Optimal parallel verification of minimum spanning trees in logarithmic time

We present the first optimal parallel algorithms for the verification and sensitivity analysis of minimum spanning trees. Our algorithms are deterministic and run inO(logn) time and require linear-work in the CREW PRAM model. These algorithms are used as a subroutine in the linear-work randomized algorithm for finding minimum spanning trees of Cole, Klein, and Tarjan. Research partially supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship and by DIMACS (Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science), a National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center, Grant No. NSF-STC88-09648. Research at Princeton University was partially supported by the National Science Foundation, Grant No. CCR-8920505, the Office of Naval Research, Contract No. N00014-91-J-1463, and by DIMACS (Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science), a National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center, Grant No. NSF-STC88-09648.     

Computing the intersection-depth of polyhedra

Given two intersecting polyhedraP, Q and a directiond, find the smallest translation ofQ alongd that renders the interiors ofP andQ disjoint. The same problem can also be posed without specifying the direction, in which case the minimum translation over all directions is sought. These are fundamental problems that arise in robotics and computer vision. We develop techniques for implicitly building and searching convolutions and apply them to derive efficient algorithms for these problems.The work of this author was partially supported by National Science Foundation Grant CCR90-02352.The work of this author was partially supported by Grant A3583 from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.     

Fast algorithms for computing the diameter of a finite planar set

Three algorithms for computing the diameter of a finite planar set are proposed. Although all three algorithms have (O(n ²) worst-case running time, an expected-complexity analysis shows that, under reasonable probabilistic assumptions, all three algorithms have linear expected running time. Experimental results indicate that two of these algorithms perform very well for some distributions, and are competitive with an existing method. Finally, we exhibit situations where these exact algorithms out-perform a published approximate algorithm.Research of the first author was supported by grant NSERC A 2422. Research of the second author was supported by grants NSERC A 9293, FCAC EQ-1678 and a Killam Senior Research Fellowship awarded by the Canada Council     

Choosing a Random Peer in Chord

We present two new algorithms, Arc Length and Peer Count, for choosing a peer uniformly at random from the set of all peers in Chord (Proceedings of the ACM SIGCOMM 2001 Technical Conference, 2001). We show analytically that, in expectation, both algorithms have latency O(log n) and send O(log n) messages. Moreover, we show empirically that the average latency and message cost of Arc Length is 10.01log n and that the average latency and message cost of Peer Count is 20.02log n. To the best of our knowledge, these two algorithms are the first fully distributed algorithms for choosing a peer uniformly at random from the set of all peers in a Distributed Hash Table (DHT). Our motivation for studying this problem is threefold: to enable data collection by statistically rigorous sampling methods; to provide support for randomized, distributed algorithms over peer-to-peer networks; and to support the creation and maintenance of random links, and thereby offer a simple means of improving fault-tolerance. Research of S. Lewis, J. Saia and M. Young was partially supported by NSF grant CCR-0313160 and Sandia University Research Program grant No. 191445.     

Treewidth Lower Bounds with Brambles

In this paper we present a new technique for computing lower bounds for graph treewidth. Our technique is based on the fact that the treewidth of a graph G is the maximum order of a bramble of G minus one. We give two algorithms: one for general graphs, and one for planar graphs. The algorithm for planar graphs is shown to give a lower bound for both the treewidth and branchwidth that is at most a constant factor away from the optimum. For both algorithms, we report on extensive computational experiments that show that the algorithms often give excellent lower bounds, in particular when applied to (close to) planar graphs. This work was partially supported by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research NWO (project Treewidth and Combinatorial Optimisation) and partially by the DFG research group “Algorithms, Structure, Randomness” (Grant number GR 883/9-3, GR 883/9-4).     

Space bounds for a game on graphs

We study a one-person game played by placing pebbles, according to certain rules, on the vertices of a directed graph. In [3] it was shown that for each graph withn vertices and maximum in-degreed, there is a pebbling strategy which requires at mostc(d) n/logn pebbles. Here we show that this bound is tight to within a constant factor. We also analyze a variety of pebbling algorithms, including one which achieves the 0(n/logn) bound.Research partially supported by DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) Grant No. 430/402/563/5 (W.J.P.)Research partially supported by National Science Foundation grant MCS75-22870 and Office of Naval Research contract N0014-76-C-0688 (R.E.T. and J.R.C.).Reproduction in whole or in part is permitted for any purpose of the United States Government.     

Duality of constrained Voronoi diagrams and Delaunay triangulations

We introduce theconstrained Voronoi diagram of a planar straight-line graph containingn vertices or sites where the line segments of the graph are regarded as obstacles, and show that an extended version of this diagram is the dual of theconstrained Delaunay triangulation. We briefly discussO(n logn) algorithms for constructing the extended constrained Voronoi diagram.This work was partially supported by a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.     

Dynamic multi-dimensional data structures based on quad- and k—d trees

Summary Quad-trees and k—d trees have been noted for their lack of dynamic properties as data structures for multi-dimensional point sets. We describe a method to insert points in a quad-tree while keeping the tree balanced that achieves an average time complexity of O(log² N) per insertion, where N is the number of updates performed on the quad-tree. We define a structure similar to a quad-tree, called a pseudo quad-tree, and show how it can be used to handle both insertions and deletions in O(log² N) average time. We also discuss how quad-trees and pseudo quadtrees can be extended for use in configurations of points in which more than one point may have a same value in some equal coordinate, without altering the earlier time bounds for insertions, deletions and queries. Similar algorithms are given for k—d trees and the same average time bounds for insertion and deletion are achieved.The work of this author was partially supported by the Netherlands Organization for the Advancement of Pure Research (ZWO).     

The complexity of the free space for motion planning amidst fat obstacles

The complexity of motion planning algorithms highly depends on the complexity of the robot's free space, i.e., the set of all collision-free placements of the robot. Theoretically, the complexity of the free space can be very high, resulting in bad worst-case time bounds for motion planning algorithms. In practice, the complexity of the free space tends to be much smaller than the worst-case complexity. Motion planning algorithms with a running time that is determined by the complexity of the free space therefore become feasible in practical situations. We show that, under some realistic assumptions, the complexity of the free space of a robot with any fixed number of degrees of freedom moving around in ad-dimensional Euclidean workspace with fat obstacles is linear in the number of obstacles. The complexity results lead to highly efficient algorithms for motion planning amidst fat obstacles.Research is supported by the Dutch Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) and partially supported by the ESPRIT III BRA Project 6546 (PROMotion).     

Optimal visibility algorithms for binary images on the hypercube

Consider an×n binary image. Given a directionD, the parallel visibility problem consists of determining for each pixel of the image the portion that is visible (i.e., not obstructed by any other black pixel of the image) in directionD from infinity. A related problem, referred to as point visibility, is to compute for each pixel the portion that is visible from a given pointp. In this paper, we deriveO(logn) time SIMD algorithms for each of these two problems on the hypercube, where one processor is assigned to every pixel of the image. Since the worst case communication distance of two processors in an ²-processor hypercube is 2 logn, it follows that both of the above algorithms are asymptotically optimal.This paper summarizes a preliminary version [Ref. 1] and short note on a possible improvement [Ref. 2] presented at the 1988IFIP WG 10.3. Working Conference on Parallel Processing and 1988Allerton Conference on Communication, Control and Computing, respectively. The first and third authors' research are partially supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.     

On renamable Horn and generalized Horn functions

A Boolean function in disjunctive normal form (DNF) is aHorn function if each of its elementary conjunctions involves at most one complemented variable. Ageneralized Horn function is constructed from a Horn function by disjuncting a nested set of complemented variables to it. The satisfiability problem is solvable in polynomial time for both Horn and generalized Horn functions. A Boolean function in DNF is said to berenamable Horn if it is Horn after complementation of some variables. Succinct mathematical characterizations and linear-time algorithms for recognizing renamable Horn and generalized Horn functions are given in this paper. The algorithm for recognizing renamable Horn functions gives a new method to test 2-SAT. Some computational results are also given.The authors were supported in part by the Office of Naval Research under University Research Initiative grant number N00014-86-K-0689. Chandru was also supported by NSF grant number DMC 88-07550.The authors gratefully acknowledge the partial support of NSF (Grant DMS 89-06870) and AFOSR (Grant 89-0066 and 89-0512).     

On supremal languages of classes of sublanguages that arise in supervisor synthesis problems with partial observation

This paper characterizes the class of closed and (M, N)-recognizable languages in terms of certain structural aspects of relevant automata. This characterization leads to algorithms that effectively compute the supremal (M, N)-recognizable sublanguage of a given language. One of these algorithms is used, in an alternating manner with an algorithm which yields the supremal (∑_u, N)-invariant resulting algorithm is proved. An example illustrates the use of these algorithms. This research was supported in part by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under Grant No. AFOSR-86-0029, in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. ECS-8412100, and in part by the DoD Joint Services Electronics Program through the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFSC) Contract No. F49620-86-C-0045     

Variations on ray shooting

We solve some problems related toray shooting in the plane, such as finding the first object hit by a query ray or counting the number of objects intersected by the query line. Our main results are an algorithm for finding the first hit when the objects are lines, and an algorithm for the case when the objects are segments. If the segments form simple polygons, this information can be used for reducing the complexity of the algorithms. The algorithms are efficient in space and in query time. Moreover, they are simple and therefore of practical use.This research was partially supported by the NY Metropolitan Research Fund. The second author is currently at IBM Haifa Research Group, Haifa 32000, Israel.     

Efficient convexity and domination algorithms for fine- and medium-grain hypercube computers

This paper gives hypercube algorithms for some simple problems involving geometric properties of sets of points. The properties considered emphasize aspects of convexity and domination. Efficient algorithms are given for both fine- and medium-grain hypercube computers, including a discussion of implementation, running times and results on an Intel iPSC hypercube, as well as theoretical results. For both serial and parallel computers, sorting plays an important role in geometric algorithms for determining simple properties, often being the dominant component of the running time. Since the time required to sort data on a hypercube computer is still not fully understood, the running times of some of our algorithms for unsorted data are not completely determined. For both the fine- and medium-grain models, we show that faster expected-case running time algorithms are possible for point sets generated randomly. Our algorithms are developed for sets of planar points, with several of them extending to sets of points in spaces of higher dimension.The research of E. Cohen, R. Miller, and E. M. Sarraf was partially supported by National Science Foundation Grant ASC-8705104. R. Miller was also partially supported by National Science Foundation Grants DCR-8608640 and IRI-8800514. Q. F. Stout's research was partially supported by National Science Foundation Grant DCR-85-07851, and an Incentives for Excellence Grant from the Digital Equipment Corporation.     

Iterated deterministic substitution

Summary Deterministic substitution of languages means substituting the same word (from a given language) for all occurrences of a symbol. For an arbitrary family K of languages the notion of deterministic K-iteration grammar is introduced, which is essentially the iteration of a finite number of deterministic substitutions of languages from K. The families of languages generated by these grammars are investigated.The work of the first author has been supported by the Netherlands Organization for the Advancement of Pure Research (Z.W.O.)     

GRACE-based joins on active storage devices

Contemporary long-term storage devices feature powerful embedded processors and sizeable memory buffers. Active Storage Devices (ASD) is the hard disk technology that makes use of these significant resources to not only manage the disk operation but also to execute custom application code on large amounts of data. While prior research has shown that ASDs perform exceedingly well with filter-type algorithms, the evaluation of binary-relational operators has been limited. In this paper, we analyze and evaluate inter-operator parallelism of GRACE-based join algorithms that function atop ASDs. We derive accurate cost expressions for existing algorithms and expose performance bottlenecks; upon these findings we propose Active Hash Join, a new algorithm that exploits all system resources. Through experimentation, we confirm that existing algorithms are best suited for systems with either small or large numbers of ASDs. However, we find that the “adaptive” nature of Active Hash Join yields enhanced parallelism in all cases, especially when the aggregate ASD resources are comparable to the main CPU and main memory. Recommended by: Ahmed Elmagarmid Work partially supported by the University of Athens Research Foundation.     

Self-stabilizing multi-token rings

Summary A distributed system consists of a set of loosely connected machines that do not share a global memory. The system isself-stabilizing if it can be started in any global state and achieves consistency all by itself. This also means that the system can deal withinfrequent errors. This paper presents self-stabilizing multi-token rings. A multitoken ring is a generalization of a (one-)token ring. The algorithms presented are generalizations of a self-stabilizing mutual exclusion algorithm by Dijkstra [5] which can also be viewed as a token ring. We develop the algorithms in a stepwise manner, to show how and why we arrived at the final multi-token rings. The final parameterized algorithm represents a set of algorithms, one for each choice of the parameter. This enables one to select the algorithm with an optimal trade-off in desired flexibility versus memory requirements and stabilization time. Mitchell Flatebo received the B.S. degree in Mathematics (1990), the B.S. degree in Computer Science (1990), the M.S. degree in Mathematics (1992), and the M.S. degree in Computer Science (1993) from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He is currently a software engineer for Loral Space and Range Systems. His research interests include distributed systems, fault-tolerant computing, and self-stabilization. Ajoy Kumar Datta received the Ph.D. degree in Computer Science from the Jadavpur University, Calcutta, India in 1983. He is currently an Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His area of research is distributed and fault-tolerant computing —algorithms and self-stabilization. Anneke Schoone received an M.Sc. degree in Biology in 1978, an M.Sc. degree in Mathematics in 1981, and a Ph.D. degree in Computer Science in 1991 from Utrecht University (The Netherlands). Currently she is a senior research associate at the Department of Computer Science of Utrecht University, supported by ESPRIT Basic Research Action No. 7141 (project ALCOM II:Algorithms and Complexity) of the EC. Her research interests include assertional verification of distributed algorithms and the concept of self-stabilization.The research of this author was supported partially by the ESPRIT Basic Research Action No. 7141 (project ALCOM II:Algorithms and Complexity), and partially by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) under contract NF 62-376 (NFI project ALADDIN:Algorithmic Aspects of Parallel and Distributed Systems)     

Space efficient algorithms for some graph theoretical problems

Summary We present space-efficient-O(log² n)-deterministic algorithms for some graph theoretical problems such as planarity testing, producing a plane embedding, finding minimum cost spanning trees, obtaining the connected, biconnected and triconnected components of a graph. Previous planarity algorithms used (n) space. Several algorithms are based on a space-efficient matrix inversion method. The same bounds hold for uniform circuit depth.Research partially supported by NSF grants No. MCS 79-05006 and MCS 78-27600.     

Using quadratic programming to solve high multiplicity scheduling problems on parallel machines

We introduce and analyze several models of schedulingn different types (groups) of jobs onm parallel machines, where in each group all jobs are identical. Our main goal is to exhibit the usefulness of quadratic programming approaches to solve these classes of high multiplicity scheduling problems, with the total weighted completion time as the minimization criterion. We develop polynomial algorithms for some models, and strongly polynomial algorithms for certain special cases. In particular, the model in which the weights are job independent, as well as the generally weighted model in which processing requirements are job independent, can be formulated as an integer convex separable quadratic cost flow problem, and therefore solved in polynomial time. When we specialize further, strongly polynomial bounds are achievable. Specifically, for the weighted model with job-independent processing requirements if we restrict the weights to be machine independent (while still assuming different machine speeds), anO(mn+n logn) algorithm is developed. If it is also assumed that all the machines have the same speed, the complexity of the algorithm can be improved toO(m logm+n logn). These results can be extended to related unweighted models with variable processing requirements in which all the machines are available at time zero. The research of Frieda Granot was partially supported by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Grant 5-83998. The research of Jadranka Skorin-Kapov was partially supported by National Science Foundation Grant DDM-8909206.     

The expressiveness of locally stratified programs

This paper completes an investigation of the logical expressibility of finite, locally stratified, general logic programs. We show that every hyperarithmetic set can be defined by a suitably chosen locally stratified logic program (as a set of values of a predicate over its perfect model). This is an optimal result, since the perfect model of a locally stratified program is itself an implicitly definable hyperarithmetic set (under a recursive coding of the Herbrand base); hence, to obtain all hyperarithmetic sets requires something new, in this case selecting one predicate from the model. We find that the expressive power of programs does not increase when one considers the programs which have a unique stable model or a total well-founded model. This shows that all these classes of structures (perfect models of logically stratified logic programs, well-founded models which turn out to be total, and stable models of programs possessing a unique stable model) are all closely connected with Kleene's hyperarithmetical hierarchy. Thus, for general logic programming, negation with respect to two-valued logic is related to the hyperarithmetic hierarchy in the same way as Horn logic is to the class of recursively enumerable sets. In particular, a set is definable in the well-founded semantics by a programP whose well-founded partial model is total iff it is hyperarithmetic.Research partially supported by the U.S. Army Research Office through the Mathematical Sciences Institute of Cornell University.Research partially supported by NSF Grant IRI-9012902 and partially supported by the U.S. Army Research Office through the Mathematical Sciences Institute of Cornell University.Research partially supported by NSF Grant IRI-8905166 and partially supported by the U.S. Army Research Office through the Mathematical Sciences Institute of Cornell University.