Chapter 1

Random Graphs

Graph theory is a vast subject in which the goals are to relate various graph prop-
erties i.e. proving that Property A implies Property B for various properties A,B.
In some sense, the goals of Random Graph theory are to prove results of the form
“Property A almost always implies Property B”. In many cases Property A could
simply be “Graph G has m edges”. A more interesting example would be the fol-
lowing: Property A is “G is an r-regular graph, r ≥ 3” and Property B is “G is
r-connected”. This is proved in Chapter 9.
Before studying questions such as these, we will need to describe the basic
models of a random graph.

1.1 Models and Relationships

The study of random graphs in their own right began in earnest with the seminal
paper of Erdős and Rényi [332]. This paper was the first to exhibit the threshold
phenomena that characterize the subject.
Let Gn,m be the family of all labeled graphs with vertex set V = [n] =
{1, 2, . . . , n} and exactly m edges, 0 ≤ m ≤ n2 . To every graph G ∈ Gn,m , we

assign a probability
 n
−1
P(G) = 2 .
m
Equivalently, we start with an empty graph on the set [n], and insert m edges
n

in such a way that all possible (m2) choices are equally likely. We denote such a
random graph by Gn,m = ([n], En,m ) and call it a uniform random graph.

We now describe a similar model. Fix 0 ≤ p ≤ 1. Then for 0 ≤ m ≤ n2 , assign
to each graph G with vertex set [n] and m edges a probability
n
P(G) = pm (1 − p)(2)−m ,
4 Chapter 1. Random Graphs

where 0 ≤ p ≤
1. Equivalently, we start with an empty graph with vertex set [n]
and perform n2 Bernoulli experiments inserting edges independently with proba-
bility p. We call such a random graph, a binomial random graph and denote it by
Gn,p = ([n], En,p ). This was introduced by Gilbert [433]
As one may expect there is a close relationship between these two models of
random graphs. We start with a simple observation.

Lemma 1.1. A random graph Gn,p , given that its number of edges is m, is equally
n

likely to be one of the (2) graphs that have m edges.
m

Proof. Let G0 be any labeled graph with m edges. Then since

{Gn,p = G0 } ⊆ {|En,p | = m}

we have
P(Gn,p = G0 , |En,p | = m)
P(Gn,p = G0 | |En,p | = m) =
P(|En,p | = m)
P(Gn,p = G0 )
=
P(|En,p | = m)
n
pm (1 − p)(2)−m
= n

(2) pm (1 − p)(n2)−m
m
 n
−1
= 2 .
m

Thus Gn,p conditioned on the event {Gn,p has m edges} is equal in distribu-
tion to Gn,m , the graph chosen uniformly at random from all graphs with m edges.
Obviously, the main difference between those two models of random graphs is that
in Gn,m we choose its number of edges, while in the case of
Gn,p the number of
edges is the Binomial random variable with the parameters n2 and p. Intuitively,
for large n random graphs Gn,m and Gn,p should behave in a similar fashion when
the number of edges m in Gn,m equals or is “close” to the expected number of
edges of Gn,p , i.e., when
n2 p
 
n
m= p≈ , (1.1)
2 2
or, equivalently, when the edge probability in Gn,p

2m
p≈ . (1.2)
n2
1.1. Models and Relationships 5

Throughout the book, we will use the notation f ≈ g to indicate that f = (1 +

o(1))g, where the o(1) term will depend on some parameter going to 0 or ∞.
We next introduce a useful “coupling technique” that generates the random
graph Gn,p in two independent steps. We will then describe a similar idea in
relation to Gn,m . Suppose that p1 < p and p2 is defined by the equation

1 − p = (1 − p1 )(1 − p2 ), (1.3)

or, equivalently,
p = p1 + p2 − p1 p2 .
Thus an edge is not included in Gn,p if it is not included in either of Gn,p1 or Gn,p2 .
It follows that
Gn,p = Gn,p1 ∪ Gn,p2 ,
where the two graphs Gn,p1 , Gn,p2 are independent. So when we write

Gn,p1 ⊆ Gn,p ,

we mean that the two graphs are coupled so that Gn,p is obtained from Gn,p1 by
superimposing it with Gn,p2 and replacing eventual double edges by a single one.
We can also couple random graphs Gn,m1 and Gn,m2 where m2 ≥ m1 via

Gn,m2 = Gn,m1 ∪ H.

Here H is the random graph on vertex set [n] that has m = m2 − m1 edges chosen
uniformly at random from [n]


2 \ En,m1 .
Consider now a graph property P defined as a subset of the set of all labeled
n
graphs on vertex set [n], i.e., P ⊆ 2(2) . For example, all connected graphs (on n
vertices), graphs with a Hamiltonian cycle, graphs containing a given subgraph,
planar graphs, and graphs with a vertex of given degree form a specific “graph
property”.
We will state below two simple observations which show a general relation-
ship between Gn,m and Gn,p in the context of the probabilities of having a given
graph property P. The constant 10 in the next lemma is not best possible, but in
the context of the usage of the lemma, any constant will suffice.

1.2. Let P be any graph property and p = m/ n2 where m = m(n)→ ∞,

Lemma
n

2 − m → ∞. Then, for large n,

P(Gn,m ∈ P) ≤ 10m1/2 P(Gn,p ∈ P).

6 Chapter 1. Random Graphs

Proof. By the law of total probability,

(n2)
P(Gn,p ∈ P) = ∑ P(Gn,p ∈ P | |En,p| = k) P(|En,p| = k)
k=0
(n2)
= ∑ P(Gn,k ∈ P) P(|En,p| = k) (1.4)
k=0
≥ P(Gn,m ∈ P) P(|En,p | = m).

To justify (1.4), we write

P(Gn,p ∈ P ∧ |En,p | = k)
P(Gn,p ∈ P | |En,p | = k) =
P(|En,p | = k)
pk (1 − p)N−k
= ∑ N
k N−k
G∈P k p (1 − p)
|E(G)|=k
1
= ∑ N

G∈P k
|E(G)|=k
= P(Gn,k ∈ P).

Next recall that the number of edges |En,p | of a random graph Gn,p is a random
variable with the Binomial distribution with parameters n2 and p. Applying Stir-

ling’s Formula:
 k
k √
k! = (1 + o(1)) 2πk, (1.5)
e
and putting N = n2 , we get, after substituting (1.5) for the factorials in Nm ,

 
N m n
P(|En,p | = m) = p (1 − p)(2)−m
m
√
N N 2πN pm (1 − p)N−m
= (1 + o(1)) p (1.6)
mm (N − m)N−m 2π m(N − m)
s
N
= (1 + o(1)) ,
2πm(N − m)

Hence
1
P(|En,p | = m) ≥ √ ,
10 m
so
P(Gn,m ∈ P) ≤ 10m1/2 P(Gn,p ∈ P).
1.1. Models and Relationships 7

We call a graph property P monotone increasing if G ∈ P implies G+e ∈ P,

i.e., adding an edge e to a graph G does not destroy the property. For example,
connectivity and Hamiltonicity are monotone increasing properties. A monotone
/ P and the complete
increasing property is non-trivial if the empty graph K̄n ∈
graph Kn ∈ P.
A graph property is monotone decreasing if G ∈ P implies G − e ∈ P, i.e., re-
moving an edge from a graph does not destroy the property. Properties of a graph
not being connected or being planar are examples of monotone decreasing graph
properties. Obviously, a graph property P is monotone increasing if and only
if its complement is monotone decreasing. Clearly not all graph properties are
monotone. For example having at least half of the vertices having a given fixed
degree d is not monotone.
From the coupling argument it follows that if P is a monotone increasing
property then, whenever p < p0 or m < m0 ,

P(Gn,p ∈ P) ≤ P(Gn,p0 ∈ P), (1.7)

and
P(Gn,m ∈ P) ≤ P(Gn,m0 ∈ P), (1.8)
respectively.
For monotone increasing graph properties we can get a much better upper bound
on P(Gn,m ∈ P), in terms of P(Gn,p ∈ P), than that given by Lemma 1.2.

Lemma 1.3. Let P be a monotone increasing graph property and p = Nm . Then,

for large n and p = o(1) such that N p, N(1 − p)/(N p)1/2 → ∞,

P(Gn,m ∈ P) ≤ 3 P(Gn,p ∈ P).

Proof. Suppose P is monotone increasing and p = Nm , where N = n

2 . Then

N
P(Gn,p ∈ P) = ∑ P(Gn,k ∈ P) P(|En,p| = k)
k=0
N
≥ ∑ P(Gn,k ∈ P) P(|En,p| = k)
k=m

However, by the coupling property we know that for k ≥ m,

P(Gn,k ∈ P) ≥ P(Gn,m ∈ P).