New Applications of the Nearest-Neighbor Chain Algorithm

The nearest-neighbor chain algorithm was proposed in the eighties as a way to speed up certain hierarchical clustering algorithms. In the first part of the dissertation, we show that its application is not limited to clustering. We apply it to a variety of geometric and combinatorial problems. In each case, we show that the nearest-neighbor chain algorithm finds the same solution as a preexistent greedy algorithm, but often with an improved runtime. We obtain speedups over greedy algorithms for Euclidean TSP, Steiner TSP in planar graphs, straight skeletons, a geometric coverage problem, and three stable matching models. In the second part, we study the stable-matching Voronoi diagram, a type of plane partition which combines properties of stable matchings and Voronoi diagrams. We propose political redistricting as an application. We also show that it is impossible to compute this diagram in an algebraic model of computation, and give three algorithmic approaches to overcome this obstacle. One of them is based on the nearest-neighbor chain algorithm, linking the two parts together

Efficient Algorithms for Large Scale Network Problems

In recent years, the growing scale of data has renewed our understanding of what is an efficient algorithm and poses many essential challenges for the algorithm designers. This thesis aims to improve our understanding of many algorithmic problems in this context. These include problems in communication complexity, matching theory, and approximate query processing for database systems. We first study the fundamental and well-known question of {SetIntersection} in communication complexity. We give a result that incorporates the error probability as an independent parameter into the classical trade-off between round complexity and communication complexity. We show that any $r$-round protocol that errs with error probability $2^{-E}$ requires $Omega(Ek^{1/r})$ bits of communication. We also give several almost matching upper bounds. In matching theory, we first study several generalizations of the ordinary matching problem, namely the $f$-matching and $f$-edge cover problem. We also consider the problem of computing a minimum weight perfect matching in a metric space with moderate expansion. We give almost linear time approximation algorithms for all these problems. Finally, we study the sample-based join problem in approximate query processing. We present a result that improves our understanding of the effectiveness and limitations in using sampling to approximate join queries and provides a guideline for practitioners in building AQP systems from a theory perspective.PHDComputer Science & EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155263/1/hdawei_1.pd