All-Pairs Minimum Cuts in Near-Linear Time for Surface-Embedded Graphs

For an undirected $n$-vertex graph $G$ with non-negative edge-weights, we consider the following type of query: given two vertices $s$ and $t$ in $G$, what is the weight of a minimum $st$-cut in $G$? We solve this problem in preprocessing time $O(n\log^3 n)$ for graphs of bounded genus, giving the first sub-quadratic time algorithm for this class of graphs. Our result also improves by a logarithmic factor a previous algorithm by Borradaile, Sankowski and Wulff-Nilsen (FOCS 2010) that applied only to planar graphs. Our algorithm constructs a Gomory-Hu tree for the given graph, providing a data structure with space $O(n)$ that can answer minimum-cut queries in constant time. The dependence on the genus of the input graph in our preprocessing time is $2^{O(g^2)}$

Minimum cycle and homology bases of surface embedded graphs

We study the problems of finding a minimum cycle basis (a minimum weight set of cycles that form a basis for the cycle space) and a minimum homology basis (a minimum weight set of cycles that generates the $1$-dimensional ($\mathbb{Z}_2$)-homology classes) of an undirected graph embedded on a surface. The problems are closely related, because the minimum cycle basis of a graph contains its minimum homology basis, and the minimum homology basis of the $1$-skeleton of any graph is exactly its minimum cycle basis. For the minimum cycle basis problem, we give a deterministic $O(n^\omega+2^{2g}n^2+m)$-time algorithm for graphs embedded on an orientable surface of genus $g$. The best known existing algorithms for surface embedded graphs are those for general graphs: an $O(m^\omega)$ time Monte Carlo algorithm and a deterministic $O(nm^2/\log n + n^2 m)$ time algorithm. For the minimum homology basis problem, we give a deterministic $O((g+b)^3 n \log n + m)$-time algorithm for graphs embedded on an orientable or non-orientable surface of genus $g$ with $b$ boundary components, assuming shortest paths are unique, improving on existing algorithms for many values of $g$ and $n$. The assumption of unique shortest paths can be avoided with high probability using randomization or deterministically by increasing the running time of the homology basis algorithm by a factor of $O(\log n)$.Comment: A preliminary version of this work was presented at the 32nd Annual International Symposium on Computational Geometr

Topologically Trivial Closed Walks in Directed Surface Graphs

Let $G$ be a directed graph with $n$ vertices and $m$ edges, embedded on a surface $S$, possibly with boundary, with first Betti number $\beta$. We consider the complexity of finding closed directed walks in $G$ that are either contractible (trivial in homotopy) or bounding (trivial in integer homology) in $S$. Specifically, we describe algorithms to determine whether $G$ contains a simple contractible cycle in $O(n+m)$ time, or a contractible closed walk in $O(n+m)$ time, or a bounding closed walk in $O(\beta (n+m))$ time. Our algorithms rely on subtle relationships between strong connectivity in $G$ and in the dual graph $G^*$; our contractible-closed-walk algorithm also relies on a seminal topological result of Hass and Scott. We also prove that detecting simple bounding cycles is NP-hard. We also describe three polynomial-time algorithms to compute shortest contractible closed walks, depending on whether the fundamental group of the surface is free, abelian, or hyperbolic. A key step in our algorithm for hyperbolic surfaces is the construction of a context-free grammar with $O(g^2L^2)$ non-terminals that generates all contractible closed walks of length at most L, and only contractible closed walks, in a system of quads of genus $g\ge2$. Finally, we show that computing shortest simple contractible cycles, shortest simple bounding cycles, and shortest bounding closed walks are all NP-hard.Comment: 30 pages, 18 figures; fixed several minor bugs and added one figure. An extended abstraction of this paper will appear at SOCG 201