A simple MAX-CUT algorithm for planar graphs

The max-cut problem asks for partitioning the nodes V of a graph G=(V,E) into two sets (one of which might be empty), such that the sum of weights of edges joining nodes in different partitions is maximum. Whereas for general instances the max-cut problem is NP-hard, it is polynomially solvable for certain classes of graphs. For planar graphs, there exist several polynomial-time methods determining maximum cuts for arbitrary choice of edge weights. Typically, the problem is solved by computing a minimum-weight perfect matching in some associated graph. In this work, we present a new and simple algorithm for determining maximum cuts for arbitrary weighted planar graphs. Its running time can be bounded by O(|V|^(1.5)log|V|), similar to the fastest known methods. However, our transformation yields a much smaller associated graph than that of the known methods. Furthermore, it can be computed fast. As the practical running time strongly depends on the size of the associated graph, it can be expected that our algorithm is considerably faster than the methods known in the literature. More specifically, our program can determine maximum cuts in huge realistic and random planar graphs with up to 10^6 nodes

A Note on the Complexity of Sliding Shortest Paths

We address a shortest path problem in a given uncapacited and undirected network N=(V,E) with positive edge costs. In addition we are given a single source-destination pair (s,t), a shortest path p{st} connecting s and t and a new edge e =(p,q). The task is to find a minimum number of edges Ec and the minimum weight increase for each edge e in Ec such that the shortest path p{st} between s and t traverses edge e. We show that the problem is NP-hard and give a heuristic scheme for the problem

A simple MAX-CUT algorithm for planar graphs

The max-cut problem asks for partitioning the nodes V of a graph G=(V,E) into two sets (one of which might be empty), such that the sum of weights of edges joining nodes in different partitions is maximum. Whereas for general instances the max-cut problem is NP-hard, it is polynomially solvable for certain classes of graphs. For planar graphs, there exist several polynomial-time methods determining maximum cuts for arbitrary choice of edge weights. Typically, the problem is solved by computing a minimum-weight perfect matching in some associated graph. In this work, we present a new and simple algorithm for determining maximum cuts for arbitrary weighted planar graphs. Its running time can be bounded by O(|V|^(1.5)log|V|), similar to the fastest known methods. However, our transformation yields a much smaller associated graph than that of the known methods. Furthermore, it can be computed fast. As the practical running time strongly depends on the size of the associated graph, it can be expected that our algorithm is considerably faster than the methods known in the literature. More specifically, our program can determine maximum cuts in huge realistic and random planar graphs with up to 10^6 nodes

A Note on the Complexity of Sliding Shortest Paths

We address a shortest path problem in a given uncapacited and undirected network N=(V,E) with positive edge costs. In addition we are given a single source-destination pair (s,t), a shortest path p{st} connecting s and t and a new edge e =(p,q). The task is to find a minimum number of edges Ec and the minimum weight increase for each edge e in Ec such that the shortest path p{st} between s and t traverses edge e. We show that the problem is NP-hard and give a heuristic scheme for the problem

Preprocessing Maximum Flow Algorithms

Maximum-flow problems occur in a wide range of applications. Although already well-studied, they are still an area of active research. The fastest available implementations for determining maximum flows in graphs are either based on augmenting-path or on push-relabel algorithms. In this work, we present two ingredients that, appropriately used, can considerably speed up these methods. On the one hand, we present flow-conserving conditions under which subgraphs can be contracted to a single node. These rules are in the same spirit as presented by Padberg and Rinaldi (Math. Programming (47), 1990) for the minimum cut problem in graphs. On the other hand, we propose a two-step max-flow algorithm for solving the problem on instances coming from physics and computer vision. In the two-step algorithm flow is first sent along augmenting paths of restricted lengths only. Starting from this flow, the problem is then solved to optimality using some known max-flow methods. By extensive experiments on random instances and on instances coming from applications in theoretical physics and in computer vision, we show that a suitable combination of the proposed techniques speeds up traditionally used methods

Partitioning planar graphs: a fast combinatorial approach for max-cut

The max-cut problem asks for partitioning the nodes V of a graph G=(V,E) into two sets (one of which might be empty), such that the sum of weights of edges joining nodes in different partitions is maximum. Whereas for general instances the max-cut problem is NP-hard, it is polynomially solvable for certain classes of graphs. For planar graphs, there exist several polynomial-time methods determining maximum cuts for arbitrary choice of edge weights. Typically, the problem is solved by computing a minimum-weight perfect matching in some associated graph. The most efficient known algorithms are those of Shih et al. and that of Berman et al. The running time of the former can be bounded by O(|V|^(3/2)log|V|). The latter algorithm is more generally for determining T-joins in graphs. Although it has a slightly larger bound on the running time of O(V{\ensuremath{|}}{\^{ }}(3/2)(log{\ensuremath{|}}V{\ensuremath{|}}){\^{ }}(3/2))alpha({\ensuremath{|}}V{\ensuremath{|}}), where alpha({\ensuremath{|}}V{\ensuremath{|}}) is the inverse Ackermann function, it can solve large instances in practice. In this work, we present a new and simple algorithm for determining maximum cuts for arbitrary weighted planar graphs. Its running time is bounded by O({\ensuremath{|}}V{\ensuremath{|}}{\^{ }}(3/2)log{\ensuremath{|}}V{\ensuremath{|}}), similar to the bound achieved by Shih et al. It can easily determine maximum cuts in huge random as well as real-world graphs with up to 10{\^{ }}6 nodes. We present experimental results for our method using two different matching implementations. We furthermore compare our approach with those of Shih et al. and Berman et al. It turns out that our algorithm is considerably faster in practice than the one by Shih et al. Moreover, it yields a much smaller associated graph. Its expanded graph size is comparable to that of Berman et al. However, whereas the procedure of generating the expanded graph in Berman et al. is very involved (thus needs a sophisticated implementation), implementing our approach is an easy and straightforward task

Via Minimization in VLSI Chip Design - Application of a Planar Max-Cut Algorithm

The design of very large scale integrated (VLSI) chips is an exciting area of applied discrete mathematics.Due to the intractability of the majority of the problems, and also due to the huge instance sizes, the design process is decomposed into various sub-problems. In this paper, for a given detailed routing solution, we revisit the assignment of layers to net segments. For connected metalized nets, a layer change is accomplished by a vertical interconnection area (via). We seek to minimize the use of these vias as vias not only reduce the electrical reliability and performance of the chip, but also decrease the manufacturing yield substantially. In the general case, the via minimization problem is NP-hard. However, it is known that the two layer via minimization problem can be solved as a maximum cut problem on a planar graph which is a polynomial task.The focus of this paper is to use this approach for modern real-world chips. From the roughly two dozen wiring layers present, we take two adjacent ones for the via minimization. As a core-routine, we use a fast maximum cut algorithm on planar graphs. For being able to use the solutions in practice, we integrate practically relevant design rule constraints at the expense of potentially using further vias. Thus, our solution satisfies the additional constraints present in actual current designs. The computational results show that our implementation is fast on real-world instances as it usually computes a solution within a few minutes CPU time only. Moreover, often a considerable amount of vias can be saved

Via Minimization in VLSI Chip Design - Application of a Planar Max-Cut Algorithm

The design of very large scale integrated (VLSI) chips is an exciting area of applied discrete mathematics.Due to the intractability of the majority of the problems, and also due to the huge instance sizes, the design process is decomposed into various sub-problems. In this paper, for a given detailed routing solution, we revisit the assignment of layers to net segments. For connected metalized nets, a layer change is accomplished by a vertical interconnection area (via). We seek to minimize the use of these vias as vias not only reduce the electrical reliability and performance of the chip, but also decrease the manufacturing yield substantially. In the general case, the via minimization problem is NP-hard. However, it is known that the two layer via minimization problem can be solved as a maximum cut problem on a planar graph which is a polynomial task.The focus of this paper is to use this approach for modern real-world chips. From the roughly two dozen wiring layers present, we take two adjacent ones for the via minimization. As a core-routine, we use a fast maximum cut algorithm on planar graphs. For being able to use the solutions in practice, we integrate practically relevant design rule constraints at the expense of potentially using further vias. Thus, our solution satisfies the additional constraints present in actual current designs. The computational results show that our implementation is fast on real-world instances as it usually computes a solution within a few minutes CPU time only. Moreover, often a considerable amount of vias can be saved

Simplifying maximum flow computations: The effect of shrinking and good initial flows

Maximum flow problems occur in a wide range of applications. Although already well studied, they are still an area of active research. The fastest available implementations for determining maximum flows in graphs are either based on augmenting path or on push-relabel algorithms. In this work, we present two ingredients that, appropriately used, can considerably speed up these methods. On the theoretical side, we present flow-conserving conditions under which subgraphs can be contracted to a single vertex. These rules are in the same spirit as presented by Padberg and Rinaldi (1990) [12] for the minimum cut problem in graphs. These rules allow the reduction of known worst-case instances for different maximum flow algorithms to equivalent trivial instances. On the practical side, we propose a two-step max-flow algorithm for solving the problem on instances coming from physics and computer vision. In the two-step algorithm, flow is first sent along augmenting paths of restricted lengths only. Starting from this flow, the problem is then solved to optimality using some known max-flow methods. By extensive experiments on instances coming from applications in theoretical physics and computer vision, we show that a suitable combination of the proposed techniques speeds up traditionally used methods. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved