Computing the Chromatic Number Using Graph Decompositions via Matrix Rank

Computing the smallest number $q$ such that the vertices of a given graph can be properly $q$-colored is one of the oldest and most fundamental problems in combinatorial optimization. The $q$-Coloring problem has been studied intensively using the framework of parameterized algorithmics, resulting in a very good understanding of the best-possible algorithms for several parameterizations based on the structure of the graph. While there is an abundance of work for parameterizations based on decompositions of the graph by vertex separators, almost nothing is known about parameterizations based on edge separators. We fill this gap by studying $q$-Coloring parameterized by cutwidth, and parameterized by pathwidth in bounded-degree graphs. Our research uncovers interesting new ways to exploit small edge separators. We present two algorithms for $q$-Coloring parameterized by cutwidth $cutw$: a deterministic one that runs in time $O^*(2^{\omega \cdot cutw})$, where $\omega$ is the matrix multiplication constant, and a randomized one with runtime $O^*(2^{cutw})$. In sharp contrast to earlier work, the running time is independent of $q$. The dependence on cutwidth is optimal: we prove that even 3-Coloring cannot be solved in $O^*((2-\varepsilon)^{cutw})$ time assuming the Strong Exponential Time Hypothesis (SETH). Our algorithms rely on a new rank bound for a matrix that describes compatible colorings. Combined with a simple communication protocol for evaluating a product of two polynomials, this also yields an $O^*((\lfloor d/2\rfloor+1)^{pw})$ time randomized algorithm for $q$-Coloring on graphs of pathwidth $pw$ and maximum degree $d$. Such a runtime was first obtained by Bj\"orklund, but only for graphs with few proper colorings. We also prove that this result is optimal in the sense that no $O^*((\lfloor d/2\rfloor+1-\varepsilon)^{pw})$-time algorithm exists assuming SETH.Comment: 29 pages. An extended abstract appears in the proceedings of the 26th Annual European Symposium on Algorithms, ESA 201

Three notions of tropical rank for symmetric matrices

We introduce and study three different notions of tropical rank for symmetric and dissimilarity matrices in terms of minimal decompositions into rank 1 symmetric matrices, star tree matrices, and tree matrices. Our results provide a close study of the tropical secant sets of certain nice tropical varieties, including the tropical Grassmannian. In particular, we determine the dimension of each secant set, the convex hull of the variety, and in most cases, the smallest secant set which is equal to the convex hull.Comment: 23 pages, 3 figure

The dual braid monoid

We construct a new monoid structure for Artin groups associated with finite Coxeter systems. This monoid shares with the classical positive braid monoid a crucial algebraic property: it is a Garside monoid. The analogy with the classical construction indicates there is a ``dual'' way of studying Coxeter systems, where the pair (W,S) is replaced by (W,T), with T the set of all reflections. In the type A case, we recover the monoid constructed by Birman-Ko-LeeComment: 42 pages. Major revision, many new result

Measuring what Matters: A Hybrid Approach to Dynamic Programming with Treewidth

We develop a framework for applying treewidth-based dynamic programming on graphs with "hybrid structure", i.e., with parts that may not have small treewidth but instead possess other structural properties. Informally, this is achieved by defining a refinement of treewidth which only considers parts of the graph that do not belong to a pre-specified tractable graph class. Our approach allows us to not only generalize existing fixed-parameter algorithms exploiting treewidth, but also fixed-parameter algorithms which use the size of a modulator as their parameter. As the flagship application of our framework, we obtain a parameter that combines treewidth and rank-width to obtain fixed-parameter algorithms for Chromatic Number, Hamiltonian Cycle, and Max-Cut

Fast Evaluation of Interlace Polynomials on Graphs of Bounded Treewidth

We consider the multivariate interlace polynomial introduced by Courcelle (2008), which generalizes several interlace polynomials defined by Arratia, Bollobas, and Sorkin (2004) and by Aigner and van der Holst (2004). We present an algorithm to evaluate the multivariate interlace polynomial of a graph with n vertices given a tree decomposition of the graph of width k. The best previously known result (Courcelle 2008) employs a general logical framework and leads to an algorithm with running time f(k)*n, where f(k) is doubly exponential in k. Analyzing the GF(2)-rank of adjacency matrices in the context of tree decompositions, we give a faster and more direct algorithm. Our algorithm uses 2^{3k^2+O(k)}*n arithmetic operations and can be efficiently implemented in parallel.Comment: v4: Minor error in Lemma 5.5 fixed, Section 6.6 added, minor improvements. 44 pages, 14 figure

An extensive English language bibliography on graph theory and its applications, supplement 1

Graph theory and its applications - bibliography, supplement

Tight Bounds for Counting Colorings and Connected Edge Sets Parameterized by Cutwidth

We study the fine-grained complexity of counting the number of colorings and connected spanning edge sets parameterized by the cutwidth and treewidth of the graph. While decompositions of small treewidth decompose the graph with small vertex separators, decompositions with small cutwidth decompose the graph with small edge separators. Let p,q ? ? such that p is a prime and q ? 3. We show: - If p divides q-1, there is a (q-1)^{ctw}n^{O(1)} time algorithm for counting list q-colorings modulo p of n-vertex graphs of cutwidth ctw. Furthermore, there is no ? > 0 for which there is a (q-1-?)^{ctw} n^{O(1)} time algorithm that counts the number of list q-colorings modulo p of n-vertex graphs of cutwidth ctw, assuming the Strong Exponential Time Hypothesis (SETH). - If p does not divide q-1, there is no ? > 0 for which there exists a (q-?)^{ctw} n^{O(1)} time algorithm that counts the number of list q-colorings modulo p of n-vertex graphs of cutwidth ctw, assuming SETH. The lower bounds are in stark contrast with the existing 2^{ctw}n^{O(1)} time algorithm to compute the chromatic number of a graph by Jansen and Nederlof [Theor. Comput. Sci.\u2718]. Furthermore, by building upon the above lower bounds, we obtain the following lower bound for counting connected spanning edge sets: there is no ? > 0 for which there is an algorithm that, given a graph G and a cutwidth ordering of cutwidth ctw, counts the number of spanning connected edge sets of G modulo p in time (p - ?)^{ctw} n^{O(1)}, assuming SETH. We also give an algorithm with matching running time for this problem. Before our work, even for the treewidth parameterization, the best conditional lower bound by Dell et al. [ACM Trans. Algorithms\u2714] only excluded 2^{o(tw)}n^{O(1)} time algorithms for this problem. Both our algorithms and lower bounds employ use of the matrix rank method, by relating the complexity of the problem to the rank of a certain "compatibility matrix" in a non-trivial way