsets of a connected graph generalises a much-studied parameter for subtrees of trees. For trees, the possible values of this parameter are critically affected by the presence or absence of vertices of degree 2. We answer two questions of Andrew Vince regarding the effect of degree constraints on general connected graphs. We give a new lower bound, and the first non-trivial upper bound, on the maximum growth rate of the number of connected sets of a cubic graph, and in fact obtain non-trivial upper bounds for any constant bound on the maximum degree. We show that the average connected set density is bounded away from 1 for graphs with no vertex of degree 2, and generalise a classical result of Jamison for trees by showing that in order for the connected set density to approach 1, the proportion of vertices of degree 2 must approach 1. Finally, we show that any sequence of graphs with minimum degree tending to infinity must have connected set density tending to 1/2.

math.CO↗

arXiv2021

A time-invariant random graph with splitting events

We introduce a process where a connected rooted multigraph evolves by splitting events on its vertices, occurring randomly in continuous time. When a vertex splits, its incoming edges are randomly assigned between its offspring and a Poisson random number of edges are added between them. The process is parametrised by a positive real $λ$ which governs the limiting average degree. We show that for each value of $λ$ there is a unique random connected rooted multigraph $M(λ)$ invariant under this evolution. As a consequence, starting from any finite graph $G$ the process will almost surely converge in distribution to $M(λ)$, which does not depend on $G$. We show that this limit has finite expected size. The same process naturally extends to one in which connectedness is not necessarily preserved, and we give a sharp threshold for connectedness of this version. This is an asynchronous version, which is more realistic from the real-world network point of view, of a process we studied in arXiv:1506.02697, arXiv:1703.09011.

math.PR↗

arXiv2021

Time Dependent Biased Random Walks

We study the biased random walk where at each step of a random walk a "controller" can, with a certain small probability, move the walk to an arbitrary neighbour. This model was introduced by Azar et al. [STOC'1992]; we extend their work to the time dependent setting and consider cover times of this walk. We obtain new bounds on the cover and hitting times. Azar et al. conjectured that the controller can increase the stationary probability of a vertex from $p$ to $p^{1-ε}$; while this conjecture is not true in full generality, we propose a best-possible amended version of this conjecture and confirm it for a broad class of graphs. We also consider the problem of computing an optimal strategy for the controller to minimise the cover time and show that for directed graphs determining the cover time is PSPACE-complete.

cs.DM↗

arXiv2021

Three-speed ballistic annihilation: phase transition and universality

We consider ballistic annihilation, a model for chemical reactions first introduced in the 1980's physics literature. In this particle system, initial locations are given by a renewal process on the line, motions are ballistic - i.e. each particle is assigned an i.i.d. constant velocity - and collisions between pairs of particles result in mutual annihilation. We focus on the case when the velocities are symmetrically distributed among three values, i.e. particles either remain static (with given probability~$p$) or move at constant velocity uniformly chosen among $\pm1$. We establish that this model goes through a phase transition at $p_c=1/4$ between a subcritical regime where every particle eventually annihilates, and a supercritical regime where a positive density of static particles is never hit, confirming 1990s predictions of Droz et al. for the particular case of a Poisson process. Our result encompasses cases where triple collisions can happen; these are resolved by annihilation of one static and one randomly chosen moving particle. Our arguments, of combinatorial nature, show that, although the model is not completely solvable, certain large scale features can be explicitly computed, and are universal, i.e. insensitive to the distribution of the initial point process. In particular, in the critical and subcritical regimes, the asymptotics of the time decay of the densities of each type of particle is universal (among exponentially integrable interdistance distributions) and, in the supercritical regime, the distribution of the ``skyline'' process, i.e. the process restricted to the last particles to ever visit a location, has a universal description. We also prove that an alternative model introduced by Burdinski, Gupta and Junge does not share the same universality as our model, and find numerical bounds on its critical probability.

math.PR↗

arXiv2021

The Power of Two Choices for Random Walks

We apply the power-of-two-choices paradigm to a random walk on a graph: rather than moving to a uniform random neighbour at each step, a controller is allowed to choose from two independent uniform random neighbours. We prove that this allows the controller to significantly accelerate the hitting and cover times in several natural graph classes. In particular, we show that the cover time becomes linear in the number $n$ of vertices on discrete tori and bounded degree trees, of order $\mathcal{O}(n \log \log n)$ on bounded degree expanders, and of order $\mathcal{O}(n (\log \log n)^2)$ on the Erdős-Rényi random graph in a certain sparsely connected regime. We also consider the algorithmic question of computing an optimal strategy, and prove a dichotomy in efficiency between computing strategies for hitting and cover times.

cs.DM↗

arXiv2020

Extremal density for sparse minors and subdivisions

We prove an asymptotically tight bound on the extremal density guaranteeing subdivisions of bounded-degree bipartite graphs with a mild separability condition. As corollaries, we answer several questions of Reed and Wood on embedding sparse minors. Among others, $\bullet$ $(1+o(1))t^2$ average degree is sufficient to force the $t\times t$ grid as a topological minor; $\bullet$ $(3/2+o(1))t$ average degree forces every $t$-vertex planar graph as a minor, and the constant $3/2$ is optimal, furthermore, surprisingly, the value is the same for $t$-vertex graphs embeddable on any fixed surface; $\bullet$ a universal bound of $(2+o(1))t$ on average degree forcing every $t$-vertex graph in any nontrivial minor-closed family as a minor, and the constant 2 is best possible by considering graphs with given treewidth.

math.CO↗

arXiv2020

Countable graphs are majority 3-choosable

The Unfriendly Partition Conjecture posits that every countable graph admits a 2-colouring in which for each vertex there are at least as many bichromatic edges containing that vertex as monochromatic ones. This is not known in general, but it is known that a 3-colouring with this property always exists. Anholcer, Bosek and Grytczuk recently gave a list-colouring version of this conjecture, and proved that such a colouring exists for lists of size 4. We improve their result to lists of size 3; the proof extends to directed acyclic graphs. We also discuss some generalisations.

math.CO↗

arXiv2020

Combinatorial universality in three-speed ballistic annihilation

We consider a one-dimensional system of particles, moving at constant velocities chosen independently according to a symmetric distribution on $\{-1,0,+1\}$, and annihilating upon collision -- with, in case of triple collision, a uniformly random choice of survivor among the two moving particles. When the system contains infinitely many particles, whose starting locations are given by a renewal process, a phase transition was proved to happen (see arXiv:1811.08709) as the density of static particles crosses the value $1/4$. Remarkably, this critical value, along with certain other statistics, was observed not to depend on the distribution of interdistances. In the present paper, we investigate further this universality by proving a stronger statement about a finite system of particles with fixed, but randomly shuffled, interdistances. We give two proofs, one by an induction allowing explicit computations, and one by a more direct comparison. This result entails a new nontrivial independence property that in particular gives access to the density of surviving static particles at a given time in the infinite model. Finally, in the asymmetric case, further similar independence properties are proved to keep holding, including a striking property of gamma distributed interdistances that contrasts with the general behavior.

math.PR↗

arXiv2020

Site percolation and isoperimetric inequalities for plane graphs

We use isoperimetric inequalities combined with a new technique to prove upper bounds for the site percolation threshold of plane graphs with given minimum degree conditions. In the process we prove tight new isoperimetric bounds for certain classes of hyperbolic graphs. This establishes the vertex isoperimetric constant for all triangular and square hyperbolic lattices, answering a question of Lyons and Peres. We prove that plane graphs of minimum degree at least $7$ have site percolation threshold bounded away from $1/2$, which was conjectured by Benjamini and Schramm, and make progress on a conjecture of Angel, Benjamini and Horesh that the critical probability is at most $1/2$ for plane triangulations of minimum degree $6$. We prove additional bounds for stronger minimum degree conditions, and for graphs without triangular faces.

math.PR↗

arXiv2019

Percolation on an infinitely generated group

We give an example of a long range Bernoulli percolation process on a group non-quasi-isometric with $\mathbb{Z}$, in which clusters are almost surely finite for all values of the parameter. This random graph admits diverse equivalent definitions, and we study their ramifications. We also study its expected size and point out certain phase transitions.

math.PR↗

arXiv2019

Condensation in preferential attachment models with location-based choice

We introduce a model of a preferential attachment based random graph which extends the family of models in which condensation phenomena can occur. Each vertex has an associated uniform random variable which we call its location. Our model evolves in discrete time by selecting $r$ vertices from the graph with replacement, with probabilities proportional to their degrees plus a constant $α$. A new vertex joins the network and attaches to one of these vertices according to a given probability associated to the ranking of their locations. We give conditions for the occurrence of condensation, showing the existence of phase transitions in $α$ below which condensation occurs. The condensation in our model differs from that in preferential attachment models with fitness in that the condensation can occur at a random location, that it can be due to a persistent hub, and that there can be more than one point of condensation.

math.PR↗

arXiv2018

Forcing large tight components in 3-graphs

Any $n$-vertex $3$-graph with minimum codegree at least $\lfloor n/3\rfloor$ must have a spanning tight component, but immediately below this threshold it is possible for no tight component to span more than $\lceil 2n/3\rceil$ vertices. Motivated by this observation, we ask which codegree forces a tight component of at least any given size. The corresponding function seems to have infinitely many discontinuities, but we provide upper and lower bounds, which asymptotically converge as the function nears the origin.

math.CO↗

arXiv2018

The ballistic annihilation threshold is positive

In the ballistic annihilation process, particles on the real line have independent speeds symmetrically distributed in $\{-1,0,+1\}$ and are annihilated by collisions. It is widely believed that there is a phase transition at $p=p_{\mathrm c}=0.25$ between regimes where every particle is eventually annihilated and where some particles survive forever, where $p$ is the proportion of stationary particles. It is easy to see that some particles survive if $p>0.5$, and rigorous proofs giving better upper bounds on $p_{\mathrm c}$ have recently appeared. However, no nontrivial lower bound on $p_{\mathrm c}$ was previously known. We prove that $p_{\mathrm c}\geq 0.21699$, and give a comparable bound for a discretised version.

math.PR↗