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arxiv: 2605.21471 · v1 · pith:4EARCA6Lnew · submitted 2026-05-20 · 🧮 math.CO

Ramsey properties for tilings in random graphs

Pith reviewed 2026-05-21 03:04 UTC · model grok-4.3

classification 🧮 math.CO
keywords Ramsey theoryrandom graphsthreshold functionsgraph tilingsmonochromatic copiesedge colorings2-density
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The pith

The threshold probability for a random graph G(n,p) to force a monochromatic tiling of about n/(2k-α) disjoint copies of H in any 2-edge-coloring is n to the power of minus one over the maximum of the 2-density of H and one.

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

This paper establishes that the random graph property G(n,p) arrow (mH)_2 holds with high probability exactly above the probability threshold n to the minus one over max of m2(H) and 1, where m is linear in n and chosen according to the independence number alpha of H. A reader would care because this pins down the same exponent that Rödl and Ruciński found for single copies of H, now for a linear number of vertex-disjoint copies, and it directly extends the deterministic tiling result of Burr, Erdős and Spencer into the random setting. The work shows that the 2-density continues to dictate the threshold even when the target is a large packing rather than one copy.

Core claim

We prove that n^{-1/max{m_2(H),1}} is the threshold for the property G(n,p) → (mH)_2, where m∼n/(2k−α). This threshold matches the one found by Rödl and Ruciński for most graphs H, extending their result in the case r=2.

What carries the argument

The 2-density m2(H), which sets the exponent in the threshold function for the monochromatic Ramsey property in the same manner as the single-copy case.

If this is right

  • For any H with m2(H) greater than 1, the threshold exponent stays exactly 1/m2(H) even when the target consists of linearly many disjoint copies.
  • The deterministic bound m ∼ n/(2k−α) from Burr, Erdős and Spencer carries over unchanged to the random-graph threshold statement.
  • The result holds for all but a few exceptional graphs H, matching the scope of the Rödl-Ruciński theorem for r=2.

Where Pith is reading between the lines

These are editorial extensions of the paper, not claims the author makes directly.

  • The same exponent may govern the threshold when the number of colors r exceeds 2, provided the deterministic tiling number is adjusted accordingly.
  • For specific families such as cycles or complete graphs, direct computation of the threshold could confirm whether the max with 1 is ever triggered in the tiling regime.
  • The absence of lower-order corrections suggests that sparse random graphs already contain the necessary expansion properties for large monochromatic packings once the 2-density threshold is crossed.

Load-bearing premise

The 2-density of H governs the threshold for the large tiling exactly as it does for one copy, with the linear size m introducing no extra logarithmic corrections to the exponent.

What would settle it

Observe a graph H and a probability p slightly smaller than n^{-1/max{m_2(H),1}} such that with positive probability a random graph G(n,p) admits a 2-edge-coloring with no monochromatic mH tiling, where m is asymptotically n/(2k-α).

read the original abstract

Let $mH$ be the graph formed by $m$ vertex-disjoint copies of a graph $H$. Let $G \to (H)_r$ denote that, in any $r$-colouring of the edges of $G$, there exists a monochromatic copy of $H$. In 1975, Burr, Erd\H{o}s, and Spencer showed that if $H$ is a graph on $k$ vertices whose independence number is $\alpha$, then $K_n \to (mH)_2$, where $m\sim n/(2k-\alpha)$, and that the $1/(2k-\alpha)$ factor is best possible. In the 1990s, R\"{o}dl and Ruci\'{n}ski proved that, for all but a few graphs~$H$, the threshold for the property $\mathbb{G}(n,p) \to (H)_r$ is $n^{-1/m_2(H)}$. In this paper, generalizing the result of Burr, Erd\H{o}s, and Spencer, we prove that $n^{-1/\max\{m_2(H),1\}}$ is the threshold for the property $\mathbb{G}(n,p) \to (mH)_2$, where $m\sim n/(2k-\alpha)$. This threshold matches the one found by R\"{o}dl and Ruci\'nski for most graphs $H$, extending their result in the case $r=2$.

Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, simulated authors' rebuttal, and a circularity audit. Tearing a paper down is the easy half of reading it; the pith above is the substance, this is the friction.

Referee Report

0 major / 3 minor

Summary. The manuscript proves that for a fixed graph H on k vertices with independence number α, the threshold probability p such that G(n,p) → (mH)_2 (every 2-edge-coloring admits a monochromatic packing of m vertex-disjoint copies of H) with m ∼ n/(2k−α) is exactly p = n^{-1/max{m_2(H),1}}. This extends the deterministic Burr-Erdős-Spencer tiling bound to the random-graph model and matches the Rödl-Ruciński threshold for single copies of H (for most H) in the r=2 case.

Significance. If the result holds, it is a clean and useful extension of classical Ramsey theory: it shows that the 2-density parameter continues to control the threshold even when one seeks a linear-sized monochromatic packing rather than a single copy, without introducing logarithmic corrections to the exponent. The proof combines the deterministic m-bound of Burr-Erdős-Spencer with the Rödl-Ruciński 1-statement and a greedy embedding that exploits the minimum-degree properties of the random graph above the threshold; this combination is technically economical and confirms the robustness of the m_2(H) regime for tiling problems.

minor comments (3)
  1. §1 (Introduction): the statement of the main result would be clearer if it were isolated as a numbered theorem immediately after the abstract, rather than being described only in prose.
  2. §4 (Proof of the 1-statement): the argument that the greedy embedding introduces no extra logarithmic factor in the exponent is central but is only sketched; a short paragraph making the degree calculations explicit would improve readability.
  3. The paper correctly excludes the exceptional graphs H for which the Rödl-Ruciński threshold differs, but a one-sentence reminder of which graphs are excluded (and why) at the beginning of the main theorem would help readers.

Simulated Author's Rebuttal

0 responses · 0 unresolved

We thank the referee for the positive and accurate summary of our manuscript, which correctly identifies the main result as a natural extension of the Burr-Erdős-Spencer tiling theorem to the random-graph setting while matching the Rödl-Ruciński threshold for most graphs H. We appreciate the recommendation for minor revision.

Circularity Check

0 steps flagged

No significant circularity

full rationale

The paper extends the Rödl-Ruciński threshold for single H to the multiple disjoint copies mH by invoking the deterministic Burr-Erdős-Spencer bound on m and applying a greedy embedding argument in the random graph regime above the known 1-statement threshold. m2(H) is imported from external literature as an independent quantity, the scaling m ∼ n/(2k−α) is taken directly from the 1975 deterministic result, and no parameter is fitted to the target property then renamed as a prediction. The derivation chain remains self-contained against external benchmarks with no self-definitional, fitted-input, or self-citation load-bearing reductions.

Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger

0 free parameters · 2 axioms · 0 invented entities

The argument rests on standard probabilistic method tools and the definition of 2-density; no new free parameters or invented entities are introduced in the abstract.

axioms (2)
  • standard math The 2-density m2(H) is the standard quantity max over subgraphs of (e(F)-1)/(v(F)-2) used in random graph Ramsey theory.
    Invoked when stating the threshold exponent.
  • domain assumption The scaling m ~ n / (2k - alpha) carries over from the deterministic Burr-Erdős-Spencer theorem without modification in the random setting.
    Used to define the number of copies in the target property.

pith-pipeline@v0.9.0 · 5814 in / 1370 out tokens · 31886 ms · 2026-05-21T03:04:26.686437+00:00 · methodology

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Forward citations

Cited by 1 Pith paper

Reviewed papers in the Pith corpus that reference this work. Sorted by Pith novelty score.

  1. A random version of the Burr-Erd\H{o}s-Spencer theorem

    math.CO 2026-05 unverdicted novelty 7.0

    Establishes that the 2-color Ramsey number for sufficiently many vertex-disjoint copies of H remains asymptotically the same in the random graph G(n,p) for appropriate p.

Reference graph

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