252 research outputs found
Approximation Algorithms for Polynomial-Expansion and Low-Density Graphs
We study the family of intersection graphs of low density objects in low
dimensional Euclidean space. This family is quite general, and includes planar
graphs. We prove that such graphs have small separators. Next, we present
efficient -approximation algorithms for these graphs, for
Independent Set, Set Cover, and Dominating Set problems, among others. We also
prove corresponding hardness of approximation for some of these optimization
problems, providing a characterization of their intractability in terms of
density
Travelling on Graphs with Small Highway Dimension
We study the Travelling Salesperson (TSP) and the Steiner Tree problem (STP)
in graphs of low highway dimension. This graph parameter was introduced by
Abraham et al. [SODA 2010] as a model for transportation networks, on which TSP
and STP naturally occur for various applications in logistics. It was
previously shown [Feldmann et al. ICALP 2015] that these problems admit a
quasi-polynomial time approximation scheme (QPTAS) on graphs of constant
highway dimension. We demonstrate that a significant improvement is possible in
the special case when the highway dimension is 1, for which we present a
fully-polynomial time approximation scheme (FPTAS). We also prove that STP is
weakly NP-hard for these restricted graphs. For TSP we show NP-hardness for
graphs of highway dimension 6, which answers an open problem posed in [Feldmann
et al. ICALP 2015]
Bidimensionality and Geometric Graphs
In this paper we use several of the key ideas from Bidimensionality to give a
new generic approach to design EPTASs and subexponential time parameterized
algorithms for problems on classes of graphs which are not minor closed, but
instead exhibit a geometric structure. In particular we present EPTASs and
subexponential time parameterized algorithms for Feedback Vertex Set, Vertex
Cover, Connected Vertex Cover, Diamond Hitting Set, on map graphs and unit disk
graphs, and for Cycle Packing and Minimum-Vertex Feedback Edge Set on unit disk
graphs. Our results are based on the recent decomposition theorems proved by
Fomin et al [SODA 2011], and our algorithms work directly on the input graph.
Thus it is not necessary to compute the geometric representations of the input
graph. To the best of our knowledge, these results are previously unknown, with
the exception of the EPTAS and a subexponential time parameterized algorithm on
unit disk graphs for Vertex Cover, which were obtained by Marx [ESA 2005] and
Alber and Fiala [J. Algorithms 2004], respectively.
We proceed to show that our approach can not be extended in its full
generality to more general classes of geometric graphs, such as intersection
graphs of unit balls in R^d, d >= 3. Specifically we prove that Feedback Vertex
Set on unit-ball graphs in R^3 neither admits PTASs unless P=NP, nor
subexponential time algorithms unless the Exponential Time Hypothesis fails.
Additionally, we show that the decomposition theorems which our approach is
based on fail for disk graphs and that therefore any extension of our results
to disk graphs would require new algorithmic ideas. On the other hand, we prove
that our EPTASs and subexponential time algorithms for Vertex Cover and
Connected Vertex Cover carry over both to disk graphs and to unit-ball graphs
in R^d for every fixed d
Bidimensionality and EPTAS
Bidimensionality theory is a powerful framework for the development of
metaalgorithmic techniques. It was introduced by Demaine et al. as a tool to
obtain sub-exponential time parameterized algorithms for problems on H-minor
free graphs. Demaine and Hajiaghayi extended the theory to obtain PTASs for
bidimensional problems, and subsequently improved these results to EPTASs.
Fomin et. al related the theory to the existence of linear kernels for
parameterized problems. In this paper we revisit bidimensionality theory from
the perspective of approximation algorithms and redesign the framework for
obtaining EPTASs to be more powerful, easier to apply and easier to understand.
Two of the most widely used approaches to obtain PTASs on planar graphs are
the Lipton-Tarjan separator based approach, and Baker's approach. Demaine and
Hajiaghayi strengthened both approaches using bidimensionality and obtained
EPTASs for a multitude of problems. We unify the two strenghtened approaches to
combine the best of both worlds. At the heart of our framework is a
decomposition lemma which states that for "most" bidimensional problems, there
is a polynomial time algorithm which given an H-minor-free graph G as input and
an e > 0 outputs a vertex set X of size e * OPT such that the treewidth of G n
X is f(e). Here, OPT is the objective function value of the problem in question
and f is a function depending only on e. This allows us to obtain EPTASs on
(apex)-minor-free graphs for all problems covered by the previous framework, as
well as for a wide range of packing problems, partial covering problems and
problems that are neither closed under taking minors, nor contractions. To the
best of our knowledge for many of these problems including cycle packing,
vertex-h-packing, maximum leaf spanning tree, and partial r-dominating set no
EPTASs on planar graphs were previously known
The Traveling Salesman Problem: Low-Dimensionality Implies a Polynomial Time Approximation Scheme
The Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) is among the most famous NP-hard
optimization problems. We design for this problem a randomized polynomial-time
algorithm that computes a (1+eps)-approximation to the optimal tour, for any
fixed eps>0, in TSP instances that form an arbitrary metric space with bounded
intrinsic dimension.
The celebrated results of Arora (A-98) and Mitchell (M-99) prove that the
above result holds in the special case of TSP in a fixed-dimensional Euclidean
space. Thus, our algorithm demonstrates that the algorithmic tractability of
metric TSP depends on the dimensionality of the space and not on its specific
geometry. This result resolves a problem that has been open since the
quasi-polynomial time algorithm of Talwar (T-04)
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