Statistical mechanics of random graphs

In these lectures I will present an introduction to the results that have been recently obtained in constraint optimization of random problems using statistical mechanics techniques. After presenting the general results, in order to simplify the presentation I will describe in details only the problems related to the coloring of a random graph.

We provide an annotated bibliography for the study of Hamilton cycles in random graphs and hypergraphs.

According to Paul Erd\H{o}s [Some notes on Tur\'an's mathematical work, J. Approx. Theory 29 (1980), page 4] it was Paul Tur\'an who "created the area of extremal problems in graph theory". However, without a doubt, Paul Erd\H{o}s popularized extremal combinatorics, by his many contributions to the field, his numerous questions and conjectures, and his influence on discrete mathematicians in Hungary and all over the world. In fact, most of the early contributions in this fiel...

This work will appear as a chapter in a forthcoming volume titled "Topics in Probabilistic Graph Theory". A theory of scaling limits for random graphs has been developed in recent years. This theory gives access to the large-scale geometric structure of these random objects in the limit as their size goes to infinity, with distances appropriately rescaled. We start with the simplest setting of random trees, before turning to various examples of random graphs, including the cr...

Here I will present an introduction to the results that have been recently obtained in constraint optimization of random problems using statistical mechanics techniques. After presenting the general results, in order to simplify the presentation I will describe in details the problems related to the coloring of a random graph.

We apply in this article (non rigorous) statistical mechanics methods to the problem of counting long circuits in graphs. The outcomes of this approach have two complementary flavours. On the algorithmic side, we propose an approximate counting procedure, valid in principle for a large class of graphs. On a more theoretical side, we study the typical number of long circuits in random graph ensembles, reproducing rigorously known results and stating new conjectures.

The problem of vertex coloring in random graphs is studied using methods of statistical physics and probability. Our analytical results are compared to those obtained by exact enumeration and Monte-Carlo simulations. We critically discuss the merits and shortcomings of the various methods, and interpret the results obtained. We present an exact analytical expression for the 2-coloring problem as well as general replica symmetric approximated solutions for the thermodynamics o...

Random graphs have proven to be one of the most important and fruitful concepts in modern Combinatorics and Theoretical Computer Science. Besides being a fascinating study subject for their own sake, they serve as essential instruments in proving an enormous number of combinatorial statements, making their role quite hard to overestimate. Their tremendous success serves as a natural motivation for the following very general and deep informal questions: what are the essential ...

This PhD thesis deals with a number of different problems in mathematical physics with the common thread that they have probabilistic aspects. The problems all stem from mathematical studies of lattice systems in statistical and quantum physics; however beyond that, the selection of the concrete problems is to a certain extent arbitrary. This thesis consists of an introduction and seven papers.

The Krakow-Orsay collaboration has applied methods borrowed from equilibrium statistical mechanics and analytic combinatorics to study the geometry of random networks. Results contained in a series of recent publications and concerning networks that are either uncorrelated or causal are briefly overviewed.