Probabilistic Computability and Choice

We study the computational power of randomized computations on infinite objects, such as real numbers. In particular, we introduce the concept of a Las Vegas computable multi-valued function, which is a function that can be computed on a probabilistic Turing machine that receives a random binary sequence as auxiliary input. The machine can take advantage of this random sequence, but it always has to produce a correct result or to stop the computation after finite time if the random advice is not successful. With positive probability the random advice has to be successful. We characterize the class of Las Vegas computable functions in the Weihrauch lattice with the help of probabilistic choice principles and Weak Weak K\H{o}nig's Lemma. Among other things we prove an Independent Choice Theorem that implies that Las Vegas computable functions are closed under composition. In a case study we show that Nash equilibria are Las Vegas computable, while zeros of continuous functions with sign changes cannot be computed on Las Vegas machines. However, we show that the latter problem admits randomized algorithms with weaker failure recognition mechanisms. The last mentioned results can be interpreted such that the Intermediate Value Theorem is reducible to the jump of Weak Weak K\H{o}nig's Lemma, but not to Weak Weak K\H{o}nig's Lemma itself. These examples also demonstrate that Las Vegas computable functions form a proper superclass of the class of computable functions and a proper subclass of the class of non-deterministically computable functions. We also study the impact of specific lower bounds on the success probabilities, which leads to a strict hierarchy of classes. In particular, the classical technique of probability amplification fails for computations on infinite objects. We also investigate the dependency on the underlying probability space.Comment: Information and Computation (accepted for publication

Percolation by cumulative merging and phase transition for the contact process on random graphs

Given a weighted graph, we introduce a partition of its vertex set such that the distance between any two clusters is bounded from below by a power of the minimum weight of both clusters. This partition is obtained by recursively merging smaller clusters and cumulating their weights. For several classical random weighted graphs, we show that there exists a phase transition regarding the existence of an infinite cluster. The motivation for introducing this partition arises from a connection with the contact process as it roughly describes the geometry of the sets where the process survives for a long time. We give a sufficient condition on a graph to ensure that the contact process has a non trivial phase transition in terms of the existence of an infinite cluster. As an application, we prove that the contact process admits a sub-critical phase on d-dimensional random geometric graphs and on random Delaunay triangulations. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first examples of graphs with unbounded degrees where the critical parameter is shown to be strictly positive.Comment: 50 pages, many figure

The continuum random tree is the scaling limit of unlabelled unrooted trees

We prove that the uniform unlabelled unrooted tree with n vertices and vertex degrees in a fixed set converges in the Gromov-Hausdorff sense after a suitable rescaling to the Brownian continuum random tree. This proves a conjecture by Aldous. Moreover, we establish Benjamini-Schramm convergence of this model of random trees

Factors and Connected Factors in Tough Graphs with High Isolated Toughness

In this paper, we show that every $1$-tough graph with order and isolated toughness at least $r+1$ has a factor whose degrees are $r$, except for at most one vertex with degree $r+1$. Using this result, we conclude that every $3$-tough graph with order and isolated toughness at least $r+1$ has a connected factor whose degrees lie in the set $\{r,r+1\}$, where $r\ge 3$. Also, we show that this factor can be found $m$-tree-connected, when $G$ is a $(2m+\epsilon)$-tough graph with order and isolated toughness at least $r+1$, where $r\ge (2m-1)(2m/\epsilon+1)$ and $\epsilon > 0$. Next, we prove that every $(m+\epsilon)$-tough graph of order at least $2m$ with high enough isolated toughness admits an $m$-tree-connected factor with maximum degree at most $2m+1$. From this result, we derive that every $(2+\epsilon)$-tough graph of order at least three with high enough isolated toughness has a spanning Eulerian subgraph whose degrees lie in the set $\{2,4\}$. In addition, we provide a family of $5/3$-tough graphs with high enough isolated toughness having no connected even factors with bounded maximum degree