Probabilistic methods for algorithmic discrete mathematics

Michel Habib, Colin McDiarmid, Jorge Ramirez-Alfonsin, Bruce Reed9783540646228, 3-540-64622-1

The book gives an accessible account of modern probabilistic methods for analyzing combinatorial structures and algorithms. It will be an useful guide for graduate students and researchers. Special features included: a simple treatment of Talagrand’s inequalities and their applications; an overview and many carefully worked out examples of the probabilistic analysis of combinatorial algorithms; a discussion of the “exact simulation” algorithm (in the context of Markov Chain Monte Carlo Methods); a general method for finding asymptotically optimal or near optimal graph colouring, showing how the probabilistic method may be fine-tuned to exploit the structure of the underlying graph; a succinct treatment of randomized algorithms and derandomization techniques.