Swap connectivity for two graph spaces between simple and pseudo graphs and disconnectivity for triangle constraints

Abstract: With sufficient time, double edge-swap Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods are able to sample uniformly at random from many different and important graph spaces. For instance, for a fixed degree sequence, MCMC methods can sample any graph from: simple graphs; multigraphs (which may have multiedges); and pseudographs (which may have multiedges and/or multiple self-loops). In this note we extend these MCMC methods to multiloop-graphs', which allow multiple self-loops but not multiedges andloopy-multigraphs' which allow multiedges and single self-loops. We demonstrate that there are degree sequences on which the standard MCMC methods cannot uniformly sample multiloop-graphs, and exactly characterize which degree sequences can and cannot be so sampled. In contrast, we prove that such MCMC methods can sample all loopy-multigraphs. Taken together with recent work on graphs which allow single self-loops but no multiedges, this work completes the study of the connectivity (irreducibility) of double edge-swap Markov chains for all combinations of allowing self-loops, multiple self-loops and/or multiedges. Looking toward other possible directions to extend edge swap sampling techniques, we produce examples of degree and triangle constraints which have disconnected spaces for all edges swaps on less than or equal to 8 edges.