Improving upon work in [2], the precise value of the set reconstruction number is given for all cyclic groups of odd order.

We study semirandom k-colourable graphs made up as follows. Partition the vertex set V = {1, . . ., n} randomly into k classes V1, . . ., Vk of equal size and include each Vi–Vj-edge with probability p independently (1 ≤ i < j ≤ k) to obtain a graph G0. Then, an adversary may add further Vi–Vj-edges (i≠j) to G0, thereby completing the semirandom graph G = G*n,p,k. We show that if np ≥ max{(1 + ϵ)klnn, C0k2} for a certain constant C0>0 and an arbitrarily small but constant ϵ>0, an optimal colouring of G*n,p,k can be found in polynomial time with high probability. Furthermore, if np ≥ C0max{klnn, k2}, a k-colouring of G*n,p,k can be computed in polynomial expected time. Moreover, an optimal colouring of G*n,p,k can be computed in expected polynomial time if k ≤ ln1/3n and np ≥ C0klnn. By contrast, it is NP-hard to k-colour G*n,p,k With high probability if .

In this note we give a very short proof for the description of all maximum size two-part Sperner systems.

This paper has two parts. In the first part we consider a simple Markov chain for d-regular graphs on n vertices, where d = d(n) may grow with n. We show that the mixing time of this Markov chain is bounded above by a polynomial in n and d. In the second part of the paper, a related Markov chain for d-regular graphs on a varying number of vertices is introduced, for even constant d. This is a model for a certain peer-to-peer network. We prove that the related chain has mixing time which is bounded above by a polynomial in N, the expected number of vertices, provided certain assumptions are met about the rate of arrival and departure of vertices.

A black hole is a highly harmful stationary process residing in a node of a network and destroying all mobile agents visiting the node, without leaving any trace. We consider the task of locating a black hole in a (partially) synchronous tree network, assuming an upper bound on the time of any edge traversal by an agent. The minimum number of agents capable of identifying a black hole is two. For a given tree and given starting node we are interested in the fastest-possible black hole search by two agents. For arbitrary trees we give a 5/3-approximation algorithm for this problem. We give optimal black hole search algorithms for two ‘extreme’ classes of trees: the class of lines and the class of trees in which any internal node (including the root which is the starting node) has at least two children.

We consider the distribution of the value of the optimal k-assignment in an m × n matrix, where the entries are independent exponential random variables with arbitrary rates. We give closed formulas for both the Laplace transform of this random variable and for its expected value under the condition that there is a zero-cost (k − 1)-assignment.

We study a point process describing the asymptotic behaviour of sizes of the largest components of the random graph G(n, p) in the critical window, that is, for p = n−1 + λn−4/3, where λ is a fixed real number. In particular, we show that this point process has a surprising rigidity. Fluctuations in the large values will be balanced by opposite fluctuations in the small values such that the sum of the values larger than a small ϵ (a scaled version of the number of vertices in components of size greater than εn2/3) is almost constant.