53,649 research outputs found
Polynomial fixed-parameter algorithms : a case study for longest path on interval graphs.
We study the design of fixed-parameter algorithms for problems already known to be solvable in polynomial time.
The main motivation is to get more efficient algorithms for problems with unattractive polynomial running times. Here, we focus on a fundamental graph problem: Longest Path; it is NP-hard in general but known to be solvable in O(n^4) time on n-vertex interval graphs. We show how to solve Longest Path on Interval Graphs, parameterized by vertex deletion number k to proper interval graphs, in O(k^9n) time. Notably, Longest Path is trivially solvable in linear time on proper interval graphs, and the parameter value k can be approximated up to a factor of 4 in linear time. From a more general perspective, we believe that using parameterized complexity analysis for polynomial-time solvable problems offers a very fertile ground for future studies for all sorts of algorithmic problems. It may enable a refined understanding of efficiency aspects for polynomial-time solvable problems, similarly to what classical parameterized complexity analysis does for NP-hard problems
Linear-Time Algorithms for Maximum-Weight Induced Matchings and Minimum Chain Covers in Convex Bipartite Graphs
A bipartite graph is convex if the vertices in can be
linearly ordered such that for each vertex , the neighbors of are
consecutive in the ordering of . An induced matching of is a
matching such that no edge of connects endpoints of two different edges of
. We show that in a convex bipartite graph with vertices and
weighted edges, an induced matching of maximum total weight can be computed in
time. An unweighted convex bipartite graph has a representation of
size that records for each vertex the first and last neighbor
in the ordering of . Given such a compact representation, we compute an
induced matching of maximum cardinality in time.
In convex bipartite graphs, maximum-cardinality induced matchings are dual to
minimum chain covers. A chain cover is a covering of the edge set by chain
subgraphs, that is, subgraphs that do not contain induced matchings of more
than one edge. Given a compact representation, we compute a representation of a
minimum chain cover in time. If no compact representation is given, the
cover can be computed in time.
All of our algorithms achieve optimal running time for the respective problem
and model. Previous algorithms considered only the unweighted case, and the
best algorithm for computing a maximum-cardinality induced matching or a
minimum chain cover in a convex bipartite graph had a running time of
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