A Survey on Approximation in Parameterized Complexity: Hardness and Algorithms

Parameterization and approximation are two popular ways of coping with NP-hard problems. More recently, the two have also been combined to derive many interesting results. We survey developments in the area both from the algorithmic and hardness perspectives, with emphasis on new techniques and potential future research directions

Structural Rounding: Approximation Algorithms for Graphs Near an Algorithmically Tractable Class

We develop a framework for generalizing approximation algorithms from the structural graph algorithm literature so that they apply to graphs somewhat close to that class (a scenario we expect is common when working with real-world networks) while still guaranteeing approximation ratios. The idea is to edit a given graph via vertex- or edge-deletions to put the graph into an algorithmically tractable class, apply known approximation algorithms for that class, and then lift the solution to apply to the original graph. We give a general characterization of when an optimization problem is amenable to this approach, and show that it includes many well-studied graph problems, such as Independent Set, Vertex Cover, Feedback Vertex Set, Minimum Maximal Matching, Chromatic Number, (l-)Dominating Set, Edge (l-)Dominating Set, and Connected Dominating Set. To enable this framework, we develop new editing algorithms that find the approximately-fewest edits required to bring a given graph into one of a few important graph classes (in some cases these are bicriteria algorithms which simultaneously approximate both the number of editing operations and the target parameter of the family). For bounded degeneracy, we obtain an O(r log{n})-approximation and a bicriteria (4,4)-approximation which also extends to a smoother bicriteria trade-off. For bounded treewidth, we obtain a bicriteria (O(log^{1.5} n), O(sqrt{log w}))-approximation, and for bounded pathwidth, we obtain a bicriteria (O(log^{1.5} n), O(sqrt{log w} * log n))-approximation. For treedepth 2 (related to bounded expansion), we obtain a 4-approximation. We also prove complementary hardness-of-approximation results assuming P != NP: in particular, these problems are all log-factor inapproximable, except the last which is not approximable below some constant factor 2 (assuming UGC)

Search-Space Reduction via Essential Vertices

We investigate preprocessing for vertex-subset problems on graphs. While the notion of kernelization, originating in parameterized complexity theory, is a formalization of provably effective preprocessing aimed at reducing the total instance size, our focus is on finding a non-empty vertex set that belongs to an optimal solution. This decreases the size of the remaining part of the solution which still has to be found, and therefore shrinks the search space of fixed-parameter tractable algorithms for parameterizations based on the solution size. We introduce the notion of a c-essential vertex as one that is contained in all c-approximate solutions. For several classic combinatorial problems such as Odd Cycle Transversal and Directed Feedback Vertex Set, we show that under mild conditions a polynomial-time preprocessing algorithm can find a subset of an optimal solution that contains all 2-essential vertices, by exploiting packing/covering duality. This leads to FPT algorithms to solve these problems where the exponential term in the running time depends only on the number of non-essential vertices in the solution

On the Parameterized Approximability of Contraction to Classes of Chordal Graphs

A graph operation that contracts edges is one of the fundamental operations in the theory of graph minors. Parameterized Complexity of editing to a family of graphs by contracting k edges has recently gained substantial scientific attention, and several new results have been obtained. Some important families of graphs, namely the subfamilies of chordal graphs, in the context of edge contractions, have proven to be significantly difficult than one might expect. In this paper, we study the F-Contraction problem, where F is a subfamily of chordal graphs, in the realm of parameterized approximation. Formally, given a graph G and an integer k, F-Contraction asks whether there exists X ⊆ E(G) such that G/X ∈ F and |X| ≤ k. Here, G/X is the graph obtained from G by contracting edges in X. We obtain the following results for the F-Contraction problem. - Clique Contraction is known to be FPT. However, unless NP ⊆ coNP/poly, it does not admit a polynomial kernel. We show that it admits a polynomial-size approximate kernelization scheme (PSAKS). That is, it admits a (1 + ε)-approximate kernel with {O}(k^{f(ε)}) vertices for every ε > 0. - Split Contraction is known to be W[1]-Hard. We deconstruct this intractability result in two ways. Firstly, we give a (2+ε)-approximate polynomial kernel for Split Contraction (which also implies a factor (2+ε)-FPT-approximation algorithm for Split Contraction). Furthermore, we show that, assuming Gap-ETH, there is no (5/4-δ)-FPT-approximation algorithm for Split Contraction. Here, ε, δ > 0 are fixed constants. - Chordal Contraction is known to be W[2]-Hard. We complement this result by observing that the existing W[2]-hardness reduction can be adapted to show that, assuming FPT ≠ W[1], there is no F(k)-FPT-approximation algorithm for Chordal Contraction. Here, F(k) is an arbitrary function depending on k alone. We say that an algorithm is an h(k)-FPT-approximation algorithm for the F-Contraction problem, if it runs in FPT time, and on any input (G, k) such that there exists X ⊆ E(G) satisfying G/X ∈ F and |X| ≤ k, it outputs an edge set Y of size at most h(k) ⋅ k for which G/Y is in F. We find it extremely interesting that three closely related problems have different behavior with respect to FPT-approximation

Refuting FPT Algorithms for Some Parameterized Problems Under Gap-ETH

In this article we study a well-known problem, called Bipartite Token Jumping and not-so-well known problem(s), which we call, Half (Induced-) Subgraph, and show that under Gap-ETH, these problems do not admit FPT algorithms. The problem Bipartite Token Jumping takes as input a bipartite graph G and two independent sets S,T in G, where |S| = |T| = k, and the objective is to test if there is a sequence of exactly k-sized independent sets ? I?, I?,?, I_? ? in G, such that: i) I? = S and I_? = T, and ii) for every j ? [?], I_{j} is obtained from I_{j-1} by replacing a vertex in I_{j-1} by a vertex in V(G) ? I_{j-1}. We show that, assuming Gap-ETH, Bipartite Token Jumping does not admit an FPT algorithm. We note that this result resolves one of the (two) open problems posed by Bartier et al. (ISAAC 2020), under Gap-ETH. Most of the known reductions related to Token Jumping exploit the property given by triangles (i.e., C?s), to obtain the correctness, and our results refutes FPT algorithm for Bipartite Token Jumping, where the input graph cannot have any triangles. For an integer k ? ?, the half graph S_{k,k} is the graph with vertex set V(S_{k,k}) = A_k ? B_k, where A_k = {a?,a?,?, a_k} and B_k = {b?,b?,?, b_k}, and for i,j ? [k], {a_i,b_j} ? E(T_{k,k}) if and only if j ? i. We also study the Half (Induced-)Subgraph problem where we are given a graph G and an integer k, and the goal is to check if G contains S_{k,k} as an (induced-)subgraph. Again under Gap-ETH, we show that Half (Induced-)Subgraph does not admit an FPT algorithm, even when the input is a bipartite graph. We believe that the above problem (and its negative) result maybe of independent interest and could be useful obtaining new fixed parameter intractability results. There are very few reductions known in the literature which refute FPT algorithms for a parameterized problem based on assumptions like Gap-ETH. Thus our technique (and simple reductions) exhibits the potential of such conjectures in obtaining new (and possibly easier) proofs for refuting FPT algorithms for parameterized problems

LIPIcs, Volume 248, ISAAC 2022, Complete Volume

LIPIcs, Volume 248, ISAAC 2022, Complete Volum

グラフ上の分割問題と被覆問題：計算量解析とアルゴリズム設計

This dissertation studies four combinatorial optimization problems on graphs: (1) Minimum Block Transfer problem (MBT for short), (2) Maximum k-Path Vertex Cover problem (MaxPkVC for short), (3) k-Path Vertex Cover Reconfiguration problem (k- PVCR for short), and (4) Minimum (Maximum) Weighted Path Cover problem (MinPC (MaxPC) for short). This dissertation provides hardness results, such as NP-hardness and inapproximabilities, and polynomial-time algorithms for each problem. In Chapter 2, we study MBT. Let G = (V, A) be a simple directed acyclic graph, i.e., G does not include any cycles, any multiple arcs, or any self-loops, with a node set V and an arc set A. Given a DAG G and a block size B, the objective of MBT is to find a partition of its node set such that it satisfies the following two conditions: (i) Each element (called a block) of the partition has a size which is at most B, and (ii) the maximum number of external arcs among directed paths from the roots to the leaves is minimized. The number of external arcs is defined as the number of arcs connecting two distinct blocks, that is, the number denotes the number of block transfers. The height of a DAG is defined as the length of the longest directed paths from its roots to the leaves. Let us consider the two-level I/O model for data transfers between an external memory with a large space and an internal memory with a limited space. Assume that the external memory is divided into fixed contiguous blocks of size B, and one query or modification transfers one block of B objects from the external memory to the internal one. Then, with our MBT problem, we can consider the efficient way to store data in the external memory such that the maximum number of data transfers between the external memory and the internal one is minimized. We first revisit the previous, naive bottom-up packing algorithm for MBT and show that its approximation ratio is 2 if B = 2. Additionally, we show that the approximation ratio of that algorithm is at least B if B gets larger. Next, we explicitly show that MBT is NP-hard even if each block size B is at most two and the height of DAGs is three, and maximum indegree and outdegree of a node are two and three, respectively. Our proof of the NP-hardness also shows that, if B = 2 and P 6= NP, MBT does not admit any polynomial-time (3=2 - ε)- approximation ((4/3 - ε)-approximation, resp.) algorithm for any ε > 0 even if the input is restricted to DAGs of height at most five (at least six, resp.). Fortunately, however, we can obtain a linear time exact algorithm if the height of DAGs is bounded above by two. Also, for MBT with B = 2, we provide the following linear-time algorithms: A simple 2-approximation algorithm and improved (2 - ε)-approximation algorithms, where ε = 2/h and ε = 2/(h + 1) for the case where the height of the input DAGs is even and odd, respectively. If h = 3, the last algorithm achieves a 3/2-approximation ratio, matching the inapproximability. In Chapter 3, we study MaxPkVC. Let G = (V, E) be a simple undirected graph, where V and E denote the set of vertices and the set of edges, respectively. A path of length k - 1 is called a k-path. If a k-path Pk contains a vertex v in a vertex set S, then we say that the vertex v or the set S covers Pk. Given a graph G and an integer s, the goal of MaxPkVC is to find a vertex subset S of size at most s such that the number of k-paths covered by S is maximized. Given a graph G, MinPkVC problem, a minimization version of MaxPkVC, is to find a minimum vertex subset of G such that it covers all the k-paths of G. A great focus has been on MinPkVC since it was introduced in 2011, and it is known that MinPkVC has an application for maintaining the security of a network. MinVC is a classical, very famous problem in this field such that it seeks to find a minimum vertex subset to cover all the 2-paths, i.e., the edges of the graph. Also, its maximization version, MaxVC, is well studied. One can see that MaxPkVC is a generalized problem of MaxVC since MaxVC is a special case of MaxPkVC, in the case where k = 2. MaxPkVC, for example, has an application when we would like to cover as many areas as possible with a restricted amount of budget. First, we show that MaxP3VC (MaxP4VC, resp.) is NP-hard on split graphs (chordal graphs, resp.). Then, we show that MaxP3VC is in FPT with respect to the combined parameter s + tw, where s and tw are the prescribed size of 3-path vertex cover and treewidth parameter, respectively. Treewidth is a well-known graph parameter, and it defines a tree-likeness of a graph; see Chapter 3. Our algorithm runs in O((s + 1)2tw+4 ・ 4tw・n)-time, where |V| = n. In Chapter 4, we discuss k-PVCR. Let G = (V, E) be a simple graph. In a reconfiguration setting, two feasible solutions of a computational problem are given, along with a reconfiguration rule that describes an adjacency relation between solutions. A reconfiguration problem asks if one feasible solution can be transformed into the other via a sequence of adjacent feasible solutions where each intermediate member is obtained from its predecessor by applying the given reconfiguration rule exactly once. Such a sequence is called a reconfiguration sequence, if it exists. For any fixed integers k ≥ 2, given two distinct k-path vertex covers I and J of a graph G and a single reconfiguration rule, the goal of k-PVCR is to determine if there is a reconfiguration sequence between I and J. For the reconfiguration rule, we consider the following three well-known rules: Token Sliding (TS), Token Jumping (TJ), and Token Addition or Removal (TAR). For the precise descriptions of each rule, refer to Chapter 4. The reconfiguration variant of MinVC (called VCR) has been well studied; the goal of our study is to find the difference between VCR and k-PVCR, such as the difference of the computational complexity on graph subclasses, and to design polynomial-time algorithms. We can again see that k-PVCR is a generalized problem of VCR, since VCR is a special case of k-PVCR if k = 2. First, we confirm that several hardness results for VCR remain true for k-PVCR; we show the PSPACE-completeness of k-PVCR on general graphs under each rule TS, TJ, and TAR using a reduction from a variant of VCR. As our reduction preserves some nice graph properties, we claim that the hardness results for VCR on several graphs (planar graphs, bounded bandwidth graphs, chordal graphs, bipartite graphs) can be converted into those for k-PVCR. Using another reduction, we moreover show that k-PVCR remains PSPACE-complete even on planar graphs of bounded bandwith and maximum degree 3. On the other hand, we design polynomial-time algorithms for k-PVCR on trees (under each of TJ and TAR), paths and cycles (under each reconfiguration rule). Furthermore, on paths, our algorithm constructs a shortest reconfiguration sequence. In Chapter 5, we investigate MinPC (MaxPC), especially the (in)tractabilities of MinPC. Given a graph G = (V, E), a collection P of vertex disjoint paths is called a path cover on G if every vertex v ⋲ V is in exactly one path of P. The goal of path cover problem (PC for short) is to find a path cover with the minimum number of paths on G. As a generalized variant of PC, we introduce MinPC (MaxPC) as follows: Let U = {0, 1,...,n-1} denote a set of path lengths. Given a graph G = (V, E) and a cost (profit) function f : U → R ⋃ {+∞, -∞}, which defines a cost (profit) for each path in its length, find a path cover P of G such that the total cost (profit) of the paths in P is minimized (maximized). Let L be a subset of U. We denote the set of paths of length l ⋲ L as PL. We, especially, consider MinPC whose cost function is f(l) = 1 if l ⋲ L; otherwise f(l) = 0. The problem is denoted by MinPLPC and is to find a path cover with the minimum number of paths with length l ⋲ L. We can also define the problem MaxPLPC with f(l) = l + 1, if l ⋲ L, and f(l) = 0, otherwise. Note that several classical problems can be seen as special cases of MinPC or MaxPC. For example, Hamiltonian Path Problem (to seek a single path visiting every vertex exactly once) and Maximum Matching Problem are equivalent to MinP{n-1}PC and MaxP{1}PC, respectively. It is known that MinP{0}PC and MinP{0, 1}PC with the same cost function as ours can be solved in polynomial time. First, we show that MinP{0, 1, 2}PC is NP-hard on planar bipartite graphs with maximum degree three, reduced from Planar 3-SAT. Our reduction also shows that there exist no approximation algorithms for MinP{0, 1, 2}PC unless P = NP. As a positive result, we show that MinP{0,...,k}PC for any fixed integers k can be solved in polynomial time on graphs with bounded treewidth. Specifically, our algorithm runs in O(42W ・W2W+2 ・ (k + 2)2W+2 ・ n)-time, assuming we are given an n-vertex graph of width at most W with its tree decomposition. Finally, a conclusion of this dissertation and open problems are given in Chapter 6.九州工業大学博士学位論文 学位記番号：情工博甲第355号 学位授与年月日：令和3年3月25日1 Introduction|2 Minimum Block Transfer problem|3 Maximum k-Path Vertex Cover problem|4 k-Path Vertex Cover Reconfiguration problem|5 Minimum (Maximum) Weighted Path Cover problem|6 Conclusion and Open Problems九州工業大学令和2年