3,149 research outputs found
A continued fraction generator for smooth pulse sequences
Digital circuit produces rational output pulse rate at fraction of continuous input pulse rate. Output pulses have average rate with least possible deviation from absolute correct time spacing. Circuit uses include frequency synthesizing, fraction generation, and approximation of irrational sequences
Improved Algorithms for Decremental Single-Source Reachability on Directed Graphs
Recently we presented the first algorithm for maintaining the set of nodes
reachable from a source node in a directed graph that is modified by edge
deletions with total update time, where is the number of edges and
is the number of nodes in the graph [Henzinger et al. STOC 2014]. The
algorithm is a combination of several different algorithms, each for a
different vs. trade-off. For the case of the
running time is , just barely below . In
this paper we simplify the previous algorithm using new algorithmic ideas and
achieve an improved running time of . This gives,
e.g., for the notorious case . We obtain the
same upper bounds for the problem of maintaining the strongly connected
components of a directed graph undergoing edge deletions. Our algorithms are
correct with high probabililty against an oblivious adversary.Comment: This paper was presented at the International Colloquium on Automata,
Languages and Programming (ICALP) 2015. A full version combining the findings
of this paper and its predecessor [Henzinger et al. STOC 2014] is available
at arXiv:1504.0795
Bid Optimization in Broad-Match Ad auctions
Ad auctions in sponsored search support ``broad match'' that allows an
advertiser to target a large number of queries while bidding only on a limited
number. While giving more expressiveness to advertisers, this feature makes it
challenging to optimize bids to maximize their returns: choosing to bid on a
query as a broad match because it provides high profit results in one bidding
for related queries which may yield low or even negative profits.
We abstract and study the complexity of the {\em bid optimization problem}
which is to determine an advertiser's bids on a subset of keywords (possibly
using broad match) so that her profit is maximized. In the query language model
when the advertiser is allowed to bid on all queries as broad match, we present
an linear programming (LP)-based polynomial-time algorithm that gets the
optimal profit. In the model in which an advertiser can only bid on keywords,
ie., a subset of keywords as an exact or broad match, we show that this problem
is not approximable within any reasonable approximation factor unless P=NP. To
deal with this hardness result, we present a constant-factor approximation when
the optimal profit significantly exceeds the cost. This algorithm is based on
rounding a natural LP formulation of the problem. Finally, we study a budgeted
variant of the problem, and show that in the query language model, one can find
two budget constrained ad campaigns in polynomial time that implement the
optimal bidding strategy. Our results are the first to address bid optimization
under the broad match feature which is common in ad auctions.Comment: World Wide Web Conference (WWW09), 10 pages, 2 figure
Subset feedback vertex set is fixed parameter tractable
The classical Feedback Vertex Set problem asks, for a given undirected graph
G and an integer k, to find a set of at most k vertices that hits all the
cycles in the graph G. Feedback Vertex Set has attracted a large amount of
research in the parameterized setting, and subsequent kernelization and
fixed-parameter algorithms have been a rich source of ideas in the field.
In this paper we consider a more general and difficult version of the
problem, named Subset Feedback Vertex Set (SUBSET-FVS in short) where an
instance comes additionally with a set S ? V of vertices, and we ask for a set
of at most k vertices that hits all simple cycles passing through S. Because of
its applications in circuit testing and genetic linkage analysis SUBSET-FVS was
studied from the approximation algorithms perspective by Even et al.
[SICOMP'00, SIDMA'00].
The question whether the SUBSET-FVS problem is fixed-parameter tractable was
posed independently by Kawarabayashi and Saurabh in 2009. We answer this
question affirmatively. We begin by showing that this problem is
fixed-parameter tractable when parametrized by |S|. Next we present an
algorithm which reduces the given instance to 2^k n^O(1) instances with the
size of S bounded by O(k^3), using kernelization techniques such as the
2-Expansion Lemma, Menger's theorem and Gallai's theorem. These two facts allow
us to give a 2^O(k log k) n^O(1) time algorithm solving the Subset Feedback
Vertex Set problem, proving that it is indeed fixed-parameter tractable.Comment: full version of a paper presented at ICALP'1
Dynamic Approximate All-Pairs Shortest Paths: Breaking the O(mn) Barrier and Derandomization
We study dynamic -approximation algorithms for the all-pairs
shortest paths problem in unweighted undirected -node -edge graphs under
edge deletions. The fastest algorithm for this problem is a randomized
algorithm with a total update time of and constant
query time by Roditty and Zwick [FOCS 2004]. The fastest deterministic
algorithm is from a 1981 paper by Even and Shiloach [JACM 1981]; it has a total
update time of and constant query time. We improve these results as
follows: (1) We present an algorithm with a total update time of and constant query time that has an additive error of
in addition to the multiplicative error. This beats the previous
time when . Note that the additive
error is unavoidable since, even in the static case, an -time
(a so-called truly subcubic) combinatorial algorithm with
multiplicative error cannot have an additive error less than ,
unless we make a major breakthrough for Boolean matrix multiplication [Dor et
al. FOCS 1996] and many other long-standing problems [Vassilevska Williams and
Williams FOCS 2010]. The algorithm can also be turned into a
-approximation algorithm (without an additive error) with the
same time guarantees, improving the recent -approximation
algorithm with running
time of Bernstein and Roditty [SODA 2011] in terms of both approximation and
time guarantees. (2) We present a deterministic algorithm with a total update
time of and a query time of . The
algorithm has a multiplicative error of and gives the first
improved deterministic algorithm since 1981. It also answers an open question
raised by Bernstein [STOC 2013].Comment: A preliminary version was presented at the 2013 IEEE 54th Annual
Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science (FOCS 2013
The relationship between two flavors of oblivious transfer at the quantum level
Though all-or-nothing oblivious transfer and one-out-of-two oblivious
transfer are equivalent in classical cryptography, we here show that due to the
nature of quantum cryptography, a protocol built upon secure quantum
all-or-nothing oblivious transfer cannot satisfy the rigorous definition of
quantum one-out-of-two oblivious transfer.Comment: 4 pages, no figur
Hitting Diamonds and Growing Cacti
We consider the following NP-hard problem: in a weighted graph, find a
minimum cost set of vertices whose removal leaves a graph in which no two
cycles share an edge. We obtain a constant-factor approximation algorithm,
based on the primal-dual method. Moreover, we show that the integrality gap of
the natural LP relaxation of the problem is \Theta(\log n), where n denotes the
number of vertices in the graph.Comment: v2: several minor changes
Intrusion Detection Systems for Community Wireless Mesh Networks
Wireless mesh networks are being increasingly used to provide affordable network connectivity to communities where wired deployment strategies are either not possible or are prohibitively expensive. Unfortunately, computer networks (including mesh networks) are frequently being exploited by increasingly profit-driven and insidious attackers, which can affect their utility for legitimate use. In response to this, a number of countermeasures have been developed, including intrusion detection systems that aim to detect anomalous behaviour caused by attacks. We present a set of socio-technical challenges associated with developing an intrusion detection system for a community wireless mesh network. The attack space on a mesh network is particularly large; we motivate the need for and describe the challenges of adopting an asset-driven approach to managing this space. Finally, we present an initial design of a modular architecture for intrusion detection, highlighting how it addresses the identified challenges
Electronic energy spectra and wave functions on the square Fibonacci tiling
We study the electronic energy spectra and wave functions on the square
Fibonacci tiling, using an off-diagonal tight-binding model, in order to
determine the exact nature of the transitions between different spectral
behaviors, as well as the scaling of the total bandwidth as it becomes finite.
The macroscopic degeneracy of certain energy values in the spectrum is invoked
as a possible mechanism for the emergence of extended electronic Bloch wave
functions as the dimension changes from one to two
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