Bidimensionality of Geometric Intersection Graphs

Let B be a finite collection of geometric (not necessarily convex) bodies in the plane. Clearly, this class of geometric objects naturally generalizes the class of disks, lines, ellipsoids, and even convex polygons. We consider geometric intersection graphs GB where each body of the collection B is represented by a vertex, and two vertices of GB are adjacent if the intersection of the corresponding bodies is non-empty. For such graph classes and under natural restrictions on their maximum degree or subgraph exclusion, we prove that the relation between their treewidth and the maximum size of a grid minor is linear. These combinatorial results vastly extend the applicability of all the meta-algorithmic results of the bidimensionality theory to geometrically defined graph classes

Bidimensionality and Geometric Graphs

In this paper we use several of the key ideas from Bidimensionality to give a new generic approach to design EPTASs and subexponential time parameterized algorithms for problems on classes of graphs which are not minor closed, but instead exhibit a geometric structure. In particular we present EPTASs and subexponential time parameterized algorithms for Feedback Vertex Set, Vertex Cover, Connected Vertex Cover, Diamond Hitting Set, on map graphs and unit disk graphs, and for Cycle Packing and Minimum-Vertex Feedback Edge Set on unit disk graphs. Our results are based on the recent decomposition theorems proved by Fomin et al [SODA 2011], and our algorithms work directly on the input graph. Thus it is not necessary to compute the geometric representations of the input graph. To the best of our knowledge, these results are previously unknown, with the exception of the EPTAS and a subexponential time parameterized algorithm on unit disk graphs for Vertex Cover, which were obtained by Marx [ESA 2005] and Alber and Fiala [J. Algorithms 2004], respectively. We proceed to show that our approach can not be extended in its full generality to more general classes of geometric graphs, such as intersection graphs of unit balls in R^d, d >= 3. Specifically we prove that Feedback Vertex Set on unit-ball graphs in R^3 neither admits PTASs unless P=NP, nor subexponential time algorithms unless the Exponential Time Hypothesis fails. Additionally, we show that the decomposition theorems which our approach is based on fail for disk graphs and that therefore any extension of our results to disk graphs would require new algorithmic ideas. On the other hand, we prove that our EPTASs and subexponential time algorithms for Vertex Cover and Connected Vertex Cover carry over both to disk graphs and to unit-ball graphs in R^d for every fixed d

Hyperbolic intersection graphs and (quasi)-polynomial time

We study unit ball graphs (and, more generally, so-called noisy uniform ball graphs) in $d$-dimensional hyperbolic space, which we denote by $\mathbb{H}^d$. Using a new separator theorem, we show that unit ball graphs in $\mathbb{H}^d$ enjoy similar properties as their Euclidean counterparts, but in one dimension lower: many standard graph problems, such as Independent Set, Dominating Set, Steiner Tree, and Hamiltonian Cycle can be solved in $2^{O(n^{1-1/(d-1)})}$ time for any fixed $d\geq 3$, while the same problems need $2^{O(n^{1-1/d})}$ time in $\mathbb{R}^d$. We also show that these algorithms in $\mathbb{H}^d$ are optimal up to constant factors in the exponent under ETH. This drop in dimension has the largest impact in $\mathbb{H}^2$, where we introduce a new technique to bound the treewidth of noisy uniform disk graphs. The bounds yield quasi-polynomial ($n^{O(\log n)}$) algorithms for all of the studied problems, while in the case of Hamiltonian Cycle and $3$-Coloring we even get polynomial time algorithms. Furthermore, if the underlying noisy disks in $\mathbb{H}^2$ have constant maximum degree, then all studied problems can be solved in polynomial time. This contrasts with the fact that these problems require $2^{\Omega(\sqrt{n})}$ time under ETH in constant maximum degree Euclidean unit disk graphs. Finally, we complement our quasi-polynomial algorithm for Independent Set in noisy uniform disk graphs with a matching $n^{\Omega(\log n)}$ lower bound under ETH. This shows that the hyperbolic plane is a potential source of NP-intermediate problems.Comment: Short version appears in SODA 202

ETH-Tight Algorithms for Long Path and Cycle on Unit Disk Graphs

We present an algorithm for the extensively studied Long Path and Long Cycle problems on unit disk graphs that runs in time 2^{?(?k)}(n+m). Under the Exponential Time Hypothesis, Long Path and Long Cycle on unit disk graphs cannot be solved in time 2^{o(?k)}(n+m)^?(1) [de Berg et al., STOC 2018], hence our algorithm is optimal. Besides the 2^{?(?k)}(n+m)^?(1)-time algorithm for the (arguably) much simpler Vertex Cover problem by de Berg et al. [STOC 2018] (which easily follows from the existence of a 2k-vertex kernel for the problem), this is the only known ETH-optimal fixed-parameter tractable algorithm on UDGs. Previously, Long Path and Long Cycle on unit disk graphs were only known to be solvable in time 2^{?(?klog k)}(n+m). This algorithm involved the introduction of a new type of a tree decomposition, entailing the design of a very tedious dynamic programming procedure. Our algorithm is substantially simpler: we completely avoid the use of this new type of tree decomposition. Instead, we use a marking procedure to reduce the problem to (a weighted version of) itself on a standard tree decomposition of width ?(?k)

Parameterized complexity of the spanning tree congestion problem

We study the problem of determining the spanning tree congestion of a graph. We present some sharp contrasts in the parameterized complexity of this problem. First, we show that on apex-minor-free graphs, a general class of graphs containing planar graphs, graphs of bounded treewidth, and graphs of bounded genus, the problem to determine whether a given graph has spanning tree congestion at most k can be solved in linear time for every fixed k. We also show that for every fixed k and d the problem is solvable in linear time for graphs of degree at most d. In contrast, if we allow only one vertex of unbounded degree, the problem immediately becomes NP-complete for any fixed k≥8. Moreover, the hardness result holds for graphs excluding the complete graph on 6 vertices as a minor. We also observe that for k≤3 the problem becomes polynomially time solvable.publishedVersio

How to Navigate Through Obstacles?

Given a set of obstacles and two points in the plane, is there a path between the two points that does not cross more than k different obstacles? This is a fundamental problem that has undergone a tremendous amount of work by researchers in various areas, including computational geometry, graph theory, wireless computing, and motion planning. It is known to be NP-hard, even when the obstacles are very simple geometric shapes (e.g., unit-length line segments). The problem can be formulated and generalized into the following graph problem: Given a planar graph G whose vertices are colored by color sets, two designated vertices s, t in V(G), and k in N, is there an s-t path in G that uses at most k colors? If each obstacle is connected, the resulting graph satisfies the color-connectivity property, namely that each color induces a connected subgraph. We study the complexity and design algorithms for the above graph problem with an eye on its geometric applications. We prove a set of hardness results, among which a result showing that the color-connectivity property is crucial for any hope for fixed-parameter tractable (FPT) algorithms, as without it, the problem is W[SAT]-hard parameterized by k. Previous results only implied that the problem is W[2]-hard. A corollary of this result is that, unless W[2] = FPT, the problem cannot be approximated in FPT time to within a factor that is a function of k. By describing a generic plane embedding of the graph instances, we show that our hardness results translate to the geometric instances of the problem. We then focus on graphs satisfying the color-connectivity property. By exploiting the planarity of the graph and the connectivity of the colors, we develop topological results that allow us to prove that, for any vertex v, there exists a set of paths whose cardinality is upper bounded by a function of k, that "represents" the valid s-t paths containing subsets of colors from v. We employ these structural results to design an FPT algorithm for the problem parameterized by both k and the treewidth of the graph, and extend this result further to obtain an FPT algorithm for the parameterization by both k and the length of the path. The latter result generalizes and explains previous FPT results for various obstacle shapes, such as unit disks and fat regions

Subexponential Parameterized Algorithms for Cut and Cycle Hitting Problems on H-Minor-Free Graphs

We design the first subexponential-time (parameterized) algorithms for several cut and cycle-hitting problems on $H$-minor free graphs. In particular, we obtain the following results (where $k$ is the solution-size parameter). 1. $2^{O(\sqrt{k}\log k)} \cdot n^{O(1)}$ time algorithms for Edge Bipartization and Odd Cycle Transversal; 2. a $2^{O(\sqrt{k}\log^4 k)} \cdot n^{O(1)}$ time algorithm for Edge Multiway Cut and a $2^{O(r \sqrt{k} \log k)} \cdot n^{O(1)}$ time algorithm for Vertex Multiway Cut, where $r$ is the number of terminals to be separated; 3. a $2^{O((r+\sqrt{k})\log^4 (rk))} \cdot n^{O(1)}$ time algorithm for Edge Multicut and a $2^{O((\sqrt{rk}+r) \log (rk))} \cdot n^{O(1)}$ time algorithm for Vertex Multicut, where $r$ is the number of terminal pairs to be separated; 4. a $2^{O(\sqrt{k} \log g \log^4 k)} \cdot n^{O(1)}$ time algorithm for Group Feedback Edge Set and a $2^{O(g \sqrt{k}\log(gk))} \cdot n^{O(1)}$ time algorithm for Group Feedback Vertex Set, where $g$ is the size of the group. 5. In addition, our approach also gives $n^{O(\sqrt{k})}$ time algorithms for all above problems with the exception of $n^{O(r+\sqrt{k})}$ time for Edge/Vertex Multicut and $(ng)^{O(\sqrt{k})}$ time for Group Feedback Edge/Vertex Set. We obtain our results by giving a new decomposition theorem on graphs of bounded genus, or more generally, an $h$-almost-embeddable graph for any fixed constant $h$. In particular we show the following. Let $G$ be an $h$-almost-embeddable graph for a constant $h$. Then for every $p\in\mathbb{N}$, there exist disjoint sets $Z_1,\dots,Z_p \subseteq V(G)$ such that for every $i \in \{1,\dots,p\}$ and every $Z'\subseteq Z_i$, the treewidth of $G/(Z_i\backslash Z')$ is $O(p+|Z'|)$. Here $G/(Z_i\backslash Z')$ is the graph obtained from $G$ by contracting edges with both endpoints in $Z_i \backslash Z'$.Comment: A preliminary version appears in SODA'2

On the Maximum Cardinality Cut Problem in Proper Interval Graphs and Related Graph Classes

Although it has been claimed in two different papers that the maximum cardinality cut problem is polynomial-time solvable for proper interval graphs, both of them turned out to be erroneous. In this paper, we give FPT algorithms for the maximum cardinality cut problem in classes of graphs containing proper interval graphs and mixed unit interval graphs when parameterized by some new parameters that we introduce. These new parameters are related to a generalization of the so-called bubble representations of proper interval graphs and mixed unit interval graphs and to clique-width decompositions

A framework for ETH-Tight algorithms and lower bounds in geometric intersection graphs

We give an algorithmic and lower-bound framework that facilitates the construction of subexponential algorithms and matching conditional complexity bounds. It can be applied to a wide range of geometric intersection graphs (intersections of similarly sized fat objects), yielding algorithms with running time 2O(n1−1/d) for any fixed dimension d ≥ 2 for many well known graph problems, including Independent Set, r-Dominating Set for constant r, and Steiner Tree. For most problems, we get improved running times compared to prior work; in some cases, we give the first known subexponential algorithm in geometric intersection graphs. Additionally, most of the obtained algorithms work on the graph itself, i.e., do not require any geometric information. Our algorithmic framework is based on a weighted separator theorem and various treewidth techniques. The lower bound framework is based on a constructive embedding of graphs into d-dimensional grids, and it allows us to derive matching 2Ω(n1−1/d) lower bounds under the Exponential Time Hypothesis even in the much more restricted class of d-dimensional induced grid graphs