Minimizing the makespan in a single machine scheduling problem with a time-based learning effect

Both the building cost and the multiple-source routing cost are important considerations in construction of a network system. A spanning tree with minimum building cost among all spanning trees is called a minimum spanning tree (MST), and a spanning tree with minimum k-source routing cost among all spanning trees is called a k-source minimum routing cost spanning tree (k-MRCT). This paper proposes an algorithm to construct a spanning tree T for a metric graph G with a source vertex set S such that the building cost of T is at most 1+2/(α−1) times of that of an MST of G, and the k-source routing cost of T is at most α(1+2(k−1)(n−2)/k(n+k−2)) times of that of a k-MRCT of G with respect to S, where α>1, k=|S| and n is the number of vertices of G.     

An algorithm for computing simple k-factors

A k-factor of graph G is defined as a k-regular spanning subgraph of G. For instance, a 2-factor of G is a set of cycles that span G. 2-factors have multiple applications in Graph Theory, Computer Graphics, and Computational Geometry. We define a simple 2-factor as a 2-factor without degenerate cycles. In general, simple k-factors are defined as k-regular spanning subgraphs where no edge is used more than once. We propose a new algorithm for computing simple k-factors for all values of k?2.     

Parallel construction of optimal independent spanning trees on Cartesian product of complete graphs

A set of k spanning trees rooted at the same vertex r in a graph G is said to be independent if for each vertex x other than r, the k paths from r to x, one path in each spanning tree, are internally disjoint. Using independent spanning trees (ISTs) one can design fault-tolerant broadcasting schemes and increase message security in a network. Thus, the problem of ISTs on graphs has been received much attention. Recently, Yang et al. proposed a parallel algorithm for generating optimal ISTs on the hypercube. In this paper, we propose a similar algorithm for generating optimal ISTs on Cartesian product of complete graphs. The algorithm can be easily implemented in parallel or distributed systems. Moreover, the proof of its correctness is simpler than that of Yang et al.     

How to Use Spanning Trees to Navigate in Graphs

In this paper, we investigate three strategies of how to use a spanning tree T of a graph G to navigate in G, i.e., to move from a current vertex x towards a destination vertex y via a path that is close to optimal. In each strategy, each vertex v has full knowledge of its neighborhood N _G [v] in G (or, k-neighborhood D _k (v,G), where k is a small integer) and uses a small piece of global information from spanning tree T (e.g., distance or ancestry information in T), available locally at v, to navigate in G. We investigate advantages and limitations of these strategies on particular families of graphs such as graphs with locally connected spanning trees, graphs with bounded length of largest induced cycle, graphs with bounded tree-length, graphs with bounded hyperbolicity. For most of these families of graphs, the ancestry information from a Breadth-First-Search-tree guarantees short enough routing paths. In many cases, the obtained results are optimal up to a constant factor.     

Bandwidth and pebbling

The main results of this paper establish relationships between the bandwidth of a graphG — which is the minimum over all layouts ofG in a line of the maximum distance between images of adjacent vertices ofG — and the ease of playing various pebble games onG. Three pebble games on graphs are considered: the well-known computational pebble game, the “progressive” (i.e., no recomputation allowed) version of the computational pebble game, both of which are played on directed acyclic graphs, and the quite different “breadth-first” pebble game, that is played on undirected graphs. We consider two costs of a play of a pebble game: the minimum number of pebbles needed to play the game on the graphG, and the maximumlifetime of any pebble in the game, i.e., the maximum number of moves that any pebble spends on the graph. The first set of results of the paper prove that the minimum lifetime cost of a play of either of the second two pebble games on a graphG is precisely the bandwidth ofG. The second set of results establish bounds on the pebble demand of all three pebble games in terms of the bandwidth of the graph being pebbled; for instance, the number of pebbles needed to pebble a graphG of bandwidthk is at most min (2k ²+k+1, 2k log₂|G|); and, in addition, there are bandwidth-k graphs that require 3k?1 pebbles. The third set of results relate the difficulty of deciding the cost of playing a pebble game on a given input graphG to the bandwidth ofG; for instance, the Pebble Demand problem forn-vertex graphs of bandwidthf(n) is in the class NSPACE (f(n) log² n); and the Optimal Lifetime Problem for either of the second two pebble games is NP-complete.     

The spanning connectivity of folded hypercubes

A k-container of a graph G is a set of k internally disjoint paths between u and v. A k-container of G is a k∗-container if it contains all vertices of G. A graph G is k∗-connected if there exists a k∗-container between any two distinct vertices, and a bipartite graph G is k∗-laceable if there exists a k∗-container between any two vertices u and v from different partite sets of G for a given k. A k-connected graph (respectively, bipartite graph) G is f-edge fault-tolerant spanning connected (respectively, laceable) if G − F is w∗-connected for any w with 1 ? w ? k − f and for any set F of f faulty edges in G. This paper shows that the folded hypercube FQ_n is f-edge fault-tolerant spanning laceable if n(?3) is odd and f ? n − 1, and f-edge fault-tolerant spanning connected if n (?2) is even and f ? n − 2.     

Distributed algorithms for finding and maintaining a k-tree core in a dynamic network

A k-core C_k of a tree T is subtree with exactly k leaves for k?n_l, where n_l the number of leaves in T, and minimizes the sum of the distances of all nodes from C_k. In this paper first we propose a distributed algorithm for constructing a rooted spanning tree of a dynamic graph such that root of the tree is located near the center of the graph. Then we provide a distributed algorithm for finding k-core of that spanning tree. The spanning tree is constructed in two stages. In the first stage, a forest of trees is generated. In the next stage these trees are connected to form a single rooted tree. An interesting aspect of the first stage of proposed spanning algorithm is that it implicitly constructs the (convex) hull of those nodes which are not already included in the spanning forest. The process is repeated till all non root nodes of the graph have chosen a unique parent. We implemented the algorithms for finding spanning tree and its k-core. A core can be quite useful for routing messages in a dynamic network consisting of a set of mobile devices.     

Optical transpose k-ary n-cube networks

This paper derives a number of results related to the topological properties of OTIS k-ary n-cube interconnection networks. The basic topological metrics of size, degree, shortest distance, and diameter are obtained. Then results related to embedding in OTIS k-ary n-cubes of OTIS k-ary (n−1)-cubes, cycles, meshes, cubes, and spanning trees are derived. The OTIS k-ary n-cube is shown to be Hamiltonian. Minimal one-to-one routing and optimal broadcasting algorithms are proposed. The OTIS k-ary n-cube is shown to be maximally fault-tolerant. These results are derived based on known properties of k-ary n-cube networks and general properties of OTIS networks.     

Locally connected spanning trees in cographs, complements of bipartite graphs and doubly chordal graphs

A spanning tree T of a graph G=(V,E) is called a locally connected spanning tree if the set of all neighbors of v in T induces a connected subgraph of G for all v∈V. The problem of recognizing whether a graph admits a locally connected spanning tree is known to be NP-complete even when the input graphs are restricted to chordal graphs. In this paper, we propose linear time algorithms for finding locally connected spanning trees in cographs, complements of bipartite graphs and doubly chordal graphs, respectively.     

Spanners of bounded degree graphs

A k-spanner of a graph G is a spanning subgraph of G in which the distance between any pair of vertices is at most k times the distance in G. We prove that for fixed k,w, the problem of deciding if a given graph has a k-spanner of treewidth w is fixed-parameter tractable on graphs of bounded degree. In particular, this implies that finding a k-spanner that is a tree (a tree k-spanner) is fixed-parameter tractable on graphs of bounded degree. In contrast, we observe that if the graph has only one vertex of unbounded degree, then Treek-Spanner is NP-complete for k?4.     

Tree acceptors and grammar forms

The following generalization of a well-known result in tree acceptors is established. For each context-free grammarG and tree acceptor \(\mathfrak{A}\) there exists a strict interpretationG′ ofG and a yield-preserving projection π′ from the trees over the alphabet ofG′ into the trees over the alphabet ofG such that \(\pi '(D_{G'} ) = D_G \cap T(\mathfrak{A})\) ,D _G andD _G′ being the derivation trees ofG′ andG respectively and \(T(\mathfrak{A})\) the trees accepted by \(\mathfrak{A}\) . Moreover, ifG is unambiguous, then (a)G′ can be chosen unambiguous, and (b) there is an unambiguous strict interpretationG″ ofG such thatL(G″)=L(G)?L(G′).     

On-line maintenance of triconnected components with SPQR-trees

We consider the problem of maintaining on-line the triconnected components of a graphG. Letn be the current number of vertices ofG. We present anO(n)-space data structure that supports insertions of vertices and edges, and queries of the type “Are there three vertex-disjoint paths between verticesv ₁ andv ₂?” A sequence ofk operations takes timeO(k·α(k, n)) ifG is biconnected(α(k, n) denotes the well-known Ackermann's function inverse), and timeO(n logn+k) ifG is not biconnected. Note that the bounds do not depend on the number of edges ofG. We use theSPQR-tree, a versatile data structure that represents the decomposition of a biconnected graph with respect to its triconnected components, and theBC-tree, which represents the decomposition of a connected graph with respect to its biconnected components.     

k-tuple domination in graphs

In a graph G, a vertex is said to dominate itself and all of its neighbors. For a fixed positive integer k, the k-tuple domination problem is to find a minimum sized vertex subset in a graph such that every vertex in the graph is dominated by at least k vertices in this set. The current paper studies k-tuple domination in graphs from an algorithmic point of view. In particular, we give a linear-time algorithm for the k-tuple domination problem in strongly chordal graphs, which is a subclass of chordal graphs and includes trees, block graphs, interval graphs and directed path graphs. We also prove that the k-tuple domination problem is NP-complete for split graphs (a subclass of chordal graphs) and for bipartite graphs.     

Bandwidth Minimization: An approximation algorithm for caterpillars

The Bandwidth Minimization Problem (BMP) is the problem, given a graphG and an integerk, to map the vertices ofG to distinct positive integers, so that no edge ofG has its endpoints mapped to integers that differ by more thank. There is no known approximation algorithm for this problem, even for the case of trees. We present an approximation algorithm for the BMP for the case of special graphs, called caterpillars. The BMP arises from many different engineering applications which try to achieve efficient storage and processing and has been studied extensively, especially with relation to other graph layout problems. In particular, the BMP for caterpillars is related to multiprocessor scheduling. It has been shown to be NP-complete, even for degree-3 trees. Our algorithm, gives a logn times optimal algorithm, wheren is the number of nodes of the caterpillar. It is based on the idea of level algorithms.This work has been, in part, supported by the Computer Learning Research (CLEAR) Center at UTD.     

Constrained delaunay triangulations

Given a set ofn vertices in the plane together with a set of noncrossing, straight-line edges, theconstrained Delaunay triangulation (CDT) is the triangulation of the vertices with the following properties: (1) the prespecified edges are included in the triangulation, and (2) it is as close as possible to the Delaunay triangulation. We show that the CDT can be built in optimalO(n logn) time using a divide-and-conquer technique. This matches the time required to build an arbitrary (unconstrained) Delaunay triangulation and the time required to build an arbitrary constrained (non-Delaunay) triagulation. CDTs, because of their relationship with Delaunay triangulations, have a number of properties that make them useful for the finite-element method. Applications also include motion planning in the presence of polygonal obstacles and constrained Euclidean minimum spanning trees, spanning trees subject to the restriction that some edges are prespecified.     

A variation on the min cut linear arrangement problem

The Min Cut Linear Arrangement problem asks, for a given graphG and a positive integerk, if there exists a linear arrangement ofG's vertices so that any line separating consecutive vertices in the layout cuts at mostk of the edges. A variation of this problem insists that the arrangement be made on a (fixed-degree) tree instead of a line. We show that (1) this problem isNP-complete even whenG is planar; (2) it is easily solved whenG is a tree; and (3) there is a simple characterization for all graphs with cost 2 or less. Our main result is a linear-time algorithm to embed an outerplanar graphG into a spanning tree with cost at most maxdegree(G) + 1. This result is important because it extends to an approximation algorithm for the standard Min Cut Linear Arrangement Problem on outerplanar graphs.Supported in part by NSF Grant CCR-8710730.     

New metaheuristic approaches for the edge-weighted k-cardinality tree problem

In this paper we propose three metaheuristic approaches, namely a Tabu Search, an Evolutionary Computation and an Ant Colony Optimization approach, for the edge-weighted k-cardinality tree (KCT) problem. This problem is an NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem that generalizes the well-known minimum weight spanning tree problem. Given an edge-weighted graph G=(V,E), it consists of finding a tree in G with exactly k⩽|V|−1 edges, such that the sum of the weights is minimal. First, we show that our new metaheuristic approaches are competitive by applying them to a set of existing benchmark instances and comparing the results to two different Tabu Search methods from the literature. The results show that these benchmark instances are not challenging enough for our metaheuristics. Therefore, we propose a diverse set of benchmark instances that are characterized by different features such as density and variance in vertex degree. We show that the performance of our metaheuristics depends on the characteristics of the tackled instance, as well as on the cardinality. For example, for low cardinalities the Ant Colony Optimization approach is best, whereas for high cardinalities the Tabu Search approach has advantages.     

On the k-tuple domination of generalized de Brujin and Kautz digraphs

A vertex u in a digraph G = (V, A) is said to dominate itself and vertices v such that (u, v) ∈ A. For a positive integer k, a k-tuple dominating set of G is a subset D of vertices such that every vertex in G is dominated by at least k vertices in D. The k-tuple domination number of G is the minimum cardinality of a k-tuple dominating set of G. This paper deals with the k-tuple domination problem on generalized de Bruijn and Kautz digraphs. We establish bounds on the k-tuple domination number for the generalized de Bruijn and Kautz digraphs and we obtain some conditions for the k-tuple domination number attaining the bounds.     

The super spanning connectivity and super spanning laceability of the enhanced hypercubes

A k -container C(u,v) of a graph G is a set of k disjoint paths between u and v. A k-container C(u,v) of G is a k ^* -container if it contains all vertices of G. A graph G is k ^* -connected if there exists a k ^*-container between any two distinct vertices of G. Therefore, a graph is 1^*-connected (respectively, 2^*-connected) if and only if it is Hamiltonian connected (respectively, Hamiltonian). A graph G is super spanning connected if there exists a k ^*-container between any two distinct vertices of G for every k with 1≤k≤κ(G) where κ(G) is the connectivity of G. A bipartite graph G is k ^* -laceable if there exists a k ^*-container between any two vertices from different partite set of G. A bipartite graph G is super spanning laceable if there exists a k ^*-container between any two vertices from different partite set of G for every k with 1≤k≤κ(G). In this paper, we prove that the enhanced hypercube Q _n,m is super spanning laceable if m is an odd integer and super spanning connected if otherwise.

Computing Modular Invariants of p-groups

Let V be a finite dimensional representation of a p -group, G, over a field,k , of characteristic p. We show that there exists a choice of basis and monomial order for which the ring of invariants, k [ V ]^G, has a finite SAGBI basis. We describe two algorithms for constructing a generating set for k [ V ] G. We use these methods to analyse k [2V₃ ]^U₃where U₃is the p -Sylow subgroup ofGL₃ (F_p) and 2 V₃is the sum of two copies of the canonical representation. We give a generating set for k [2 V₃]^U₃forp =  3 and prove that the invariants fail to be Cohen–Macaulay forp >  2. We also give a minimal generating set for k [mV₂ ]^Z / pwere V₂is the two-dimensional indecomposable representation of the cyclic group Z / p.