12,341 research outputs found
Approximation Algorithms for Union and Intersection Covering Problems
In a classical covering problem, we are given a set of requests that we need
to satisfy (fully or partially), by buying a subset of items at minimum cost.
For example, in the k-MST problem we want to find the cheapest tree spanning at
least k nodes of an edge-weighted graph. Here nodes and edges represent
requests and items, respectively.
In this paper, we initiate the study of a new family of multi-layer covering
problems. Each such problem consists of a collection of h distinct instances of
a standard covering problem (layers), with the constraint that all layers share
the same set of requests. We identify two main subfamilies of these problems: -
in a union multi-layer problem, a request is satisfied if it is satisfied in at
least one layer; - in an intersection multi-layer problem, a request is
satisfied if it is satisfied in all layers. To see some natural applications,
consider both generalizations of k-MST. Union k-MST can model a problem where
we are asked to connect a set of users to at least one of two communication
networks, e.g., a wireless and a wired network. On the other hand, intersection
k-MST can formalize the problem of connecting a subset of users to both
electricity and water.
We present a number of hardness and approximation results for union and
intersection versions of several standard optimization problems: MST, Steiner
tree, set cover, facility location, TSP, and their partial covering variants
A Super-Fast Distributed Algorithm for Bipartite Metric Facility Location
The \textit{facility location} problem consists of a set of
\textit{facilities} , a set of \textit{clients} , an
\textit{opening cost} associated with each facility , and a
\textit{connection cost} between each facility and client
. The goal is to find a subset of facilities to \textit{open}, and to
connect each client to an open facility, so as to minimize the total facility
opening costs plus connection costs. This paper presents the first
expected-sub-logarithmic-round distributed O(1)-approximation algorithm in the
model for the \textit{metric} facility location problem on
the complete bipartite network with parts and . Our
algorithm has an expected running time of rounds, where . This result can be viewed as a continuation
of our recent work (ICALP 2012) in which we presented the first
sub-logarithmic-round distributed O(1)-approximation algorithm for metric
facility location on a \textit{clique} network. The bipartite setting presents
several new challenges not present in the problem on a clique network. We
present two new techniques to overcome these challenges. (i) In order to deal
with the problem of not being able to choose appropriate probabilities (due to
lack of adequate knowledge), we design an algorithm that performs a random walk
over a probability space and analyze the progress our algorithm makes as the
random walk proceeds. (ii) In order to deal with a problem of quickly
disseminating a collection of messages, possibly containing many duplicates,
over the bipartite network, we design a probabilistic hashing scheme that
delivers all of the messages in expected- rounds.Comment: 22 pages. This is the full version of a paper that appeared in DISC
201
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