Models of greedy algorithms for graph problems

We study various optimization problems in t-subtree graphs, the intersection graphs of t-subtrees, where a t-subtree is the union of t disjoint subtrees of some tree. This graph class generalizes both the class of chordal graphs and the class of t-interval graphs, a generalization of interval graphs that has recently been studied from a combinatorial optimization point of view. We present approximation algorithms for the Maximum Independent Set, Minimum Coloring, Minimum Vertex Cover, Minimum Dominating Set, and Maximum Clique problems in t-subtree graphs.

Approximating the dense set-cover problem

Multiple-interval graphs are a natural generalization of interval graphs where each vertex may have more then one interval associated with it. We initiate the study of optimization problems in multiple-interval graphs by considering three classical problems: MINIMUM VERTEX COVER, MINIMUM DOMINATING SET, and MAXIMUM CLIQUE. We describe applications for each one of these problems, and then proceed to discuss approximation algorithms for them. Our results can be summarized as follows: Let t be the number of intervals associated with each vertex in a given multiple-interval graph. For MINIMUM VERTEX COVER, we give a (2--1/t)-approximation algorithm which equals the best known ratio for 2t--1 bounded degree graphs. Since these graphs are known to be included in multiple-interval graphs with t intervals associated to each vertex, this ratio is in some sense tight. Following this, we give a t2-approximation algorithm for MINIMUM DOMINATING SET which adapts well to more general variants of the problem. We then proceed to prove that MAXIMUM CLIQUE is NP-complete for the case of t = 3, and provide a (t2--t+1)/2-approximation algorithm for the problem, using recent bounds proven for the so-called transversal number of t-interval families.

This paper proposes a parallel shortest path-searching algorithm and implements it on a newly structured parallel reconfigurable processor, DAPDNA-2 (IPFlex Inc). Routing determines the shortest paths from the source to the ultimate destination through intermediate nodes. In open shortest path first (OSPF), Dijkstra's shortest path algorithm, which is the conventional one, finds the shortest paths from the source on a program counter-based processor. The calculation time for Dijkstra's algorithm is O(N <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> ) when the number of nodes is N. When the network scale is large, calculation time required by Dijkstra's algorithm increases rapidly. It's very difficult to compute Dijkstra's algorithm in parallel because of the need for previous calculation results, so Dijkstra's algorithm is unsuitable for parallel processors. Our proposed scheme finds the shortest paths using a simultaneous multi-path search method. In contrast with Dijkstra's algorithm, several nodes can be determined at one time. Moreover, we partition the network into different groups (network groups) and find the all-node pair's shortest path in each group using a pipeline operation. Networks can be abstracted, and the shortest paths in very large networks can be found easily. The proposed scheme can decrease calculation time from O(N <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> ) to O(N) using a pipeline operation on DAPDNA-2. Our simulations show that the proposed algorithm uses 99.6% less calculation time than Dijkstra's algorithm. The proposed algorithm can be applied to the very large Internet network designs of the future.

Consider the following problem: given a metric space, some of whose points are ``clients,'' select a set of at most $k$ facility locations to minimize the average distance from the clients to their nearest facility. This is just the well-studied $k$-median problem, for which many approximation algorithms and hardness results are known. Note that the objective function encourages opening facilities in areas where there are many clients, and given a solution, it is often possible to get a good idea of where the clients are located. This raises the following quandary: what if the locations of the clients are sensitive information that we would like to keep private? emph{Is it even possible to design good algorithms for this problem that preserve the privacy of the clients?} In this paper, we initiate a systematic study of algorithms for discrete optimization problems in the framework of differential privacy (which formalizes the idea of protecting the privacy of individual input elements). We show that many such problems indeed have good approximation algorithms that preserve differential privacy; this is even in cases where it is impossible to preserve cryptographic definitions of privacy while computing any non-trivial approximation to even the emph{value} of an optimal solution, let alone the entire solution. Apart from the $k$-median problem, we consider the problems of vertex and set cover, min-cut, facility location, and Steiner tree, and give approximation algorithms and lower bounds for these problems. We also consider the recently introduced submodular maximization problem, ``Combinatorial Public Projects'' (CPP), shown by Papadimitriou et al. cite{PSS08} to be inapproximable to subpolynomial multiplicative factors by any efficient and emph{truthful} algorithm. We give a differentially private (and hence approximately truthful) algorithm that achieves a logarithmic additive approximation. Joint work with Anupam Gupta, Katrina Ligett, Frank McSherry and Aaron Roth.

One of the key issues in providing end-to-end quality of service (QoS) guarantees in today's networks is how to determine a feasible route that satisfies a set of constraints. In general, finding a path subject to multiple constraints is an NP-complete problem that cannot be exactly solved in polynomial time. Accordingly, several heuristics and approximation algorithms have been proposed for this problem. Many of these algorithms suffer from either excessive computational cost or low performance. In this paper, we propose a fuzzy-logic based algorithm for finding a bandwidth-delay-constrained path by Dijkstra's shortest path algorithm. The main objective of Fuzzy QOS Routing Algorithm (FQRA) is to reduce packet loss and increase overall network utilization. To achieve this objective, the algorithm at First, eliminates all links with a bandwidth less than the requirement so that any paths in the resulting graph will satisfy the bandwidth constraint. Then, a new single parameter with the aid of Fuzzy Logic is generated from inputs bandwidth and delay. The Shortest path calculated by Dijkstra's algorithm based on new metric. Simulation results show that FQRA outperforms several earlier algorithms in terms of overall network utilization and packet loss. The worst-case computational complexity of this algorithm is within a logarithmic number of calls to Dijkstra's shortest path algorithm, equal with O(n2) for a network graph with n nodes.

In this paper we consider the decremental single-source shortest paths (SSSP) problem, where given a graph G and a source node s the goal is to maintain shortest paths between s and all other nodes in G under a sequence of online adversarial edge deletions. In their seminal work, Even and Shiloach [JACM 1981] presented an exact solution to the problem with only O(mn) total update time over all edge deletions. Their classic algorithm was the best known result for the decremental SSSP problem for three decades, even when approximate shortest paths are allowed. The first improvement over the Even-Shiloach algorithm was given by Bernstein and Roditty [SODA 2011], who for the case of an unweighted and undirected graph presented an approximate (1+) algorithm with constant query time and a total update time of O(n2+O(1/√logn)). This work triggered a series of new results, culminating in a recent breakthrough of Henzinger, Krinninger and Nanongkai [FOCS 14], who presented a -approximate algorithm whose total update time is near linear O(m1+ O(1/√logn)). In this paper they posed as a major open problem the question of derandomizing their result. In fact, all known improvements over the Even-Shiloach algorithm are randomized. All these algorithms maintain some truncated shortest path trees from a small subset of nodes. While in the randomized setting it is possible to “hide” these nodes from the adversary, in the deterministic setting this is impossible: the adversary can delete all edges touching these nodes, thus forcing the algorithm to choose a new set of nodes and incur a new computation of shortest paths. In this paper we present the first deterministic decremental SSSP algorithm that breaks the Even-Shiloach bound of O(mn) total update time, for unweighted and undirected graphs. Our algorithm is (1 + є) approximate and achieves a total update time of O(n2). Our algorithm can also achieve the same bounds in the incremental setting. It is worth mentioning that for dense instances where m = Ω(n2 − 1/√log(n)), our algorithm is also faster than all existing randomized algorithms.

A new algorithm is proposed for calculating the approximate shortest path on a polyhedral surface. The method mainly uses Dijkstra's algorithm and is based on selective refinement of the discrete graph of a polyhedron. Although the algorithm is an approximation, it has the significant advantages of being fast, easy to implement, high approximation accuracy, and numerically robust. The approximation accuracy and computation time are compared between this approximation algorithm and the extended Chen and Han (1990) (ECH) algorithm that can calculate the exact shortest path for non-convex polyhedra. The approximation algorithm can calculate shortest paths within 0.4% accuracy to roughly 100-1000 times faster than the ECH algorithm in our examples. Two applications are discussed of the approximation algorithm to geometric modeling.

Many of the currently best-known approximation algorithms for NP-hard optimization problems are based on Linear Programming (LP) and Semi-definite Programming (SDP) relaxations. Given its power, this class of algorithms seems to contain the most favourable candidates for outperforming the current state-of-the-art approximation guarantees for NP-hard problems, for which there still exists a gap between the inapproximability results and the approximation guarantees that we know how to achieve in polynomial time. In this thesis, we address both the power and the limitations of these relaxations, as well as the connection between the shortcomings of these relaxations and the inapproximability of the underlying problem. In the first part, we study the limitations of LP relaxations of well-known graph problems such as the Vertex Cover problem and the Independent Set problem. We prove that any small LP relaxation for the aforementioned problems, cannot have an integrality gap strictly better than $2$ and $\omega(1)$, respectively. Furthermore, our lower bound for the Independent Set problem also holds for any SDP relaxation. Prior to our work, it was only known that such LP relaxations cannot have an integrality gap better than $1.5$ for the Vertex Cover Problem, and better than $2$ for the Independent Set problem. In the second part, we study the so-called knapsack cover inequalities that are used in the current best relaxations for numerous combinatorial optimization problems of covering type. In spite of their widespread use, these inequalities yield LP relaxations of exponential size, over which it is not known how to optimize exactly in polynomial time. We address this issue and obtain LP relaxations of quasi-polynomial size that are at least as strong as that given by the knapsack cover inequalities. In the last part, we show a close connection between structural hardness for k-partite graphs and tight inapproximability results for scheduling problems with precedence constraints. This connection is inspired by a family of integrality gap instances of a certain LP relaxation. Assuming the hardness of an optimization problem on k-partite graphs, we obtain a hardness of $2-\varepsilon$ for the problem of minimizing the makespan for scheduling with preemption on identical parallel machines, and a super constant inapproximability for the problem of scheduling on related parallel machines. Prior to this result, it was only known that the first problem does not admit a PTAS, and the second problem is NP-hard to approximate within a factor strictly better than 2, assuming the Unique Games Conjecture.

In this paper, some basic traffic management problems in future mobile communications networks are considered: thechannel minimization problem and themaximum channel reuse problem. These are formulated as mathematical optimization problems in a bipartite graph. We prove the intractability of these problems and discuss relations to well-known graph optimization problems as, for example, vertex coloring. Simple and fast heuristic methods for finding reasonable solutions to the problems mentioned above are presented. Results from computational work using these heuristics on simulated traffic are also given.

Approximation algorithm for squared metric facility location problem with nonuniform capacities

&lt;span lang="EN-US"&gt;This research focuses on the k-center problem and its applications. Different methods for solving this problem are analyzed. The implementations of an exact algorithm and of an approximate algorithm are presented. The source code and the computation complexity of these algorithms are presented and analyzed. The multitasking mode of the operating system is taken into account considering the execution time of the algorithms. The results show that the approximate algorithm finds solutions that are not worse than two times optimal. In some case these solutions are very close to the optimal solutions, but this is true only for graphs with a smaller number of nodes. As the number of nodes in the graph increases (respectively the number of edges increases), the approximate solutions deviate from the optimal ones, but remain acceptable. These results give reason to conclude that for graphs with a small number of nodes the approximate algorithm finds comparable solutions with those founds by the exact algorithm.&lt;/span&gt;

Steiner tree problem (STP) in graphs aims to find a tree of minimum weight in the graph that connects a given set of vertices. It is a classic NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem and has many applications in real world. Many approximate algorithms have been developed for STP, but they suffer from high computational complexity and weak worst-case solution guarantees, respectively. Heuristic algorithms are also developed. But each of them requires application domain knowledge to design and is only suitable for specific scenarios. In this paper, we design a novel framework Cherrypick based on novel graph embedding and deep reinforcement learning to tackle the STP. Given an STP instance, Cherrypick uses this embedding to encode its path-related information and sends the encoded graph to a deep reinforcement learning component based on deep Q network (DQN) to find solutions. We implement the Cherrypick and demonstrate its efficacy and efficiency with extensive experiments using real-world and synthetic datasets.

Improved Approximation Algorithms for Optimization Problems in Graphs with Superlogarithmic Treewidth

This thesis proposes an algorithm that involves Dijkstra's algorithm to solve the Single Source Shortest Path Problem in a graph where the length of each edge is positive, and the specific case where there is a distinct number of possible lengths. Given a graph where there are n vertices, m edges, and K distinct edge lengths, the proposed algorithm runs in O(m ) time if nK ≤ 2m and O(m log nKm ) time if nK > 2m. The algorithm is tested and compared with some of the fastest algorithms for the Single Source Shortest Path Problem for graphs with arbitrary lengths. The results verify the theoretical conclusions that the proposed algorithm is better, in the case where K is small, than the compared algorithms that did not take advantage of having few distinct edge lengths.