Leave nothing to chance. This cliche embodies the common belief that ran domness has no place in carefully planned methodologies, every step should be spelled out, each i dotted and each t crossed. In discrete mathematics at least, nothing could be further from the truth. Introducing random choices into algorithms can improve their performance. The application of proba bilistic tools has led to the resolution of combinatorial problems which had resisted attack for decades. The chapters in this volume explore and celebrate this fact. Our intention was to bring together, for the first time, accessible discus sions of the disparate ways in which probabilistic ideas are enriching discrete mathematics. These discussions are aimed at mathematicians with a good combinatorial background but require only a passing acquaintance with the basic definitions in probability (e.g. expected value, conditional probability). A reader who already has a firm grasp on the area will be interested in the original research, novel syntheses, and discussions of ongoing developments scattered throughout the book. Some of the most convincing demonstrations of the power of these tech niques are randomized algorithms for estimating quantities which are hard to compute exactly. One example is the randomized algorithm of Dyer, Frieze and Kannan for estimating the volume of a polyhedron. To illustrate these techniques, we consider a simple related problem. Suppose S is some region of the unit square defined by a system of polynomial inequalities: Pi (x. y) ~ o.

Praise for the Third Edition “Researchers of any kind of extremal combinatorics or theoretical computer science will welcome the new edition of this book.” - MAA Reviews Maintaining a standard of excellence that establishes The Probabilistic Method as the leading reference on probabilistic methods in combinatorics, the Fourth Edition continues to feature a clear writing style, illustrative examples, and illuminating exercises. The new edition includes numerous updates to reflect the most recent developments and advances in discrete mathematics and the connections to other areas in mathematics, theoretical computer science, and statistical physics. Emphasizing the methodology and techniques that enable problem-solving, The Probabilistic Method, Fourth Edition begins with a description of tools applied to probabilistic arguments, including basic techniques that use expectation and variance as well as the more advanced applications of martingales and correlation inequalities. The authors explore where probabilistic techniques have been applied successfully and also examine topical coverage such as discrepancy and random graphs, circuit complexity, computational geometry, and derandomization of randomized algorithms. Written by two well-known authorities in the field, the Fourth Edition features: Additional exercises throughout with hints and solutions to select problems in an appendix to help readers obtain a deeper understanding of the best methods and techniques New coverage on topics such as the Local Lemma, Six Standard Deviations result in Discrepancy Theory, Property B, and graph limits Updated sections to reflect major developments on the newest topics, discussions of the hypergraph container method, and many new references and improved results The Probabilistic Method, Fourth Edition is an ideal textbook for upper-undergraduate and graduate-level students majoring in mathematics, computer science, operations research, and statistics. The Fourth Edition is also an excellent reference for researchers and combinatorists who use probabilistic methods, discrete mathematics, and number theory. Noga Alon, PhD, is Baumritter Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at Tel Aviv University. He is a member of the Israel National Academy of Sciences and Academia Europaea. A coeditor of the journal Random Structures and Algorithms, Dr. Alon is the recipient of the Polya Prize, The Gödel Prize, The Israel Prize, and the EMET Prize. Joel H. Spencer, PhD, is Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at the Courant Institute of New York University. He is the cofounder and coeditor of the journal Random Structures and Algorithms and is a Sloane Foundation Fellow. Dr. Spencer has written more than 200 published articles and is the coauthor of Ramsey Theory, Second Edition, also published by Wiley.

Praise for the Second Edition: "Serious researchers in combinatorics or algorithm design will wish to read the book in its entirety...the book may also be enjoyed on a lighter level since the different chapters are largely independent and so it is possible to pick out gems in one's own area..." —Formal Aspects of Computing This Third Edition of The Probabilistic Method reflects the most recent developments in the field while maintaining the standard of excellence that established this book as the leading reference on probabilistic methods in combinatorics. Maintaining its clear writing style, illustrative examples, and practical exercises, this new edition emphasizes methodology, enabling readers to use probabilistic techniques for solving problems in such fields as theoretical computer science, mathematics, and statistical physics. The book begins with a description of tools applied in probabilistic arguments, including basic techniques that use expectation and variance as well as the more recent applications of martingales and correlation inequalities. Next, the authors examine where probabilistic techniques have been applied successfully, exploring such topics as discrepancy and random graphs, circuit complexity, computational geometry, and derandomization of randomized algorithms. Sections labeled "The Probabilistic Lens" offer additional insights into the application of the probabilistic approach, and the appendix has been updated to include methodologies for finding lower bounds for Large Deviations. The Third Edition also features: A new chapter on graph property testing, which is a current topic that incorporates combinatorial, probabilistic, and algorithmic techniques An elementary approach using probabilistic techniques to the powerful Szemerédi Regularity Lemma and its applications New sections devoted to percolation and liar games A new chapter that provides a modern treatment of the Erdös-Rényi phase transition in the Random Graph Process Written by two leading authorities in the field, The Probabilistic Method, Third Edition is an ideal reference for researchers in combinatorics and algorithm design who would like to better understand the use of probabilistic methods. The book's numerous exercises and examples also make it an excellent textbook for graduate-level courses in mathematics and computer science.

Over the past decade, many major advances have been made in the field of graph coloring via the probabilistic method. This monograph, by two of the best on the topic, provides an accessible and unified treatment of these results, using tools such as the Lovasz Local Lemma and Talagrand's concentration inequality.

Randomized algorithms have become a central part of the algorithms curriculum, based on their increasingly widespread use in modern applications. This book presents a coherent and unified treatment of probabilistic techniques for obtaining high probability estimates on the performance of randomized algorithms. It covers the basic toolkit from the Chernoff–Hoeffding bounds to more sophisticated techniques like martingales and isoperimetric inequalities, as well as some recent developments like Talagrand's inequality, transportation cost inequalities and log-Sobolev inequalities. Along the way, variations on the basic theme are examined, such as Chernoff–Hoeffding bounds in dependent settings. The authors emphasise comparative study of the different methods, highlighting respective strengths and weaknesses in concrete example applications. The exposition is tailored to discrete settings sufficient for the analysis of algorithms, avoiding unnecessary measure-theoretic details, thus making the book accessible to computer scientists as well as probabilists and discrete mathematicians.

This update of the 1987 title of the same name is an examination of what is currently known about the probabilistic method, written by one of its principal developers. Based on the notes from Spencer's 1986 series of ten lectures, this new edition contains an additional lecture: The Janson inequalities. These inequalities allow accurate approximation of extremely small probabilities. A new algorithmic approach to the Lovasz Local Lemma, attributed to Jozsef Beck, has been added to Lecture 8, as well. Throughout the monograph, Spencer retains the informal style of his original lecture notes and emphasizes the methodology, shunning the more technical "best possible" results in favor of clearer exposition. The book is not encyclopedic--it contains only those examples that clearly display the methodology. The probabilistic method is a powerful tool in graph theory, combinatorics, and theoretical computer science. It allows one to prove the existence of objects with certain properties (e.g., colorings) by showing that an appropriately defined random object has positive probability of having those properties.

The matching problem is central to graph theory and the theory of algorithms. This book provides a comprehensive and straightforward introduction to the basic methods for designing efficient parallel algorithms for graph matching problems. Written for students at the beginning graduate level, the exposition is largely self-contained and example-driven; prerequisites have been kept to a minimum by including relevant background material. The book contains full details of several new techniques and will be of interest to researchers in computer science, operations research, discrete mathematics, and electrical engineering. The main theoretical tools are presented in three independent chapters, devoted to combinatorial tools, probabilistic tools, and algebraic tools. One of the goals of the book is to show how these three approaches can be combined to develop efficient parallel algorithms. The book represents a meeting point of interesting algorithmic techniques and opens up new algebraic and geometric areas.

Randomization and probabilistic techniques play an important role in modern computer science, with applications ranging from combinatorial optimization and machine learning to communication networks and secure protocols. This 2005 textbook is designed to accompany a one- or two-semester course for advanced undergraduates or beginning graduate students in computer science and applied mathematics. It gives an excellent introduction to the probabilistic techniques and paradigms used in the development of probabilistic algorithms and analyses. It assumes only an elementary background in discrete mathematics and gives a rigorous yet accessible treatment of the material, with numerous examples and applications. The first half of the book covers core material, including random sampling, expectations, Markov's inequality, Chevyshev's inequality, Chernoff bounds, the probabilistic method and Markov chains. The second half covers more advanced topics such as continuous probability, applications of limited independence, entropy, Markov chain Monte Carlo methods and balanced allocations. With its comprehensive selection of topics, along with many examples and exercises, this book is an indispensable teaching tool.

For many applications a randomized algorithm is either the simplest algorithm available, or the fastest, or both. This tutorial presents the basic concepts in the design and analysis of randomized algorithms. The first part of the book presents tools from probability theory and probabilistic analysis that are recurrent in algorithmic applications. Algorithmic examples are given to illustrate the use of each tool in a concrete setting. In the second part of the book, each of the seven chapters focuses on one important area of application of randomized algorithms: data structures; geometric algorithms; graph algorithms; number theory; enumeration; parallel algorithms; and on-line algorithms. A comprehensive and representative selection of the algorithms in these areas is also given. This book should prove invaluable as a reference for researchers and professional programmers, as well as for students.

Covering the basic techniques used in the latest research work, the author consolidates progress made so far, including some very recent and promising results, and conveys the beauty and excitement of work in the field. He gives clear, lucid explanations of key results and ideas, with intuitive proofs, and provides critical examples and numerous illustrations to help elucidate the algorithms. Many of the results presented have been simplified and new insights provided. Of interest to theoretical computer scientists, operations researchers, and discrete mathematicians.