Looking for vertex number one

Given an instance of the preferential attachment graph $G_n=([n],E_n)$, we would like to find vertex 1, using only 'local' information about the graph; that is, by exploring the neighborhoods of small sets of vertices. Borgs et. al gave an an algorithm which runs in time $O(\log^4 n)$, which is local in the sense that at each step, it needs only to search the neighborhood of a set of vertices of size $O(\log^4 n)$. We give an algorithm to find vertex 1, which w.h.p. runs in time $O(\omega\log n)$ and which is local in the strongest sense of operating only on neighborhoods of single vertices. Here $\omega=\omega(n)$ is any function that goes to infinity with $n$.Comment: As accepted for AA

The topology of competitively constructed graphs

We consider a simple game, the $k$-regular graph game, in which players take turns adding edges to an initially empty graph subject to the constraint that the degrees of vertices cannot exceed $k$. We show a sharp topological threshold for this game: for the case $k=3$ a player can ensure the resulting graph is planar, while for the case $k=4$, a player can force the appearance of arbitrarily large clique minors.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure

Traveling in randomly embedded random graphs

We consider the problem of traveling among random points in Euclidean space, when only a random fraction of the pairs are joined by traversable connections. In particular, we show a threshold for a pair of points to be connected by a geodesic of length arbitrarily close to their Euclidean distance, and analyze the minimum length Traveling Salesperson Tour, extending the Beardwood-Halton-Hammersley theorem to this setting.Comment: 25 pages, 2 figure

Between 2- and 3-colorability

We consider the question of the existence of homomorphisms between $G_{n,p}$ and odd cycles when $p=c/n,\,1<c\leq 4$. We show that for any positive integer $\ell$, there exists $\epsilon=\epsilon(\ell)$ such that if $c=1+\epsilon$ then w.h.p. $G_{n,p}$ has a homomorphism from $G_{n,p}$ to $C_{2\ell+1}$ so long as its odd-girth is at least $2\ell+1$. On the other hand, we show that if $c=4$ then w.h.p. there is no homomorphism from $G_{n,p}$ to $C_5$. Note that in our range of interest, $\chi(G_{n,p})=3$ w.h.p., implying that there is a homomorphism from $G_{n,p}$ to $C_3$