Fast Sparse Matrix Multiplication

Abstract

Let A and B two n n matrices over a ring R (e.g., the reals or the integers) each containing at most m non-zero elements. We present a new algorithm that multiplies A and B using O(m ) algebraic operations (i.e., multiplications, additions and subtractions) over R. The naive matrix multiplication algorithm, on the other hand, may need to perform #(mn) operations to accomplish the same task. For , the new algorithm performs an almost optimal number of only n operations. For m the new algorithm is also faster than the best known matrix multiplication algorithm for dense matrices which uses O(n ) algebraic operations. The new algorithm is obtained using a surprisingly straightforward combination of a simple combinatorial idea and existing fast rectangular matrix multiplication algorithms. We also obtain improved algorithms for the multiplication of more than two sparse matrices