The number of matchings in random graphs

We study matchings on sparse random graphs by means of the cavity method. We first show how the method reproduces several known results about maximum and perfect matchings in regular and Erdos-Renyi random graphs. Our main new result is the computation of the entropy, i.e. the leading order of the logarithm of the number of solutions, of matchings with a given size. We derive both an algorithm to compute this entropy for an arbitrary graph with a girth that diverges in the large size limit, and an analytic result for the entropy in regular and Erdos-Renyi random graph ensembles.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures, to be published in Journal of Statistical Mechanic

Matchings in Random Biregular Bipartite Graphs

We study the existence of perfect matchings in suitably chosen induced subgraphs of random biregular bipartite graphs. We prove a result similar to a classical theorem of Erdos and Renyi about perfect matchings in random bipartite graphs. We also present an application to commutative graphs, a class of graphs that are featured in additive number theory.Comment: 30 pages and 3 figures - Latest version has updated introduction and bibliograph

On the expected number of perfect matchings in cubic planar graphs

A well-known conjecture by Lov\'asz and Plummer from the 1970s asserted that a bridgeless cubic graph has exponentially many perfect matchings. It was solved in the affirmative by Esperet et al. (Adv. Math. 2011). On the other hand, Chudnovsky and Seymour (Combinatorica 2012) proved the conjecture in the special case of cubic planar graphs. In our work we consider random bridgeless cubic planar graphs with the uniform distribution on graphs with $n$ vertices. Under this model we show that the expected number of perfect matchings in labeled bridgeless cubic planar graphs is asymptotically $c\gamma^n$, where $c>0$ and $\gamma \sim 1.14196$ is an explicit algebraic number. We also compute the expected number of perfect matchings in (non necessarily bridgeless) cubic planar graphs and provide lower bounds for unlabeled graphs. Our starting point is a correspondence between counting perfect matchings in rooted cubic planar maps and the partition function of the Ising model in rooted triangulations.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figure

Matchings in random biregular bipartite graphs

We study the existence of perfect matchings in suitably chosen induced subgraphs of random biregular bipartite graphs. We prove a result similar to a classical theorem of Erdös and Rényi about perfect matchings in random bipartite graphs. We also present an application to commutative graphs, a class of graphs that are featured in additive number theory.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

On the expected number of perfect matchings in cubic planar graphs

A well-known conjecture by Lov'asz and Plummer from the 1970s asserted that a bridgeless cubic graph has exponentially many perfect matchings. It was solved in the affirmative by Esperet et al. ([13]). On the other hand, Chudnovsky and Seymour ([8]) proved the conjecture in the special case of cubic planar graphs. In our work we consider random bridgeless cubic planar graphs with the uniform distribution on graphs with n vertices. Under this model we show that the expected number of perfect matchings in labeled bridgeless cubic planar graphs is asymptotically cγn, where c > 0 and γ ∼ 1.14196 is an explicit algebraic number. We also compute the expected number of perfect matchings in (not necessarily bridgeless) cubic planar graphs and provide lower bounds for unlabeled graphs. Our starting point is a correspondence between counting perfect matchings in rooted cubic planar maps and the partition function of the Ising model in rooted triangulations

Counting and Sampling Perfect Matchings in Regular Expanding Non-Bipartite Graphs

We show that the ratio of the number of near perfect matchings to the number of perfect matchings in $d$-regular strong expander (non-bipartite) graphs, with $2n$ vertices, is a polynomial in $n$, thus the Jerrum and Sinclair Markov chain [JS89] mixes in polynomial time and generates an (almost) uniformly random perfect matching. Furthermore, we prove that such graphs have at least $\Omega(d)^n$ any perfect matchings, thus proving the Lovasz-Plummer conjecture [LP86] for this family of graphs.Comment: 14 pages, no figure

Interlacing Families IV: Bipartite Ramanujan Graphs of All Sizes

We prove that there exist bipartite Ramanujan graphs of every degree and every number of vertices. The proof is based on analyzing the expected characteristic polynomial of a union of random perfect matchings, and involves three ingredients: (1) a formula for the expected characteristic polynomial of the sum of a regular graph with a random permutation of another regular graph, (2) a proof that this expected polynomial is real rooted and that the family of polynomials considered in this sum is an interlacing family, and (3) strong bounds on the roots of the expected characteristic polynomial of a union of random perfect matchings, established using the framework of finite free convolutions we recently introduced