33 research outputs found
Notes on acyclic orientations and the shelling lemma
AbstractIn this paper we study two lemmas on acyclic orientations and totally cyclic orientations of a graph, which can be derived from the shelling lemma in vector subspaces. We give simple graph theoretical proofs as well as a proof by the interpretations of the shelling lemma in the special setting of graphs. Furthermore, we present similar interpretations of closely related theorems in vector subspaces, which do not seem to admit simple graph theoretical proofs
Reconstructing a Simple Polytope from its Graph
Blind and Mani (1987) proved that the entire combinatorial structure (the
vertex-facet incidences) of a simple convex polytope is determined by its
abstract graph. Their proof is not constructive. Kalai (1988) found a short,
elegant, and algorithmic proof of that result. However, his algorithm has
always exponential running time. We show that the problem to reconstruct the
vertex-facet incidences of a simple polytope P from its graph can be formulated
as a combinatorial optimization problem that is strongly dual to the problem of
finding an abstract objective function on P (i.e., a shelling order of the
facets of the dual polytope of P). Thereby, we derive polynomial certificates
for both the vertex-facet incidences as well as for the abstract objective
functions in terms of the graph of P. The paper is a variation on joint work
with Michael Joswig and Friederike Koerner (2001).Comment: 14 page
Unlabeled sample compression schemes and corner peelings for ample and maximum classes
We examine connections between combinatorial notions that arise in machine
learning and topological notions in cubical/simplicial geometry. These
connections enable to export results from geometry to machine learning.
Our first main result is based on a geometric construction by Tracy Hall
(2004) of a partial shelling of the cross-polytope which can not be extended.
We use it to derive a maximum class of VC dimension 3 that has no corners. This
refutes several previous works in machine learning from the past 11 years. In
particular, it implies that all previous constructions of optimal unlabeled
sample compression schemes for maximum classes are erroneous.
On the positive side we present a new construction of an unlabeled sample
compression scheme for maximum classes. We leave as open whether our unlabeled
sample compression scheme extends to ample (a.k.a. lopsided or extremal)
classes, which represent a natural and far-reaching generalization of maximum
classes. Towards resolving this question, we provide a geometric
characterization in terms of unique sink orientations of the 1-skeletons of
associated cubical complexes
Covering Partial Cubes with Zones
A partial cube is a graph having an isometric embedding in a hypercube.
Partial cubes are characterized by a natural equivalence relation on the edges,
whose classes are called zones. The number of zones determines the minimal
dimension of a hypercube in which the graph can be embedded. We consider the
problem of covering the vertices of a partial cube with the minimum number of
zones. The problem admits several special cases, among which are the problem of
covering the cells of a line arrangement with a minimum number of lines, and
the problem of finding a minimum-size fibre in a bipartite poset. For several
such special cases, we give upper and lower bounds on the minimum size of a
covering by zones. We also consider the computational complexity of those
problems, and establish some hardness results
Unlabeled Sample Compression Schemes and Corner Peelings for Ample and Maximum Classes
We examine connections between combinatorial notions that arise in machine learning and topological notions in cubical/simplicial geometry. These connections enable to export results from geometry to machine learning. Our first main result is based on a geometric construction by H. Tracy Hall (2004) of a partial shelling of the cross-polytope which can not be extended. We use it to derive a maximum class of VC dimension 3 that has no corners. This refutes several previous works in machine learning from the past 11 years. In particular, it implies that the previous constructions of optimal unlabeled compression schemes for maximum classes are erroneous.
On the positive side we present a new construction of an optimal unlabeled compression scheme for maximum classes. We leave as open whether our unlabeled compression scheme extends to ample (a.k.a. lopsided or extremal) classes, which represent a natural and far-reaching generalization of maximum classes. Towards resolving this question, we provide a geometric characterization in terms of unique sink orientations of the 1-skeletons of associated cubical complexes