1,082 research outputs found
Cuts in matchings of 3-connected cubic graphs
We discuss conjectures on Hamiltonicity in cubic graphs (Tait, Barnette,
Tutte), on the dichromatic number of planar oriented graphs (Neumann-Lara), and
on even graphs in digraphs whose contraction is strongly connected
(Hochst\"attler). We show that all of them fit into the same framework related
to cuts in matchings. This allows us to find a counterexample to the conjecture
of Hochst\"attler and show that the conjecture of Neumann-Lara holds for all
planar graphs on at most 26 vertices. Finally, we state a new conjecture on
bipartite cubic oriented graphs, that naturally arises in this setting.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, 1 table. Improved expositio
Fullerene graphs have exponentially many perfect matchings
A fullerene graph is a planar cubic 3-connected graph with only pentagonal
and hexagonal faces. We show that fullerene graphs have exponentially many
perfect matchings.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure
NC Algorithms for Computing a Perfect Matching and a Maximum Flow in One-Crossing-Minor-Free Graphs
In 1988, Vazirani gave an NC algorithm for computing the number of perfect
matchings in -minor-free graphs by building on Kasteleyn's scheme for
planar graphs, and stated that this "opens up the possibility of obtaining an
NC algorithm for finding a perfect matching in -free graphs." In this
paper, we finally settle this 30-year-old open problem. Building on recent NC
algorithms for planar and bounded-genus perfect matching by Anari and Vazirani
and later by Sankowski, we obtain NC algorithms for perfect matching in any
minor-closed graph family that forbids a one-crossing graph. This family
includes several well-studied graph families including the -minor-free
graphs and -minor-free graphs. Graphs in these families not only have
unbounded genus, but can have genus as high as . Our method applies as
well to several other problems related to perfect matching. In particular, we
obtain NC algorithms for the following problems in any family of graphs (or
networks) with a one-crossing forbidden minor:
Determining whether a given graph has a perfect matching and if so,
finding one.
Finding a minimum weight perfect matching in the graph, assuming
that the edge weights are polynomially bounded.
Finding a maximum -flow in the network, with arbitrary
capacities.
The main new idea enabling our results is the definition and use of
matching-mimicking networks, small replacement networks that behave the same,
with respect to matching problems involving a fixed set of terminals, as the
larger network they replace.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figure
Dimers, Tilings and Trees
Generalizing results of Temperley, Brooks, Smith, Stone and Tutte and others
we describe a natural equivalence between three planar objects: weighted
bipartite planar graphs; planar Markov chains; and tilings with convex
polygons. This equivalence provides a measure-preserving bijection between
dimer coverings of a weighted bipartite planar graph and spanning trees on the
corresponding Markov chain. The tilings correspond to harmonic functions on the
Markov chain and to ``discrete analytic functions'' on the bipartite graph.
The equivalence is extended to infinite periodic graphs, and we classify the
resulting ``almost periodic'' tilings and harmonic functions.Comment: 23 pages, 5 figure
Matching Is as Easy as the Decision Problem, in the NC Model
Is matching in NC, i.e., is there a deterministic fast parallel algorithm for
it? This has been an outstanding open question in TCS for over three decades,
ever since the discovery of randomized NC matching algorithms [KUW85, MVV87].
Over the last five years, the theoretical computer science community has
launched a relentless attack on this question, leading to the discovery of
several powerful ideas. We give what appears to be the culmination of this line
of work: An NC algorithm for finding a minimum-weight perfect matching in a
general graph with polynomially bounded edge weights, provided it is given an
oracle for the decision problem. Consequently, for settling the main open
problem, it suffices to obtain an NC algorithm for the decision problem. We
believe this new fact has qualitatively changed the nature of this open
problem.
All known efficient matching algorithms for general graphs follow one of two
approaches: given by Edmonds [Edm65] and Lov\'asz [Lov79]. Our oracle-based
algorithm follows a new approach and uses many of the ideas discovered in the
last five years.
The difficulty of obtaining an NC perfect matching algorithm led researchers
to study matching vis-a-vis clever relaxations of the class NC. In this vein,
recently Goldwasser and Grossman [GG15] gave a pseudo-deterministic RNC
algorithm for finding a perfect matching in a bipartite graph, i.e., an RNC
algorithm with the additional requirement that on the same graph, it should
return the same (i.e., unique) perfect matching for almost all choices of
random bits. A corollary of our reduction is an analogous algorithm for general
graphs.Comment: Appeared in ITCS 202
A superlinear bound on the number of perfect matchings in cubic bridgeless graphs
Lovasz and Plummer conjectured in the 1970's that cubic bridgeless graphs
have exponentially many perfect matchings. This conjecture has been verified
for bipartite graphs by Voorhoeve in 1979, and for planar graphs by Chudnovsky
and Seymour in 2008, but in general only linear bounds are known. In this
paper, we provide the first superlinear bound in the general case.Comment: 54 pages v2: a short (missing) proof of Lemma 10 was adde
Trees and Matchings
In this article, Temperley's bijection between spanning trees of the square
grid on the one hand, and perfect matchings (also known as dimer coverings) of
the square grid on the other, is extended to the setting of general planar
directed (and undirected) graphs, where edges carry nonnegative weights that
induce a weighting on the set of spanning trees. We show that the weighted,
directed spanning trees (often called arborescences) of any planar graph G can
be put into a one-to-one weight-preserving correspondence with the perfect
matchings of a related planar graph H.
One special case of this result is a bijection between perfect matchings of
the hexagonal honeycomb lattice and directed spanning trees of a triangular
lattice. Another special case gives a correspondence between perfect matchings
of the ``square-octagon'' lattice and directed weighted spanning trees on a
directed weighted version of the cartesian lattice.
In conjunction with results of Kenyon, our main theorem allows us to compute
the measures of all cylinder events for random spanning trees on any (directed,
weighted) planar graph. Conversely, in cases where the perfect matching model
arises from a tree model, Wilson's algorithm allows us to quickly generate
random samples of perfect matchings.Comment: 32 pages, 19 figures (minor revisions from version 1
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