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Random stable matchings

Stephan Mertens

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The stable matching problem is a prototype model in economics and social sciences where agents act selfishly to optimize their own satisfaction, subject to mutually conflicting constraints. A stable matching is a pairing of adjacent vertices in a graph such that no unpaired vertices prefer each other to their partners under the matching. The problem of finding stable matchings is known as the stable marriage problem (on bipartite graphs) or as the stable room-mates problem (on the complete graph). It is well known that not all instances on non-bipartite graphs admit a stable matching. Here we present numerical results for the probability that a graph with n vertices and random preference relations admits a stable matching. In particular we find that this probability decays algebraically on graphs with connectivity Θ(n) and exponentially on regular grids. On finite connectivity Erdös–Rényi graphs the probability converges to a value larger than zero. On the basis of the numerical results and some heuristic reasoning we formulate five conjectures on the asymptotic properties of random stable matchings.


Keywords

random graphs, networks

interacting agent models

applications to game theory and mathematical economics

 

E-print Number: cond-mat/0509221

Cited: by |

Refers: to

PACS

02.50.Le Decision theory and game theory

05.10.-a Computational methods in statistical physics and nonlinear dynamics

02.10.Ox Combinatorics; graph theory

89.65.Gh Economics; econophysics, financial markets, business and management

MSC

05Cxx Graph theory (For applications of graphs, see 68R10, 90C35, 94C15)

60C05 Combinatorial probability

91A46 Combinatorial games

Subjects

Mathematical physics

Computational physics

Statistical physics and nonlinear systems

Dates

Issue 10 (October 2005)

Received 9 September 2005, accepted for publication 27 September 2005

Published 12 October 2005



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