1,949 research outputs found
An ETH-Tight Exact Algorithm for Euclidean TSP
We study exact algorithms for {\sc Euclidean TSP} in . In the
early 1990s algorithms with running time were presented for
the planar case, and some years later an algorithm with
running time was presented for any . Despite significant interest in
subexponential exact algorithms over the past decade, there has been no
progress on {\sc Euclidean TSP}, except for a lower bound stating that the
problem admits no algorithm unless ETH fails. Up to
constant factors in the exponent, we settle the complexity of {\sc Euclidean
TSP} by giving a algorithm and by showing that a
algorithm does not exist unless ETH fails.Comment: To appear in FOCS 201
The Salesman's Improved Tours for Fundamental Classes
Finding the exact integrality gap for the LP relaxation of the
metric Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) has been an open problem for over
thirty years, with little progress made. It is known that , and a famous conjecture states . For this problem,
essentially two "fundamental" classes of instances have been proposed. This
fundamental property means that in order to show that the integrality gap is at
most for all instances of metric TSP, it is sufficient to show it only
for the instances in the fundamental class. However, despite the importance and
the simplicity of such classes, no apparent effort has been deployed for
improving the integrality gap bounds for them. In this paper we take a natural
first step in this endeavour, and consider the -integer points of one such
class. We successfully improve the upper bound for the integrality gap from
to for a superclass of these points, as well as prove a lower
bound of for the superclass. Our methods involve innovative applications
of tools from combinatorial optimization which have the potential to be more
broadly applied
Factors of IID on Trees
Classical ergodic theory for integer-group actions uses entropy as a complete
invariant for isomorphism of IID (independent, identically distributed)
processes (a.k.a. product measures). This theory holds for amenable groups as
well. Despite recent spectacular progress of Bowen, the situation for
non-amenable groups, including free groups, is still largely mysterious. We
present some illustrative results and open questions on free groups, which are
particularly interesting in combinatorics, statistical physics, and
probability. Our results include bounds on minimum and maximum bisection for
random cubic graphs that improve on all past bounds.Comment: 18 pages, 1 figur
Generating Random Elements of Finite Distributive Lattices
This survey article describes a method for choosing uniformly at random from
any finite set whose objects can be viewed as constituting a distributive
lattice. The method is based on ideas of the author and David Wilson for using
``coupling from the past'' to remove initialization bias from Monte Carlo
randomization. The article describes several applications to specific kinds of
combinatorial objects such as tilings, constrained lattice paths, and
alternating-sign matrices.Comment: 13 page
Hamilton cycles in graphs and hypergraphs: an extremal perspective
As one of the most fundamental and well-known NP-complete problems, the
Hamilton cycle problem has been the subject of intensive research. Recent
developments in the area have highlighted the crucial role played by the
notions of expansion and quasi-randomness. These concepts and other recent
techniques have led to the solution of several long-standing problems in the
area. New aspects have also emerged, such as resilience, robustness and the
study of Hamilton cycles in hypergraphs. We survey these developments and
highlight open problems, with an emphasis on extremal and probabilistic
approaches.Comment: to appear in the Proceedings of the ICM 2014; due to given page
limits, this final version is slightly shorter than the previous arxiv
versio
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