Approximate minimum weight matching on points ink-dimensional space

We study the problem of finding a minimum weight complete matching in the complete graph on a set V ofn points ink-dimensional space. The points are the vertices of the graph and the weight of an edge between any two points is the distance between the points under someL _q,-metric. We give anO((2c _q )^{1.5k –1.5k} ((n, n))^0.5 n ^1.5(logn)^2.5) algorithm for finding an almost minimum weight complete matching in such a graph, wherec _q =6k ^1/q for theL _q -metric, is the inverse Ackermann function, and 1. The weight of the complete matching obtained by our algorithm is guaranteed to be at most (1 + ) times the weight of a minimum weight complete matching.This research was supported by a fellowship from the Shell Foundation.     

Relative neighborhood graphs in the Li-metric

The relative neighborhood graph of a set of n points in the plane under the L₁-metric is considered. An algorithm that runs in O(nlog n) time for constructing the relative neighborhood graph based on the Delaunay triangulation is presented, improving a previously known algorithm that runs in O(n²log n) time.     

Solving the Euclidean bottleneck matching problem byk-relative neighborhood graphs

Given a set of pointsV in the plane, the Euclidean bottleneck matching problem is to match each point with some other point such that the longest Euclidean distance between matched points, resulting from this matching, is minimized. To solve this problem, we definek-relative neighborhood graphs, (kRNG) which are derived from Toussaint's relative neighborhood graphs (RNG). Two points are calledk-relative neighbors if and only if there are less thank points ofV which are closer to both of the two points than the two points are to each other. AkRNG is an undirected graph (V,E _r ^k ) whereE _r ^k is the set of pairs of points ofV which arek-relative neighbors. We prove that there exists an optimal solution of the Euclidean bottleneck matching problem which is a subset ofE _r ¹⁷ . We also prove that ¦E _r ^k ¦ < 18kn wheren is the number of points in setV. Our algorithm would construct a 17RNG first. This takesO(n ²) time. We then use Gabow and Tarjan's bottleneck maximum cardinality matching algorithm for general graphs whose time-complexity isO((n logn)^0.5 m), wherem is the number of edges in the graph, to solve the bottleneck maximum cardinality matching problem in the 17RNG. This takesO(n ^1.5 log^0.5 n) time. The total time-complexity of our algorithm for the Euclidean bottleneck matching problem isO(n ² +n ^1.5 log^0.5 n).     

Routing equal-size messages on a slotted ring

We deal with the problem of routing messages on a slotted ring network in this paper. We study the computational complexity and algorithms for this routing by means of the results known in the literature for the multi-slot just-in-time scheduling problem. We consider two criteria for the routing problem: makespan, or minimum routing time, and diagonal makespan. A?diagonal is simply a schedule of ring links i=0,??,q?1 in q consecutive time slots, respectively. The number of diagonals between the earliest and the latest diagonals with non-empty packets is referred to as the diagonal makespan. For the former, we show that the optimal routing of messages of size k, is NP-hard in the strong sense, while an optimal routing when k=q can be computed in O(n ²log² n) time. We also give an O(nlogn)-time constant factor approximation algorithm for unit size messages. For the latter, we prove that the optimal routing of messages of size k, where k divides the size of the ring q, is NP-hard in the strong sense even for any fixed k??1, while an optimal routing when k=q can be computed in O(nlogn) time. We also give an O(nlogn)-time approximation algorithm with an absolute error 2q?k.     

Computing largest empty circles with location constraints

LetQ = {q₁, q₂,..., q_n} be a set ofn points on the plane. The largest empty circle (LEG) problem consists in finding the largest circleC with center in the convex hull ofQ such that no pointq _i εQ lies in the interior ofC. Shamos recently outlined anO(n logn) algorithm for solving this problem.⁽⁹⁾ In this paper it is shown that this algorithm does not always work correctly. A different approach is proposed here and shown to also result in anO(n logn) algorithm. The new approach has the advantage that it can also solve more general problems. In particular, it is shown that if the center ofC is constrained to lie in an arbitrary convexn-gon, an0(n logn) algorithm can still be obtained. Finally, an0(n logn +k logn) algorithm is given for solving this problem when the center ofC is constrained to lie in an arbitrary simplen-gonP. wherek denotes the number of intersections occurring between edges ofP and edges of the Voronoi diagram ofQ andk ?O(n ²).     

Solving the Euclidean bottleneck matching problem byk-relative neighborhood graphs

Given a set of pointsV in the plane, the Euclidean bottleneck matching problem is to match each point with some other point such that the longest Euclidean distance between matched points, resulting from this matching, is minimized. To solve this problem, we definek-relative neighborhood graphs, (kRNG) which are derived from Toussaint's relative neighborhood graphs (RNG). Two points are calledk-relative neighbors if and only if there are less thank points ofV which are closer to both of the two points than the two points are to each other. AkRNG is an undirected graph (V,E _r ^k ) whereE _r ^k is the set of pairs of points ofV which arek-relative neighbors. We prove that there exists an optimal solution of the Euclidean bottleneck matching problem which is a subset ofE _r ¹⁷ . We also prove that ¦E _r ^k ¦ < 18kn wheren is the number of points in setV. Our algorithm would construct a 17RNG first. This takesO(n ²) time. We then use Gabow and Tarjan's bottleneck maximum cardinality matching algorithm for general graphs whose time-complexity isO((n logn)^0.5 m), wherem is the number of edges in the graph, to solve the bottleneck maximum cardinality matching problem in the 17RNG. This takesO(n ^1.5 log^0.5 n) time. The total time-complexity of our algorithm for the Euclidean bottleneck matching problem isO(n ² +n ^1.5 log^0.5 n).This research was partially supported by a grant from the National Science Council of the Republic of China under Grant NSC-78-0408-E-007-05.     

Fast computation of smallest enclosing circle with center on a query line segment

Here we propose an efficient algorithm for computing the smallest enclosing circle whose center is constrained to lie on a query line segment. Our algorithm preprocesses a given set of n points P={p₁,p₂,…,pn} such that for any query line or line segment L, it efficiently locates a point c on L that minimizes the maximum distance among the points in P from c. Roy et al. [S. Roy, A. Karmakar, S. Das, S.C. Nandy, Constrained minimum enclosing circle with center on a query line segment, in: Proc. of the 31st Mathematical Foundation of Computer Science, 2006, pp. 765-776] have proposed an algorithm that solves the query problem in O(log²n) time using O(nlogn) preprocessing time and O(n) space. Our algorithm improves the query time to O(logn); but the preprocessing time and space complexities are both O(n²).     

L 1 shortest paths among polygonal obstacles in the plane

We present an algorithm for computingL ₁ shortest paths among polygonal obstacles in the plane. Our algorithm employs the “continuous Dijkstra” technique of propagating a “wavefront” and runs in timeO(E logn) and spaceO(E), wheren is the number of vertices of the obstacles andE is the number of “events.” By using bounds on the density of certain sparse binary matrices, we show thatE =O(n logn), implying that our algorithm is nearly optimal. We conjecture thatE =O(n), which would imply our algorithm to be optimal. Previous bounds for our problem were quadratic in time and space. Our algorithm generalizes to the case of fixed orientation metrics, yielding anO(n?^?1/2 log² n) time andO(n?^?1/2) space approximation algorithm for finding Euclidean shortest paths among obstacles. The algorithm further generalizes to the case of many sources, allowing us to compute anL ₁ Voronoi diagram for source points that lie among a collection of polygonal obstacles.     

Efficient algorithms for clique problems

The k-clique problem is a cornerstone of NP-completeness and parametrized complexity. When k is a fixed constant, the asymptotically fastest known algorithm for finding a k-clique in an n-node graph runs in O(n0.792k) time (given by Nešet?il and Poljak). However, this algorithm is infamously inapplicable, as it relies on Coppersmith and Winograd's fast matrix multiplication.We present good combinatorial algorithms for solving k-clique problems. These algorithms do not require large constants in their runtime, they can be readily implemented in any reasonable random access model, and are very space-efficient compared to their algebraic counterparts. Our results are the following:

•

We give an algorithm for k-clique that runs in O(nk/(εlogn)^k−1) time and O(nε) space, for all ε>0, on graphs with n nodes. This is the first algorithm to take o(nk) time and O(nc) space for c independent of k.

•

Let k be even. Define a k-semiclique to be a k-node graph G that can be divided into two disjoint subgraphs U={u₁,…,uk/2} and V={v₁,…,vk/2} such that U and V are cliques, and for all i?j, the graph G contains the edge {ui,vj}. We give an time algorithm for determining if a graph has a k-semiclique. This yields an approximation algorithm for k-clique, in the following sense: if a given graph contains a k-clique, then our algorithm returns a subgraph with at least 3/4 of the edges in a k-clique.

     

Parallel computation of disease transforms

Distance transforms are an important computational tool for the processing of binary images. For ann ×n image, distance transforms can be computed in time \(\mathcal{O}\) (n) on a mesh-connected computer and in polylogarithmic time on hypercube related structures. We investigate the possibilities of computing distance transforms in polylogarithmic time on the pyramid computer and the mesh of trees. For the pyramid, we obtain a polynomial lower bound using a result by Miller and Stout, so we turn our attention to the mesh of trees. We give a very simple \(\mathcal{O}\) (logn) algorithm for the distance transform with respect to theL ₁-metric, an \(\mathcal{O}\) (log² n) algorithm for the transform with respect to theL _∞-metric, and find that the Euclidean metric is much more difficult. Based on evidence from number theory, we conjecture the impossibility of computing the Euclidean distance transform in polylogarithmic time on a mesh of trees. Instead, we approximate the distance transform up to a given error. This works for anyL _k -metric and takes time \(\mathcal{O}\) (log³ n).     

An algorithm for geometric minimum spanning trees requiring nearly linear expected time

We describe an algorithm for finding a minimum spanning tree of the weighted complete graph induced by a set ofn points in Euclideand-space. The algorithm requires nearly linear expected time for points that are independently uniformly distributed in the unitd-cube. The first step of the algorithm is the spiral search procedure described by Bentleyet al. [BWY82] for finding a supergraph of the MST that hasO(n) edges. (The constant factor in the bound depends ond.) The next step is that of sorting the edges of the supergraph by weight using a radix distribution, or “bucket,” sort. These steps require linear expected time. Finally, Kruskal's algorithm is used with the sorted edges, requiringO(nα(cn, n)) time in the worst case, withc>6. Since the function α(cn, n) grows very slowly, this step requires linear time for all practical purposes. This result improves the previous bestO(n log log*n), and employs a much simpler algorithm. Also, this result demonstrates the robustness of bucket sorting, which requiresO(n) expected time in this case despite the probability dependency between the edge weights.     

Maximum Matching in Regular and Almost Regular Graphs

We present an O(n ²logn)-time algorithm that finds a maximum matching in a regular graph with n vertices. More generally, the algorithm runs in O(rn ²logn) time if the difference between the maximum degree and the minimum degree is less than r. This running time is faster than applying the fastest known general matching algorithm that runs in $O(\sqrt{n}m)$ -time for graphs with m edges, whenever m=ω(rn ^1.5logn).     

Cops and Robbers from a distance

Cops and Robbers is a pursuit and evasion game played on graphs that has received much attention. We consider an extension of Cops and Robbers, distance k Cops and Robbers, where the cops win if at least one of them is of distance at most k from the robber in G. The cop number of a graph G is the minimum number of cops needed to capture the robber in G. The distance k analogue of the cop number, written c_k(G), equals the minimum number of cops needed to win at a given distance k. We study the parameter c_k from algorithmic, structural, and probabilistic perspectives. We supply a classification result for graphs with bounded c_k(G) values and develop an O(n^2s+3) algorithm for determining if c_k(G)≤s for s fixed. We prove that if s is not fixed, then computing c_k(G) is NP-hard. Upper and lower bounds are found for c_k(G) in terms of the order of G. We prove that

     

A Linear Time Algorithm for L(2,1)-Labeling of Trees

An L(2,1)-labeling of a graph G is an assignment f from the vertex set V(G) to the set of nonnegative integers such that |f(x)?f(y)|≥2 if x and y are adjacent and |f(x)?f(y)|≥1 if x and y are at distance 2, for all x and y in V(G). A k-L(2,1)-labeling is an L(2,1)-labeling f:V(G)→{0,…,k}, and the L(2,1)-labeling problem asks the minimum k, which we denote by λ(G), among all possible assignments. It is known that this problem is NP-hard even for graphs of treewidth 2, and tree is one of very few classes for which the problem is polynomially solvable. The running time of the best known algorithm for trees had been O(Δ ^4.5 n) for more than a decade, and an O(min{n ^1.75,Δ ^1.5 n})-time algorithm has appeared recently, where Δ and n are the maximum degree and the number of vertices of an input tree, however, it has been open if it is solvable in linear time. In this paper, we finally settle this problem by establishing a linear time algorithm for L(2,1)-labeling of trees. Furthermore, we show that it can be extended to a linear time algorithm for L(p,1)-labeling with a constant p.     

Q-ary search with one lie and bi-interval queries

The following search game is considered: there are two players, say Paul (or questioner) and Carole (or responder). Carole chooses a number x^*∈Sn={1,2,…,n}, Paul has to find the number x^* by asking q-ary bi-interval queries and Carole is allowed to lie at most once throughout the game. The minimum worst-case number LB(n,q,1) of q-ary bi-interval queries necessary to guess the number x^* is determined exactly for all integers n?1 and q?2. It turns out that LB(n,q,1) coincides with the minimum worst-case number L(n,q,1) of arbitrary q-ary queries.     

Improved fixed parameter tractable algorithms for two “edge” problems: MAXCUT and MAXDAG

We give improved parameterized algorithms for two “edge” problems MAXCUT and MAXDAG, where the solution sought is a subset of edges. MAXCUT of a graph is a maximum set of edges forming a bipartite subgraph of the given graph. On the other hand, MAXDAG of a directed graph is a set of arcs of maximum size such that the graph induced on these arcs is acyclic. Our algorithms are obtained through new kernelization and efficient exact algorithms for the optimization versions of the problems. More precisely our results include:

(i)

a kernel with at most αk vertices and βk edges for MAXCUT. Here 0<α?1 and 1<β?2. Values of α and β depends on the number of vertices and the edges in the graph;

(ii)

a kernel with at most 4k/3 vertices and 2k edges for MAXDAG;

(iii)

an O^∗(k^1.2418) parameterized algorithm for MAXCUT in undirected graphs. This improves the O^∗(k^1.4143)¹ algorithm presented in [E. Prieto, The method of extremal structure on the k-maximum cut problem, in: The Proceedings of Computing: The Australasian Theory Symposium (CATS), 2005, pp. 119-126];

(iv)

an O^∗(n²) algorithm for optimization version of MAXDAG in directed graphs. This is the first such algorithm to the best of our knowledge;

(v)

an O^∗(k²) parameterized algorithm for MAXDAG in directed graphs. This improves the previous best of O^∗(k⁴) presented in [V. Raman, S. Saurabh, Parameterized algorithms for feedback set problems and their duals in tournaments, Theoretical Computer Science 351 (3) (2006) 446-458];

(vi)

an O^∗(k¹⁶) parameterized algorithm to determine whether an oriented graph having m arcs has an acyclic subgraph with at least m/2+k arcs. This improves the O^∗(k²) algorithm given in [V. Raman, S. Saurabh, Parameterized algorithms for feedback set problems and their duals in tournaments, Theoretical Computer Science 351 (3) (2006) 446-458].

In addition, we show that if a directed graph has minimum out degree at least f(n) (some function of n) then Directed Feedback Arc Set problem is fixed parameter tractable. The parameterized complexity of Directed Feedback Arc Set is a well-known open problem.     

On depth in EDTOL languages

Languages of the form L₁={aⁿ:n?1}, L₂={(abⁿ)^m: n,m?1}, L₃={(a(bcⁿ) ^m)^k: n,m,k?1}, etc. differ in what may be called ‘depth’. It turns out that this depth is closely related to the structure of finite state automata associated with EDTOL systems generating these languages. For a given system the corresponding automaton is defined, and the relevant characteristics of its structure are examined.     

Improving bounds on link failure tolerance of the star graph

Determination of the minimum number of faulty links, f(n,k), that make every n-k-dimensional sub-star graph S_n-k faulty in an n-dimensional star network S_n, has been the subject of several studies. Bounds on f(n,k) have already been derived, and it is known that f(n,1)=n+2. Here, we improve the bounds on f(n,k). Specifically, it is shown that f(n,k)?(k+1)F(n,k), where F(n,k) is the minimum number of faulty nodes that make every S_n-k faulty in S_n. The complexity of f(n,k) is shown to be O(n²k) which is an improvement over the previously known upper bound of O(n³); this result in a special case leads to f(n,2)=O(n^↑2), settling a conjecture introduced in an earlier paper. A systematic method to derive the labels of the faulty links in case of f(n,1) is also introduced.     

Exact Algorithms for the Bottleneck Steiner Tree Problem

Given n points, called terminals, in the plane ℝ² and a positive integer k, the bottleneck Steiner tree problem is to find k Steiner points from ℝ² and a spanning tree on the n+k points that minimizes its longest edge length. Edge length is measured by an underlying distance function on ℝ², usually, the Euclidean or the L ₁ metric. This problem is known to be NP-hard. In this paper, we study this problem in the L _p metric for any 1≤p≤∞, and aim to find an exact algorithm which is efficient for small fixed k. We present the first fixed-parameter tractable algorithm running in f(k)⋅nlog ² n time for the L ₁ and the L _∞ metrics, and the first exact algorithm for the L _p metric for any fixed rational p with 1<p<∞ whose time complexity is f(k)⋅(n ^k +nlog n), where f(k) is a function dependent only on k. Note that prior to this paper there was no known exact algorithm even for the L ₂ metric.     

Almost Exact Matchings

In the exact matching problem we are given a graph G, some of whose edges are colored red, and a positive integer k. The goal is to determine if G has a perfect matching, exactly k edges of which are red. More generally if the matching number of G is m=m(G), the goal is to find a matching with m edges, exactly k edges of which are red, or determine that no such matching exists. This problem is one of the few remaining problems that have efficient randomized algorithms (in fact, this problem is in RNC), but for which no polynomial time deterministic algorithm is known. Our first result shows that, in a sense, this problem is as close to being in P as one can get. We give a polynomial time deterministic algorithm that either correctly decides that no maximum matching has exactly k red edges, or exhibits a matching with m(G)?1 edges having exactly k red edges. Hence, the additive error is one. We also present an efficient algorithm for the exact matching problem in families of graphs for which this problem is known to be tractable. We show how to count the number of exact perfect matchings in K _3,3-minor free graphs (these include all planar graphs as well as many others) in O(n ^3.19) worst case time. Our algorithm can also count the number of perfect matchings in K _3,3-minor free graphs in O(n ^2.19) time.