Scaling limits of random graph models at criticality: Universality and the basin of attraction of the Erdős-Rényi random graph

Abstract: A wide array of random graph models have been postulated to understand properties of observed networks. Typically these models have a parameter $t$ and a critical time $t_c$ when a giant component emerges. It is conjectured that for a large class of models, the nature of this emergence is similar to that of the Erd\H{o}s-R\'enyi random graph, in the sense that (a) the sizes of the maximal components in the critical regime scale like $n^{2/3}$, and (b) the structure of the maximal components at criticality (rescaled by $n^{-1/3}$) converges to random fractals. To date, (a) has been proven for a number of models using different techniques. This paper develops a general program for proving (b) that requires three ingredients: (i) in the critical scaling window, components merge approximately like the multiplicative coalescent, (ii) scaling exponents of susceptibility functions are the same as that of the Erd\H{o}s-R\'enyi random graph, and (iii) macroscopic averaging of distances between vertices in the barely subcritical regime. We show that these apply to two fundamental random graph models: the configuration model and inhomogeneous random graphs with a finite ground space. For these models, we also obtain new results for component sizes at criticality and structural properties in the barely subcritical regime.