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arXiv · 2609.11621

A Reusable Framework for Robust Approximation Algorithms in the Interval Uncertainty Model

Klasing Ralf·Mömke Tobias·Naquin Émile
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Abstract

Robust optimization under interval uncertainty aims to compute solutions that perform well on a range of scenarios that are described by interval-constrained costs. In this paper, we revisit a framework introduced by Ganesh, Maggs and Panigrahi in 2020 to study the robust optimization of NP-hard problems under interval uncertainty. We start by generalizing a result in the $\ell=0$ case, which transforms a category of approximation algorithms into a robust approximation algorithm. Furthermore, in the general case, we provide a theorem that turns any local search-based approximation algorithm into a robust approximation algorithm under three newly formalized conditions over the moves of the local search algorithm. We then use this result to present the first robust approximation algorithm for Weighted $k$-Set Cover, the third NP-hard problem known to admit a robust approximation, and the first since the publication of Ganesh, Maggs and Panigrahi's paper.

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Klasing Ralf, Mömke Tobias, Naquin Émile. 2026-09-10. A Reusable Framework for Robust Approximation Algorithms in the Interval Uncertainty Model. https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.11621

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