A forward-backward single-source shortest paths algorithm

We describe a new forward-backward variant of Dijkstra's and Spira's Single-Source Shortest Paths (SSSP) algorithms. While essentially all SSSP algorithm only scan edges forward, the new algorithm scans some edges backward. The new algorithm assumes that edges in the outgoing and incoming adjacency lists of the vertices appear in non-decreasing order of weight. (Spira's algorithm makes the same assumption about the outgoing adjacency lists, but does not use incoming adjacency lists.) The running time of the algorithm on a complete directed graph on $n$ vertices with independent exponential edge weights is $O(n)$, with very high probability. This improves on the previously best result of $O(n\log n)$, which is best possible if only forward scans are allowed, exhibiting an interesting separation between forward-only and forward-backward SSSP algorithms. As a consequence, we also get a new all-pairs shortest paths algorithm. The expected running time of the algorithm on complete graphs with independent exponential edge weights is $O(n^2)$, matching a recent algorithm of Demetrescu and Italiano as analyzed by Peres et al. Furthermore, the probability that the new algorithm requires more than $O(n^2)$ time is exponentially small, improving on the $O(n^{-1/26})$ probability bound obtained by Peres et al

Integer priority queues with decrease key in constant time and the single source shortest paths problem

AbstractWe consider Fibonacci heap style integer priority queues supporting find-min, insert, and decrease key operations in constant time. We present a deterministic linear space solution that with n integer keys supports delete in O(loglogn) time. If the integers are in the range [0,N), we can also support delete in O(loglogN) time.Even for the special case of monotone priority queues, where the minimum has to be non-decreasing, the best previous bounds on delete were O((logn)1/(3−ε)) and O((logN)1/(4−ε)). These previous bounds used both randomization and amortization. Our new bounds are deterministic, worst-case, with no restriction to monotonicity, and exponentially faster.As a classical application, for a directed graph with n nodes and m edges with non-negative integer weights, we get single source shortest paths in O(m+nloglogn) time, or O(m+nloglogC) if C is the maximal edge weight. The latter solves an open problem of Ahuja, Mehlhorn, Orlin, and Tarjan from 1990

The Logarithmic Funnel Heap: A Statistically Self-Similar Priority Queue

The present work contains the design and analysis of a statistically self-similar data structure using linear space and supporting the operations, insert, search, remove, increase-key and decrease-key for a deterministic priority queue in expected O(1) time. Extract-max runs in O(log N) time. The depth of the data structure is at most log* N. On the highest level, each element acts as the entrance of a discrete, log* N-level funnel with a logarithmically decreasing stem diameter, where the stem diameter denotes a metric for the expected number of items maintained on a given level.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure

Bulk-Parallel Priority Queue in External Memory

We present a priority queue implementation with support for external memory. The focus of our work has been to derive a benefit from parallel shared-memory machines. It\u27s the first parallel optimization of an external-memory priority queue. An additional bulk insertion interface accelerates longer sequences of homogeneous operations, as they are more likely to occur in applications that process large amounts of data. The algorithm will be available as an extension to the STXXL, a popular C++ template library for extra large data sets. Experiments have shown great improvements over the current external-memory priority queue of the STXXL for homogeneous bulk operations. However, the high overhead for spawning threads, as well as the need for cache synchronization in the global ExtractMin operation, show the inherent limitations of the parallelizability of priority queues

Two Compact Incremental Prime Sieves

A prime sieve is an algorithm that finds the primes up to a bound $n$. We say that a prime sieve is incremental, if it can quickly determine if $n+1$ is prime after having found all primes up to $n$. We say a sieve is compact if it uses roughly $\sqrt{n}$ space or less. In this paper we present two new results: (1) We describe the rolling sieve, a practical, incremental prime sieve that takes $O(n\log\log n)$ time and $O(\sqrt{n}\log n)$ bits of space, and (2) We show how to modify the sieve of Atkin and Bernstein (2004) to obtain a sieve that is simultaneously sublinear, compact, and incremental. The second result solves an open problem given by Paul Pritchard in 1994

Design and analysis of sequential and parallel single-source shortest-paths algorithms

We study the performance of algorithms for the Single-Source Shortest-Paths (SSSP) problem on graphs with n nodes and m edges with nonnegative random weights. All previously known SSSP algorithms for directed graphs required superlinear time. Wie give the first SSSP algorithms that provably achieve linear O(n-m)average-case execution time on arbitrary directed graphs with random edge weights. For independent edge weights, the linear-time bound holds with high probability, too. Additionally, our result implies improved average-case bounds for the All-Pairs Shortest-Paths (APSP) problem on sparse graphs, and it yields the first theoretical average-case analysis for the "Approximate Bucket Implementation" of Dijkstra\u27s SSSP algorithm (ABI-Dijkstra). Futhermore, we give constructive proofs for the existence of graph classes with random edge weights on which ABI-Dijkstra and several other well-known SSSP algorithms require superlinear average-case time. Besides the classical sequential (single processor) model of computation we also consider parallel computing: we give the currently fastest average-case linear-work parallel SSSP algorithms for large graph classes with random edge weights, e.g., sparse rondom graphs and graphs modeling the WWW, telephone calls or social networks.In dieser Arbeit untersuchen wir die Laufzeiten von Algorithmen für das Kürzeste-Wege Problem (Single-Source Shortest-Paths, SSSP) auf Graphen mit n Knoten, M Kanten und nichtnegativen zufälligen Kantengewichten. Alle bisherigen SSSP Algorithmen benötigen auf gerichteten Graphen superlineare Zeit. Wir stellen den ersten SSSP Algorithmus vor, der auf beliebigen gerichteten Graphen mit zufälligen Kantengewichten eine beweisbar lineare average-case-Komplexität O(n+m)aufweist. Sind die Kantengewichte unabhängig, so wird die lineare Zeitschranke auch mit hoher Wahrscheinlichkeit eingehalten. Außerdem impliziert unser Ergebnis verbesserte average-case-Schranken für das All-Pairs Shortest-Paths (APSP) Problem auf dünnen Graphen und liefert die erste theoretische average-case-Analyse für die "Approximate Bucket Implementierung" von Dijkstras SSSP Algorithmus (ABI-Dijkstra). Weiterhin führen wir konstruktive Existenzbeweise für Graphklassen mit zufälligen Kantengewichten, auf denen ABI-Dijkstra und mehrere andere bekannte SSSP Algorithmen durchschnittlich superlineare Zeit benötigen. Neben dem klassischen seriellen (Ein-Prozessor) Berechnungsmodell betrachten wir auch Parallelverarbeitung; für umfangreiche Graphklassen mit zufälligen Kantengewichten wie z.B. dünne Zufallsgraphen oder Modelle für das WWW, Telefonanrufe oder soziale Netzwerke stellen wir die derzeit schnellsten parallelen SSSP Algorithmen mit durchschnittlich linearer Arbeit vor