English

The greedy independent set in a random graph with given degrees

Probability 2015-10-20 v1 Combinatorics

Abstract

We analyse the size of an independent set in a random graph on nn vertices with specified vertex degrees, constructed via a simple greedy algorithm: order the vertices arbitrarily, and, for each vertex in turn, place it in the independent set unless it is adjacent to some vertex already chosen. We find the limit of the expected proportion of vertices in the greedy independent set as nn \to \infty, expressed as an integral whose upper limit is defined implicitly, valid whenever the second moment of a random vertex degree is uniformly bounded. We further show that the random proportion of vertices in the independent set converges to the jamming constant as nn \to \infty. The results hold under weaker assumptions in a random multigraph with given degrees constructed via the configuration model.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1510.05560,
  title  = {The greedy independent set in a random graph with given degrees},
  author = {Graham Brightwell and Svante Janson and Malwina Luczak},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1510.05560},
  year   = {2015}
}

Comments

25 pages

R2 v1 2026-06-22T11:23:48.829Z