Cycle lengths in sparse graphs

Let C(G) denote the set of lengths of cycles in a graph G. In the first part of this paper, we study the minimum possible value of |C(G)| over all graphs G of average degree d and girth g. Erdos conjectured that |C(G)| =\Omega(d^{\lfloor (g-1)/2\rfloor}) for all such graphs, and we prove this conjecture. In particular, the longest cycle in a graph of average degree d and girth g has length \Omega(d^{\lfloor (g-1)/2\rfloor}). The study of this problem was initiated by Ore in 1967 and our result improves all previously known lower bounds on the length of the longest cycle. Moreover, our bound cannot be improved in general, since known constructions of d-regular Moore Graphs of girth g have roughly that many vertices. We also show that \Omega(d^{\lfloor (g-1)/2\rfloor}) is a lower bound for the number of odd cycle lengths in a graph of chromatic number d and girth g. Further results are obtained for the number of cycle lengths in H-free graphs of average degree d. In the second part of the paper, motivated by the conjecture of Erdos and Gyarfas that every graph of minimum degree at least three contains a cycle of length a power of two, we prove a general theorem which gives an upper bound on the average degree of an n-vertex graph with no cycle of even length in a prescribed infinite sequence of integers. For many sequences, including the powers of two, our theorem gives the upper bound e^{O(\log^* n)} on the average degree of graph of order n with no cycle of length in the sequence, where \log^* n is the number of times the binary logarithm must be applied to n to get a number which is at mos

Field theoretic approach to metastability in the contact process

A quantum field theoretic formulation of the dynamics of the Contact Process on a regular graph of degree z is introduced. A perturbative calculation in powers of 1/z of the effective potential for the density of particles phi(t) and an instantonic field psi(t) emerging from the quantum formalism is performed. Corrections to the mean-field distribution of densities of particles in the out-of-equilibrium stationary state are derived in powers of 1/z. Results for typical (e.g. average density) and rare fluctuation (e.g. lifetime of the metastable state) properties are in very good agreement with numerical simulations carried out on D-dimensional hypercubic (z=2D) and Cayley lattices.Comment: Final published version; 20 pages, 5 figure

A solution to Erd\H{o}s and Hajnal's odd cycle problem

In 1981, Erd\H{o}s and Hajnal asked whether the sum of the reciprocals of the odd cycle lengths in a graph with infinite chromatic number is necessarily infinite. Let $\mathcal{C}(G)$ be the set of cycle lengths in a graph $G$ and let $\mathcal{C}_\text{odd}(G)$ be the set of odd numbers in $\mathcal{C}(G)$. We prove that, if $G$ has chromatic number $k$, then $\sum_{\ell\in \mathcal{C}_\text{odd}(G)}1/\ell\geq (1/2-o_k(1))\log k$. This solves Erd\H{o}s and Hajnal's odd cycle problem, and, furthermore, this bound is asymptotically optimal. In 1984, Erd\H{o}s asked whether there is some $d$ such that each graph with chromatic number at least $d$ (or perhaps even only average degree at least $d$) has a cycle whose length is a power of 2. We show that an average degree condition is sufficient for this problem, solving it with methods that apply to a wide range of sequences in addition to the powers of 2. Finally, we use our methods to show that, for every $k$, there is some $d$ so that every graph with average degree at least $d$ has a subdivision of the complete graph $K_k$ in which each edge is subdivided the same number of times. This confirms a conjecture of Thomassen from 1984.Comment: 42 pages, 3 figures. Version accepted for publicatio

A solution to Erdős and Hajnal’s odd cycle problem

In 1981, Erdős and Hajnal asked whether the sum of the reciprocals of the odd cycle lengths in a graph with infinite chromatic number is necessarily infinite. Let C(G) be the set of cycle lengths in a graph G and let Codd(G) be the set of odd numbers in C(G). We prove that, if G has chromatic number k, then ∑ℓ∈Codd(G)1/ℓ≥(1/2−ok(1))logk. This solves Erdős and Hajnal's odd cycle problem, and, furthermore, this bound is asymptotically optimal. In 1984, Erdős asked whether there is some d such that each graph with chromatic number at least d (or perhaps even only average degree at least d) has a cycle whose length is a power of 2. We show that an average degree condition is sufficient for this problem, solving it with methods that apply to a wide range of sequences in addition to the powers of 2. Finally, we use our methods to show that, for every k, there is some d so that every graph with average degree at least d has a subdivision of the complete graph Kk in which each edge is subdivided the same number of times. This confirms a conjecture of Thomassen from 1984

Wireless Secrecy in Large-Scale Networks

The ability to exchange secret information is critical to many commercial, governmental, and military networks. The intrinsically secure communications graph (iS-graph) is a random graph which describes the connections that can be securely established over a large-scale network, by exploiting the physical properties of the wireless medium. This paper provides an overview of the main properties of this new class of random graphs. We first analyze the local properties of the iS-graph, namely the degree distributions and their dependence on fading, target secrecy rate, and eavesdropper collusion. To mitigate the effect of the eavesdroppers, we propose two techniques that improve secure connectivity. Then, we analyze the global properties of the iS-graph, namely percolation on the infinite plane, and full connectivity on a finite region. These results help clarify how the presence of eavesdroppers can compromise secure communication in a large-scale network.Comment: To appear: Proc. IEEE Information Theory and Applications Workshop (ITA'11), San Diego, CA, Feb. 2011, pp. 1-10, Invited Pape

Coloring and constructing (hyper)graphs with restrictions

We consider questions regarding the existence of graphs and hypergraphs with certain coloring properties and other structural properties. In Chapter 2 we consider color-critical graphs that are nearly bipartite and have few edges. We prove a conjecture of Chen, Erdős, Gyárfás, and Schelp concerning the minimum number of edges in a “nearly bipartite” 4-critical graph. In Chapter 3 we consider coloring and list-coloring graphs and hypergraphs with few edges and no small cycles. We prove two main results. If a bipartite graph has maximum average degree at most 2(k−1), then it is colorable from lists of size k; we prove that this is sharp, even with an additional girth requirement. Using the same approach, we also provide a simple construction of graphs with arbitrarily large girth and chromatic number (first proved to exist by Erdős). In Chapter 4 we consider list-coloring the family of kth power graphs. Kostochka and Woodall conjectured that graph squares are chromatic-choosable, as a strengthening of the Total List Coloring Conjecture. Kim and Park disproved this stronger conjecture, and Zhu asked whether graph kth powers are chromatic-choosable for any k. We show that this is not true: we construct families of graphs based on affine planes whose choice number exceeds their chromatic number by a logarithmic factor. In Chapter 5 we consider the existence of uniform hypergraphs with prescribed degrees and codegrees. In Section 5.2, we show that a generalization of the graphic 2-switch is insufficient to connect realizations of a given degree sequence. In Section 5.3, we consider an operation on 3-graphs related to the octahedron that preserves codegrees; this leads to an inductive definition for 2-colorable triangulations of the sphere. In Section 5.4, we discuss the notion of fractional realizations of degree sequences, in particular noting the equivalence of the existence of a realization and the existence of a fractional realization in the graph and multihypergraph cases. In Chapter 6 we consider a question concerning poset dimension. Dorais asked for the maximum guaranteed size of a subposet with dimension at most d of an n-element poset. A lower bound of sqrt(dn) was observed by Goodwillie. We provide a sublinear upper bound

Maximal-entropy random walk unifies centrality measures

In this paper analogies between different (dis)similarity matrices are derived. These matrices, which are connected to path enumeration and random walks, are used in community detection methods or in computation of centrality measures for complex networks. The focus is on a number of known centrality measures, which inherit the connections established for similarity matrices. These measures are based on the principal eigenvector of the adjacency matrix, path enumeration, as well as on the stationary state, stochastic matrix or mean first-passage times of a random walk. Particular attention is paid to the maximal-entropy random walk, which serves as a very distinct alternative to the ordinary random walk used in network analysis. The various importance measures, defined both with the use of ordinary random walk and the maximal-entropy random walk, are compared numerically on a set of benchmark graphs. It is shown that groups of centrality measures defined with the two random walks cluster into two separate families. In particular, the group of centralities for the maximal-entropy random walk, connected to the eigenvector centrality and path enumeration, is strongly distinct from all the other measures and produces largely equivalent results.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure