On the Equivalence among Problems of Bounded Width

In this paper, we introduce a methodology, called decomposition-based reductions, for showing the equivalence among various problems of bounded-width. First, we show that the following are equivalent for any $\alpha > 0$: * SAT can be solved in $O^*(2^{\alpha \mathrm{tw}})$ time, * 3-SAT can be solved in $O^*(2^{\alpha \mathrm{tw}})$ time, * Max 2-SAT can be solved in $O^*(2^{\alpha \mathrm{tw}})$ time, * Independent Set can be solved in $O^*(2^{\alpha \mathrm{tw}})$ time, and * Independent Set can be solved in $O^*(2^{\alpha \mathrm{cw}})$ time, where tw and cw are the tree-width and clique-width of the instance, respectively. Then, we introduce a new parameterized complexity class EPNL, which includes Set Cover and Directed Hamiltonicity, and show that SAT, 3-SAT, Max 2-SAT, and Independent Set parameterized by path-width are EPNL-complete. This implies that if one of these EPNL-complete problems can be solved in $O^*(c^k)$ time, then any problem in EPNL can be solved in $O^*(c^k)$ time.Comment: accepted to ESA 201

Model counting for CNF formuals of bounded module treewidth.

The modular treewidth of a graph is its treewidth after the contraction of modules. Modular treewidth properly generalizes treewidth and is itself properly generalized by clique-width. We show that the number of satisfying assignments of a CNF formula whose incidence graph has bounded modular treewidth can be computed in polynomial time. This provides new tractable classes of formulas for which #SAT is polynomial. In particular, our result generalizes known results for the treewidth of incidence graphs and is incomparable with known results for clique-width (or rank-width) of signed incidence graphs. The contraction of modules is an effective data reduction procedure. Our algorithm is the first one to harness this technique for #SAT. The order of the polynomial time bound of our algorithm depends on the modular treewidth. We show that this dependency cannot be avoided subject to an assumption from Parameterized Complexity

On space efficiency of algorithms working on structural decompositions of graphs

Dynamic programming on path and tree decompositions of graphs is a technique that is ubiquitous in the field of parameterized and exponential-time algorithms. However, one of its drawbacks is that the space usage is exponential in the decomposition's width. Following the work of Allender et al. [Theory of Computing, '14], we investigate whether this space complexity explosion is unavoidable. Using the idea of reparameterization of Cai and Juedes [J. Comput. Syst. Sci., '03], we prove that the question is closely related to a conjecture that the Longest Common Subsequence problem parameterized by the number of input strings does not admit an algorithm that simultaneously uses XP time and FPT space. Moreover, we complete the complexity landscape sketched for pathwidth and treewidth by Allender et al. by considering the parameter tree-depth. We prove that computations on tree-depth decompositions correspond to a model of non-deterministic machines that work in polynomial time and logarithmic space, with access to an auxiliary stack of maximum height equal to the decomposition's depth. Together with the results of Allender et al., this describes a hierarchy of complexity classes for polynomial-time non-deterministic machines with different restrictions on the access to working space, which mirrors the classic relations between treewidth, pathwidth, and tree-depth.Comment: An extended abstract appeared in the proceedings of STACS'16. The new version is augmented with a space-efficient algorithm for Dominating Set using the Chinese remainder theore

A contraction-recursive algorithm for treewidth

Let tw(G) denote the treewidth of graph G. Given a graph G and a positive integer k such that tw(G) <= k + 1, we are to decide if tw(G) <= k. We give a certifying algorithm RTW ("R" for recursive) for this task: it returns one or more tree-decompositions of G of width <= k if the answer is YES and a minimal contraction H of G such that tw(H) > k otherwise. RTW uses a heuristic variant of Tamaki's PID algorithm for treewidth (ESA2017), which we call HPID. RTW, given G and k, interleaves the execution of HPID with recursive calls on G /e for edges e of G, where G / e denotes the graph obtained from G by contracting edge e. If we find that tw(G / e) > k, then we have tw(G) > k with the same certificate. If we find that tw(G / e) <= k, we "uncontract" the bags of the certifying tree-decompositions of G / e into bags of G and feed them to HPID to help progress. If the question is not resolved after the recursive calls are made for all edges, we finish HPID in an exhaustive mode. If it turns out that tw(G) > k, then G is a certificate for tw(G') > k for every G' of which G is a contraction, because we have found tw(G / e) <= k for every edge e of G. This final round of HPID guarantees the correctness of the algorithm, while its practical efficiency derives from our methods of "uncontracting" bags of tree-decompositions of G / e to useful bags of G, as well as of exploiting those bags in HPID. Experiments show that our algorithm drastically extends the scope of practically solvable instances. In particular, when applied to the 100 instances in the PACE 2017 bonus set, the number of instances solved by our implementation on a typical laptop, with the timeout of 100, 1000, and 10000 seconds per instance, are 72, 92, and 98 respectively, while these numbers are 11, 38, and 68 for Tamaki's PID solver and 65, 82, and 85 for his new solver (SEA 2022).Comment: 17 pages, 2 figures, submitted IPEC 202

Finding Long Directed Cycles Is Hard Even When DFVS Is Small or Girth Is Large

We study the parameterized complexity of two classic problems on directed graphs: Hamiltonian Cycle and its generalization Longest Cycle. Since 2008, it is known that Hamiltonian Cycle is W[1]-hard when parameterized by directed treewidth [Lampis et al., ISSAC\u2708]. By now, the question of whether it is FPT parameterized by the directed feedback vertex set (DFVS) number has become a longstanding open problem. In particular, the DFVS number is the largest natural directed width measure studied in the literature. In this paper, we provide a negative answer to the question, showing that even for the DFVS number, the problem remains W[1]-hard. As a consequence, we also obtain that Longest Cycle is W[1]-hard on directed graphs when parameterized multiplicatively above girth, in contrast to the undirected case. This resolves an open question posed by Fomin et al. [ACM ToCT\u2721] and Gutin and Mnich [arXiv:2207.12278]. Our hardness results apply to the path versions of the problems as well. On the positive side, we show that Longest Path parameterized multiplicatively above girth belongs to the class XP

Tag-Cloud Drawing: Algorithms for Cloud Visualization

Tag clouds provide an aggregate of tag-usage statistics. They are typically sent as in-line HTML to browsers. However, display mechanisms suited for ordinary text are not ideal for tags, because font sizes may vary widely on a line. As well, the typical layout does not account for relationships that may be known between tags. This paper presents models and algorithms to improve the display of tag clouds that consist of in-line HTML, as well as algorithms that use nested tables to achieve a more general 2-dimensional layout in which tag relationships are considered. The first algorithms leverage prior work in typesetting and rectangle packing, whereas the second group of algorithms leverage prior work in Electronic Design Automation. Experiments show our algorithms can be efficiently implemented and perform well.Comment: To appear in proceedings of Tagging and Metadata for Social Information Organization (WWW 2007