Eternal Family Trees and Dynamics on Unimodular Random Graphs

Abstract: This paper is centered on covariant dynamics on unimodular random graphs and random networks, namely maps from the set of vertices to itself which are preserved by graph or network isomorphisms. Such dynamics are referred to as vertex-shifts here. The first result of the paper is a classification of vertex-shifts on unimodular random networks. Each such vertex-shift partitions the vertices into a collection of connected components and foils. The latter are discrete analogues the stable manifold of the dynamics. The classification is based on the cardinality of the connected components and foils. Up to an event of zero probability, there are three classes of foliations in a connected component: F/F (with finitely many finite foils), I/F (infinitely many finite foils), and I/I (infinitely many infinite foils). An infinite connected component of the graph of a vertex-shift on a random network forms an infinite tree with one selected end which is referred to as an Eternal Family Tree. Such trees can be seen as stochastic extensions of branching processes. Unimodular Eternal Family Trees can be seen as extensions of critical branching processes. The class of offspring-invariant Eternal Family Trees, which is introduced in the paper, allows one to analyze dynamics on networks which are not necessarily unimodular. These can be seen as extensions of non-necessarily critical branching processes. Several construction techniques of Eternal Family Trees are proposed, like the joining of trees or moving the root to a far descendant. Eternal Galton-Watson Trees and Eternal Multi-type Galton-Watson Trees are also introduced as special cases of Eternal Family Trees satisfying additional independence properties. These examples allow one to show that the results on Eternal Family Trees unify and extend to the dependent case several well known theorems of the literature on branching processes.