36,631 research outputs found
Degree Sequence Index Strategy
We introduce a procedure, called the Degree Sequence Index Strategy (DSI), by
which to bound graph invariants by certain indices in the ordered degree
sequence. As an illustration of the DSI strategy, we show how it can be used to
give new upper and lower bounds on the -independence and the -domination
numbers. These include, among other things, a double generalization of the
annihilation number, a recently introduced upper bound on the independence
number. Next, we use the DSI strategy in conjunction with planarity, to
generalize some results of Caro and Roddity about independence number in planar
graphs. Lastly, for claw-free and -free graphs, we use DSI to
generalize some results of Faudree, Gould, Jacobson, Lesniak and Lindquester
Sum-of-squares lower bounds for planted clique
Finding cliques in random graphs and the closely related "planted" clique
variant, where a clique of size k is planted in a random G(n, 1/2) graph, have
been the focus of substantial study in algorithm design. Despite much effort,
the best known polynomial-time algorithms only solve the problem for k ~
sqrt(n).
In this paper we study the complexity of the planted clique problem under
algorithms from the Sum-of-squares hierarchy. We prove the first average case
lower bound for this model: for almost all graphs in G(n,1/2), r rounds of the
SOS hierarchy cannot find a planted k-clique unless k > n^{1/2r} (up to
logarithmic factors). Thus, for any constant number of rounds planted cliques
of size n^{o(1)} cannot be found by this powerful class of algorithms. This is
shown via an integrability gap for the natural formulation of maximum clique
problem on random graphs for SOS and Lasserre hierarchies, which in turn follow
from degree lower bounds for the Positivestellensatz proof system.
We follow the usual recipe for such proofs. First, we introduce a natural
"dual certificate" (also known as a "vector-solution" or "pseudo-expectation")
for the given system of polynomial equations representing the problem for every
fixed input graph. Then we show that the matrix associated with this dual
certificate is PSD (positive semi-definite) with high probability over the
choice of the input graph.This requires the use of certain tools. One is the
theory of association schemes, and in particular the eigenspaces and
eigenvalues of the Johnson scheme. Another is a combinatorial method we develop
to compute (via traces) norm bounds for certain random matrices whose entries
are highly dependent; we hope this method will be useful elsewhere
Upper tails and independence polynomials in random graphs
The upper tail problem in the Erd\H{o}s--R\'enyi random graph
asks to estimate the probability that the number of
copies of a graph in exceeds its expectation by a factor .
Chatterjee and Dembo showed that in the sparse regime of as
with for an explicit ,
this problem reduces to a natural variational problem on weighted graphs, which
was thereafter asymptotically solved by two of the authors in the case where
is a clique. Here we extend the latter work to any fixed graph and
determine a function such that, for as above and any fixed
, the upper tail probability is , where is the maximum degree of . As it turns out, the
leading order constant in the large deviation rate function, , is
governed by the independence polynomial of , defined as where is the number of independent sets of size in . For
instance, if is a regular graph on vertices, then is the
minimum between and the unique positive solution of
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