Combinatorics Seminar - Spring '23

When: Sunday, April 23, 10am

Where: Schreiber 309

Speaker: Nick Kushnir, Tel Aviv University

Title: Testing versus Estimation of Graph Properties, Revisited

 

Abstract:

A graph $G$'s distance to satisfying property ${\cal P}$ is the smallest $\alpha$ so that one can turn $G$ into a graph satisfying ${\cal P}$ using $\alpha n^2$ edge modifications. Given a hereditary graph property ${\cal P}$, what is the smallest $q=q_{\cal P}(\varepsilon)$ so that a random set of $q$ vertices of $G$ induces whp a subgraph whose distance to ${\cal P}$ is within $\varepsilon$ of $G$'s distance to ${\cal P}$? A problem studied in several recent works asks if for every hereditary ${\cal P}$, the parameter $q$ is within a polynomial of the parameters given by the removal lemma associated with ${\cal P}$. Our main result is an exponential bound for this problem, which improves upon a doubly exponential bound of Hoppen, Kohayakawa, Lang, Lefmann and Stagni. We also obtain a doubly exponential bound which applies to every graph property, improving over a tower-type bound of Fischer and Newman. Our main conceptual contribution in this work is that we manage to turn a non-effective previous proof of Fischer and Newman, into an efficient one by relying on the Frieze-Kannan weak regularity lemma. On the technical level, our main contribution is in establishing certain properties of weak regular partitions that are of independent interest.

 

Based on joint work with Lior Gishboliner and Asaf Shapira.