We consider the combinatorial properties of the trace of a random walk on the complete graph and on the random graph $G(n,p)$. In particular, we study the appearance of a fixed subgraph in the trace. We prove that for a subgraph containing a cycle, the threshold for its appearance in the trace of a random walk of length $m$ is essentially equal to the threshold for its appearance in the random graph drawn from $G(n,m)$. In the case where the base graph is the complete graph, we show that a fixed forest appears in the trace typically much earlier than it appears in $G(n,m)$.
If $\mathcal{W}$ is the simple random walk on the square lattice $\mathbb{Z}^2$, then $\mathcal{W}$ induces a random walk $\mathcal{W}_G$ on any spanning subgraph $G\subset \mathbb{Z}^2$ of the lattice as follows: viewing $\mathcal{W}$ as a uniformly random infinite word on the alphabet $\{\mathbf{x}, -\mathbf{x}, \mathbf{y}, -\mathbf{y} \}$, the walk $\mathcal{W}_G$ starts at the origin and follows the directions specified by $\mathcal{W}$, only accepting steps of $\mathcal{W}$ along which the walk $\mathcal{W}_G$ does not exit $G$. For any fixed subgraph $G \subset \mathbb{Z}^2$, the walk $\…
A graph is $1$-planar if it has a drawing in the plane such that each edge is crossed at most once by another edge. Moreover, if this drawing has the additional property that for each crossing of two edges the end vertices of these edges induce a complete subgraph, then the graph is locally maximal $1$-planar. For a $3$-connected locally maximal $1$-planar graph $G$, we show the existence of a spanning $3$-connected planar subgraph and prove that $G$ is hamiltonian if $G$ has at most three $3$-vertex-cuts, and that $G$ is traceable if $G$ has at most four $3$-vertex-cuts. Moreover, infinitely …
We give a new formula for computing the isospectral reduction of a matrix (and graph) down to a submatrix (or subgraph). Using this, we generalize the notion of isospectral reductions. In addition, we give a procedure for constructing a matrix whose isospectral reduction down to a submatrix is given. We also prove that the isospectral reduction completely determines the restriction of the quantum walk transition matrix to a subset. Using these, we construct new families of simple graphs exhibiting perfect quantum state transfer.
We formulate three current models of discrete-time quantum walks in a combinatorial way. These walks are shown to be closely related to rotation systems and 1-factorizations of graphs. For two of the models, we compute the traces and total entropies of the average mixing matrices for some cubic graphs. The trace captures how likely a quantum walk is to revisit the state it started with, and the total entropy measures how close the limiting distribution is to uniform. Our numerical results indicate three relations between quantum walks and graph structures: for the first model, rotation systems…
A parallel $d$-stable trace is a closed walk which traverses every edge of a graph exactly twice in the same direction and for every vertex $v$, there is no subset $X \subseteq N(v)$ with $1 \leq |N| \leq d$ such that every time the walk enters $v$ from $X$, it also exits to a vertex in $X$. In the past, $d$-stable traces were investigated as a mathematical model for an innovative biotechnological procedure -- self-assembling of polypeptide structures. Among other, it was proven that graphs that admit parallel $d$-stable traces are precisely Eulerian graphs with minimum degree strictly larger …
In 2004, Frieze, Krivelevich and Martin [17] established the emergence of a giant component in random subgraphs of pseudo-random graphs. We study several typical properties of the giant component, most notably its expansion characteristics. We establish an asymptotic vertex expansion of connected sets in the giant by a factor of $\tilde{O}\left(ε^2\right)$. From these expansion properties, we derive that the diameter of the giant is typically $O_ε\left(\log n\right)$, and that the mixing time of a lazy random walk on the giant is asymptotically $O_ε\left(\log^2 n\right)$. We also show similar …
Let $G$ be a graph and let $f$ be a positive integer-valued function on $V(G)$. In this paper, we show that if for all $S\subseteq V(G)$, $ω(G\setminus S)<\sum_{v\in S}(f(v)-2)+2+ω(G[S])$, then $G$ has a spanning tree $T$ containing an arbitrary given matching such that for each vertex $v$, $d_T(v)\le f(v)$, where $ω(G\setminus S)$ denotes the number of components of $G\setminus S$ and $ω(G[S])$ denotes the number of components of the induced subgraph $G[S]$ with the vertex set $S$. This is an improvement of several results. Next, we prove that if for all $S\subseteq V(G)$, $ω(G\setminus S)\le…
The $k$-power hypergraph $G^{(k)}$ is the $k$-uniform hypergraph that is obtained by adding $k-2$ new vertices to each edge of a graph $G$, for $k \geq 3$. A parity-closed walk in $G$ is a closed walk that uses each edge an even number of times. In an earlier paper, we determined the eigenvalues of the adjacency tensor of $G^{(k)}$ using the eigenvalues of signed subgraphs of $G$. Here, we express the entire spectrum (that is, we determine all multiplicities and the characteristic polynomial) of $G^{(k)}$ in terms of parity-closed walks of $G$. Moreover, we give an explicit expression for the …
A coupling of random walkers on the same finite graph, who take turns sequentially, is said to be an avoidance coupling if the walkers never collide. Previous studies of these processes have focused almost exclusively on complete graphs, in particular how many walkers an avoidance coupling can include. For other graphs, apart from special cases, it has been unsettled whether even two non-colliding simple random walkers can be coupled. In this article, we construct such a coupling on (i) any $d$-regular graph avoiding a fixed subgraph depending on $d$; and (ii) any square-free graph with minimu…
We study the average probability that a discrete-time quantum walk finds a marked vertex on a graph. We first show that, for a regular graph, the spectrum of the transition matrix is determined by the weighted adjacency matrix of an augmented graph. We then consider the average search probability on a distance regular graph, and find a formula in terms of the adjacency matrix of its vertex-deleted subgraph. In particular, for any family of (1) complete graphs, or (2) strongly regular graphs, or (3) distance regular graphs of a fixed parameter $d$, varying valency $k$ and varying size $n$, such…
It is well-known that the behaviour of a random subgraph of a $d$-dimensional hypercube, where we include each edge independently with probability $p$, undergoes a phase transition when $p$ is around $\frac{1}{d}$. More precisely, standard arguments show that just below this value of $p$ all components of this graph have order $O(d)$ with probability tending to one as $d \to \infty$ (whp for short), whereas Ajtai, Komlós and Szemerédi [Largest random component of a $k$-cube, Combinatorica 2 (1982), no. 1, 1--7; MR0671140] showed that just above this value, in the supercritical regime, whp ther…
We study fine structure related to finitely supported random walks on infinite finitely generated discrete groups, largely motivated by dimension group techniques. The unfaithful extreme harmonic functions (defined only on proper space-time cones), aka unfaithful pure traces, can be represented on systems of finite support, avoiding dead ends. This motivates properties of the random walk (WC) and of the group (SWC) which become of interest in their own right. While all abelian groups satisfy WC, the do not satisfy SWC; however some abelian by finite groups do satisfy the latter, and we charact…
