The phases of large networks with edge and triangle constraints

In this article we give an in depth overview of the recent advances in the field of equilibrium networks. After outlining this topic, we provide a novel way of defining equilibrium graph (network) ensembles. We illustrate this concept on the classical random graph model and then survey a large variety of recently studied network models. Next, we analyze the structural properties of the graphs in these ensembles in terms of both local and global characteristics, such as degree...

The giant $k$-core --- maximal connected subgraph of a network where each node has at least $k$ neighbors --- is important in the study of phase transitions and in applications of network theory. Unlike Erd\H{o}s-R\'enyi graphs and other random networks where $k$-cores emerge discontinuously for $k\ge 3$, we show that transitive linking (or triadic closure) leads to 3-cores emerging through single or double phase transitions of both discontinuous and continuous nature. We als...

The exponential family of random graphs is one of the most promising class of network models. Dependence between the random edges is defined through certain finite subgraphs, analogous to the use of potential energy to provide dependence between particle states in a grand canonical ensemble of statistical physics. By adjusting the specific values of these subgraph densities, one can analyze the influence of various local features on the global structure of the network. Loosel...

In this paper, we study exponential random graph models subject to certain constraints. We obtain some general results about the asymptotic structure of the model. We show that there exists non-trivial regions in the phase plane where the asymptotic structure is uniform and there also exists non-trivial regions in the phase plane where the asymptotic structure is non-uniform. We will get more refined results for the star model and in particular the two-star model for which a ...

We study a one parameter family of random graph models that spans a continuum between traditional random graphs of the Erd\H{o}s-R\'enyi type, where there is no underlying structure, and percolation models, where the possible edges are dictated exactly by a geometry. We find that previously developed theories in the fields of random graphs and percolation have, starting from different directions, covered almost all the models described by our family. In particular, the existe...

We study random subgraphs of an arbitrary finite connected transitive graph $\mathbb G$ obtained by independently deleting edges with probability $1-p$. Let $V$ be the number of vertices in $\mathbb G$, and let $\Omega$ be their degree. We define the critical threshold $p_c=p_c(\mathbb G,\lambda)$ to be the value of $p$ for which the expected cluster size of a fixed vertex attains the value $\lambda V^{1/3}$, where $\lambda$ is fixed and positive. We show that for any such mo...

We derive the full phase diagram for a large family of two-parameter exponential random graph models, each containing a first order transition curve ending in a critical point.

We study the relaxation dynamics of fully clustered networks (maximal number of triangles) to an unclustered state under two different edge dynamics---the double-edge swap, corresponding to degree-preserving randomization of the configuration model, and single edge replacement, corresponding to full randomization of the Erd\H{o}s--R\'enyi random graph. We derive expressions for the time evolution of the degree distribution, edge multiplicity distribution and clustering coeffi...

Exponential random graph theory is the complex network analog of the canonical ensemble theory from statistical physics. While it has been particularly successful in modeling networks with specified degree distributions, a naive model of a clustered network using a graph Hamiltonian linear in the number of triangles has been shown to undergo an abrupt transition into an unrealistic phase of extreme clustering via triangle condensation. Here we study a non-linear graph Hamilto...

To provide a phenomenological theory for the various interesting transitions in restructuring networks we employ a statistical mechanical approach with detailed balance satisfied for the transitions between topological states. This enables us to establish an equivalence between the equilibrium rewiring problem we consider and the dynamics of a lattice gas on the edge-dual graph of a fully connected network. By assigning energies to the different network topologies and definin...