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DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.11

On Finding Randomly Planted Cliques in Arbitrary Graphs

Authors: Francesco Agrimonti, Marco Bressan, and Tommaso d'Orsi

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 353, Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025)

Abstract

We study a planted clique model introduced by Feige [Uriel Feige, 2021] where a complete graph of size c⋅ n is planted uniformly at random in an arbitrary n-vertex graph. We give a simple deterministic algorithm that, in almost linear time, recovers a clique of size (c/3)^O(1/c) ⋅ n as long as the original graph has maximum degree at most (1-p)n for some fixed p > 0. The proof hinges on showing that the degrees of the final graph are correlated with the planted clique, in a way similar to (but more intricate than) the classical G(n,1/2)+K_√n planted clique model. Our algorithm suggests a separation from the worst-case model, where, assuming the Unique Games Conjecture, no polynomial algorithm can find cliques of size Ω(n) for every fixed c > 0, even if the input graph has maximum degree (1-p)n. Our techniques extend beyond the planted clique model. For example, when the planted graph is a balanced biclique, we recover a balanced biclique of size larger than the best guarantees known for the worst case.

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Francesco Agrimonti, Marco Bressan, and Tommaso d'Orsi. On Finding Randomly Planted Cliques in Arbitrary Graphs. In Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 353, pp. 11:1-11:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{agrimonti_et_al:LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.11,
  author =	{Agrimonti, Francesco and Bressan, Marco and d'Orsi, Tommaso},
  title =	{{On Finding Randomly Planted Cliques in Arbitrary Graphs}},
  booktitle =	{Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025)},
  pages =	{11:1--11:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-397-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{353},
  editor =	{Ene, Alina and Chattopadhyay, Eshan},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.11},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-243774},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.11},
  annote =	{Keywords: Computational Complexity, Planted Clique, Semi-random, Unique Games Conjecture, Approximation Algorithms}
}

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On Finding Randomly Planted Cliques in Arbitrary Graphs

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