826 research outputs found
Deterministic and Probabilistic Binary Search in Graphs
We consider the following natural generalization of Binary Search: in a given
undirected, positively weighted graph, one vertex is a target. The algorithm's
task is to identify the target by adaptively querying vertices. In response to
querying a node , the algorithm learns either that is the target, or is
given an edge out of that lies on a shortest path from to the target.
We study this problem in a general noisy model in which each query
independently receives a correct answer with probability (a
known constant), and an (adversarial) incorrect one with probability .
Our main positive result is that when (i.e., all answers are
correct), queries are always sufficient. For general , we give an
(almost information-theoretically optimal) algorithm that uses, in expectation,
no more than queries, and identifies the target correctly with probability at
leas . Here, denotes the
entropy. The first bound is achieved by the algorithm that iteratively queries
a 1-median of the nodes not ruled out yet; the second bound by careful repeated
invocations of a multiplicative weights algorithm.
Even for , we show several hardness results for the problem of
determining whether a target can be found using queries. Our upper bound of
implies a quasipolynomial-time algorithm for undirected connected
graphs; we show that this is best-possible under the Strong Exponential Time
Hypothesis (SETH). Furthermore, for directed graphs, or for undirected graphs
with non-uniform node querying costs, the problem is PSPACE-complete. For a
semi-adaptive version, in which one may query nodes each in rounds, we
show membership in in the polynomial hierarchy, and hardness
for
Optimal distance query reconstruction for graphs without long induced cycles
Let be an -vertex connected graph of maximum degree .
Given access to and an oracle that given two vertices , returns
the shortest path distance between and , how many queries are needed to
reconstruct ? We give a simple deterministic algorithm to reconstruct trees
using distance queries and show that even
randomised algorithms need to use at least
queries in expectation. The best previous lower bound was an
information-theoretic lower bound of . Our lower
bound also extends to related query models including distance queries for
phylogenetic trees, membership queries for learning partitions and path queries
in directed trees.
We extend our deterministic algorithm to reconstruct graphs without induced
cycles of length at least using queries, which
includes various graph classes of interest such as chordal graphs, permutation
graphs and AT-free graphs. Since the previously best known randomised algorithm
for chordal graphs uses queries in expectation, we both
get rid off the randomness and get the optimal dependency in for chordal
graphs and various other graph classes.
Finally, we build on an algorithm of Kannan, Mathieu, and Zhou [ICALP, 2015]
to give a randomised algorithm for reconstructing graphs of treelength
using queries in expectation.Comment: 35 page
Reconstructing Biological and Digital Phylogenetic Trees in Parallel
In this paper, we study the parallel query complexity of reconstructing biological and digital phylogenetic trees from simple queries involving their nodes. This is motivated from computational biology, data protection, and computer security settings, which can be abstracted in terms of two parties, a responder, Alice, who must correctly answer queries of a given type regarding a degree-d tree, T, and a querier, Bob, who issues batches of queries, with each query in a batch being independent of the others, so as to eventually infer the structure of T. We show that a querier can efficiently reconstruct an n-node degree-d tree, T, with a logarithmic number of rounds and quasilinear number of queries, with high probability, for various types of queries, including relative-distance queries and path queries. Our results are all asymptotically optimal and improve the asymptotic (sequential) query complexity for one of the problems we study. Moreover, through an experimental analysis using both real-world and synthetic data, we provide empirical evidence that our algorithms provide significant parallel speedups while also improving the total query complexities for the problems we study
A Quasi-Polynomial Time Partition Oracle for Graphs with an Excluded Minor
Motivated by the problem of testing planarity and related properties, we
study the problem of designing efficient {\em partition oracles}. A {\em
partition oracle} is a procedure that, given access to the incidence lists
representation of a bounded-degree graph and a parameter \eps,
when queried on a vertex , returns the part (subset of vertices) which
belongs to in a partition of all graph vertices. The partition should be
such that all parts are small, each part is connected, and if the graph has
certain properties, the total number of edges between parts is at most \eps
|V|. In this work we give a partition oracle for graphs with excluded minors
whose query complexity is quasi-polynomial in 1/\eps, thus improving on the
result of Hassidim et al. ({\em Proceedings of FOCS 2009}) who gave a partition
oracle with query complexity exponential in 1/\eps. This improvement implies
corresponding improvements in the complexity of testing planarity and other
properties that are characterized by excluded minors as well as sublinear-time
approximation algorithms that work under the promise that the graph has an
excluded minor.Comment: 13 pages, 1 figur
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