arXiv subjects

Jean-Lou De Carufel

Publications and source records attributed to Jean-Lou De Carufel.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Minimum Sum Vertex Cover via Minimum Vertex Cover

The Minimum Sum Vertex Cover (MSVC) problem asks for an ordering of the vertices of a graph that minimizes the sum, over all edges, of the time at which each edge is first covered. We study the problem through the structure of vertex covers and obtain new approximation and exact algorithms, together with conditional lower bounds. For graphs of maximum degree $Δ$, we show that a simple ordering algorithm based on a minimum vertex cover achieves approximation ratio $R_Δ\le {(\sqrtΔ+1)}/{2}$. For $d$-regular graphs, we give a polynomial-time $1.184$-approximation by combining Max-$k$-Vertex-Cover approximation with a structural bound on optimal prefixes. On the exact side, we give an algorithm parameterized by the vertex cover number $k$ running in $2^{O(k\log k)} + O(n+m)$ time, improving the previous dependence on $k$, where $n$ and $m$ are the number of vertices and edges in the graph, respectively. We also develop a separator-based exact algorithm running in $ 2^{O(\sqrt n \log n)}$ time on planar, bounded-genus, and fixed-minor-free graph classes. Finally, we prove that Minimum Sum Vertex Cover is NP-hard on planar graphs and, assuming ETH, admits no $2^{o(\sqrt n)}$-time exact algorithm on $n$-vertex planar graphs. Thus our planar upper bound is tight up to logarithmic factors in the exponent.

cs.DS↗

arXiv2026

Closest Pair Queries in Vertical Slabs and Tight Bounds on the Number of Possible Answers

Let $S$ be a set of $n$ points in $\mathbb{R}^d$, where $d \geq 2$ is a constant, and let $H_1,H_2,\ldots,H_{m+1}$ be a sequence of vertical hyperplanes that are sorted by their first coordinates, such that exactly $n/m$ points of $S$ are between any two successive hyperplanes. Let $A(S,m)$ be the set of different closest pairs in the ${{m+1} \choose 2}$ vertical slabs that are bounded by $H_i$ and $H_j$, over all $1 \leq i < j \leq m+1$. We prove tight bounds for the largest possible size of $A(S,m)$, over all point sets of size $n$, and for all values of $1 \leq m \leq n$. As a result of these bounds, we obtain, for any constant $ε>0$, a data structure of size $O(n)$, such that for any vertical query slab $Q$, the closest pair in the set $Q \cap S$ can be reported in $O(n^{1/2+ε})$ time. Prior to this work, no linear space data structure with sublinear query time was known.

cs.CG↗

arXiv2026

The Spanning Ratio of the Directed $Θ_6$-Graph is 5

Given a finite set $P\subset\mathbb{R}^2$, the directed Theta-6 graph, denoted $\vecΘ_6(P)$, is a well-studied geometric graph due to its close relationship with the Delaunay triangulation. The $\vecΘ_6(P)$-graph is defined as follows: the plane around each point $u\in P$ is partitioned into $6$ equiangular cones with apex $u$, and in each cone, $u$ is joined to the point whose projection on the bisector of the cone is closest. Equivalently, the $\vecΘ_6(P)$-graph contains an edge from $u$ to $v$ exactly when the interior of $\nabla_u^v$ is disjoint from $P$, where $\nabla_u^v$ is the unique equilateral triangle containing $u$ on a corner, $v$ on the opposite side, and whose sides are parallel to the cone boundaries. It was previously shown that the spanning ratio of the $\vecΘ_6(P)$-graph is between $4$ and $7$ in the worst case (Akitaya, Biniaz, and Bose \emph{Comput. Geom.}, 105-106:101881, 2022). We close this gap by showing a tight spanning ratio of 5. This is the first tight bound proven for the spanning ratio of any $\vecΘ_k(P)$-graph. Our lower bound models a long path by mapping it to a converging series. Our upper bound proof uses techniques novel to the area of spanners. We use linear programming to prove that among several candidate paths, there exists a path satisfying our bound.

cs.CG↗

arXiv2025

Noncrossing Longest Paths and Cycles

Edge crossings in geometric graphs are sometimes undesirable as they could lead to unwanted situations such as collisions in motion planning and inconsistency in VLSI layout. Short geometric structures such as shortest perfect matchings, shortest spanning trees, shortest spanning paths, and shortest spanning cycles on a given point set are inherently noncrossing. However, the longest such structures need not be noncrossing. In fact, it is intuitive to expect many edge crossings in various geometric graphs that are longest. Recently, Álvarez-Rebollar, Cravioto-Lagos, Marín, Solé-Pi, and Urrutia (Graphs and Combinatorics, 2024) constructed a set of points for which the longest perfect matching is noncrossing. They raised several challenging questions in this direction. In particular, they asked whether the longest spanning path, on any finite set of points in the plane, must have a pair of crossing edges. They also conjectured that the longest spanning cycle must have a pair of crossing edges. In this paper, we give a negative answer to the question and also refute the conjecture. We present a framework for constructing arbitrarily large point sets for which the longest perfect matchings, the longest spanning paths, and the longest spanning cycles are noncrossing.

cs.CG↗

arXiv2025

So Long Sucker: Endgame Analysis

So Long Sucker is a strategy board game that requires 4 players, each with $c$ chips of their designated color, and a board made of $k$ empty piles. With a clear set-up comes intricate rules, such as: players taking turns but not in a fixed order, agreements made between some players broken at any time, or a player winning the game without any chips in hand. One of the main points of interest in studying this game is finding when a player has a winning strategy. The game begins with four players who get successively eliminated until only the winner is left. To study winning strategies, it is of interest to look at endgame situations. For that, we study the following game set-up: there are two players left in the game, Blue and Red, with only their respective chip colors. In this paper, we characterize Blue's winning scenarios and strategies for this game set-up through a delicate case analysis.

math.CO↗

arXiv2025

Metric and Geometric Spanners that are Resilient to Degree-Bounded Edge Faults

Let $H$ be an edge-weighted graph, and let $G$ be a subgraph of $H$. We say that $G$ is an $f$-fault-tolerant $t$-spanner for $H$, if the following is true for any subset $F$ of at most $f$ edges of $G$: For any two vertices $p$ and $q$, the shortest-path distance between $p$ and $q$ in the graph $G \setminus F$ is at most $t$ times the shortest-path distance between $p$ and $q$ in the graph $H \setminus F$. Recently, Bodwin, Haeupler, and Parter generalized this notion to the case when $F$ can be any set of edges in $G$, as long as the maximum degree of $F$ is at most $f$. They gave constructions for general graphs $H$. We first consider the case when $H$ is a complete graph whose vertex set is an arbitrary metric space. We show that if this metric space contains a $t$-spanner with $m$ edges, then it also contains a graph $G$ with $O(fm)$ edges, that is resilient to edge faults of maximum degree $f$ and has stretch factor $O(ft)$. Next, we consider the case when $H$ is a complete graph whose vertex set is a metric space that admits a well-separated pair decomposition. We show that, if the metric space has such a decomposition of size $m$, then it contains a graph with at most $(2f+1)^2 m$ edges, that is resilient to edge faults of maximum degree $f$ and has stretch factor at most $1+\varepsilon$, for any given $\varepsilon > 0$. For example, if the vertex set is a set of $n$ points in $\mathbb{R}^d$ ($d$ being a constant) or a set of $n$ points in a metric space of bounded doubling dimension, then the spanner has $O(f^2 n)$ edges. Finally, for the case when $H$ is a complete graph on $n$ points in $\mathbb{R}^d$, we show how natural variants of the Yao- and $Θ$-graphs lead to graphs with $O(fn)$ edges, that are resilient to edge faults of maximum degree $f$ and have stretch factor at most $1+\varepsilon$, for any given $\varepsilon > 0$.

cs.CG↗

arXiv2025

An Improved Bound for Plane Covering Paths

A covering path for a finite set $P$ of points in the plane is a polygonal path such that every point of $P$ lies on a segment of the path. The vertices of the path need not be at points of $P$. A covering path is plane if its segments do not cross each other. Let $π(n)$ be the minimum number such that every set of $n$ points in the plane admits a plane covering path with at most $π(n)$ segments. We prove that $π(n)\le \lceil6n/7\rceil$. This improves the previous best-known upper bound of $\lceil 21n/22\rceil$, due to Biniaz (SoCG 2023). Our proof is constructive and yields a simple $O(n\log n)$-time algorithm for computing a plane covering path.

cs.CG↗

arXiv2025

Tight Routing and Spanning Ratios of Arbitrary Triangle Delaunay Graphs

A Delaunay graph built on a planar point set has an edge between two vertices when there exists a disk with the two vertices on its boundary and no vertices in its interior. When the disk is replaced with an equilateral triangle, the resulting graph is known as a Triangle-Distance Delaunay Graph or TD-Delaunay for short. A generalized $\text{TD}_{θ_1,θ_2}$-Delaunay graph is a TD-Delaunay graph whose empty region is a scaled translate of a triangle with angles of $θ_1,θ_2,θ_3:=π-θ_1-θ_2$ with $θ_1\leqθ_2\leqθ_3$. We prove that $\frac{1}{\sin(θ_1/2)}$ is a lower bound on the spanning ratio of these graphs which matches the best known upper bound (Lubiw & Mondal, J. Graph Algorithms Appl., 23(2):345-369). Then we provide an online local routing algorithm for $\text{TD}_{θ_1,θ_2}$-Delaunay graphs with a routing ratio that is optimal in the worst case. When $θ_1=θ_2=\fracπ{3}$, our expressions for the spanning ratio and routing ratio evaluate to $2$ and $\frac{\sqrt{5}}{3}$, matching the known tight bounds for TD-Delaunay graphs.

cs.CG↗

arXiv2025

On Separating Path and Tree Systems in Graphs

We explore the concept of separating systems of vertex sets of graphs. A separating system of a set $X$ is a collection of subsets of $X$ such that for any pair of distinct elements in $X$, there exists a set in the separating system that contains exactly one of the two elements. A separating system of the vertex set of a graph $G$ is called a vertex-separating path (tree) system of $G$ if the elements of the separating system are paths (trees) in the graph $G$. In this paper, we focus on the size of the smallest vertex-separating path (tree) system for different types of graphs, including trees, grids, and maximal outerplanar graphs.

cs.DM↗

arXiv2025

Polychromatic Coloring of Tuples in Hypergraphs

A hypergraph $H$ consists of a set $V$ of vertices and a set $E$ of hyperedges that are subsets of $V$. A $t$-tuple of $H$ is a subset of $t$ vertices of $V$. A $t$-tuple $k$-coloring of $H$ is a mapping of its $t$-tuples into $k$ colors. A coloring is called $(t,k,f)$-polychromatic if each hyperedge of $E$ that has at least $f$ vertices contains tuples of all the $k$ colors. Let $f_H(t,k)$ be the minimum $f$ such that $H$ has a $(t,k,f)$-polychromatic coloring. For a family of hypergraphs $\cal{H}$ let $f_{\cal{H}}(t,k)$ be the maximum $f_H(t,k)$ over all hypergraphs $H$ in $\cal{H}$. We present several bounds on $f_{\cal{H}}(t,k)$ for $t\ge 2$. - Let $\cal{H}$ be the family of hypergraphs $H$ that is obtained by taking any set $P$ of points in $\Re^2$, setting $V:=P$ and $E:=\{d\cap P\colon d\text{ is a disk in }\Re^2\}$. We prove that $f_\cal{H}(2,k)\le 3.7^k$, that is, the pairs of points (2-tuples) can be $k$-colored such that any disk containing at least $3.7^k$ points has pairs of all colors. - For the family $\mathcal{H}$ of shrinkable hypergraphs of VC-dimension at most $d$ we prove that $ f_\cal{H}(d{+}1,k) \leq c^k$ for some constant $c=c(d)$. We also prove that every hypergraph with $n$ vertices and with VC-dimension at most $d$ has a $(d{+}1)$-tuple $T$ of depth at least $\frac{n}{c}$, i.e., any hyperedge that contains $T$ also contains $\frac{n}{c}$ other vertices. - For the relationship between $t$-tuple coloring and vertex coloring in any hypergraph $H$ we establish the inequality $\frac{1}{e}\cdot tk^{\frac{1}{t}}\le f_H(t,k)\le f_H(1,tk^{\frac{1}{t}})$. For the special case of $k=2$, we prove that $t+1\le f_H(t,2)\le\max\{f_H(1,2), t+1\}$; this improves upon the previous best known upper bound. - We generalize some of our results to higher dimensions, other shapes, pseudo-disks, and also study the relationship between tuple coloring and epsilon nets.

cs.CG↗

arXiv2025

Deciding if a DAG is Interesting is Hard

The \emph{interestingness score} of a directed path $Π= e_1, e_2, e_3, \dots, e_\ell$ in an edge-weighted directed graph $G$ is defined as $\texttt{score}(Π) := \sum_{i=1}^\ell w(e_i) \cdot \log{(i+1)}$, where $w(e_i)$ is the weight of the edge $e_i$. We consider two optimization problems that arise in the analysis of Mapper graphs, which is a powerful tool in topological data analysis. In the IP problem, the objective is to find a collection $\mathcal{P}$ of edge-disjoint paths in $G$ with the maximum total interestingness score. %; that is, two raised to the power of the sum of the weights of the paths in $\mathcal{P}$. For $k \in \mathbb{N}$, the $k$-IP problem is a variant of the IP problem with the extra constraint that each path in $\mathcal{P}$ must have exactly $k$ edges. Kalyanaraman, Kamruzzaman, and Krishnamoorthy (Journal of Computational Geometry, 2019) claim that both IP and $k$-IP (for $k \geq 3$) are NP-complete. We point out some inaccuracies in their proofs. Furthermore, we show that both problems are NP-hard in directed acyclic graphs.

cs.CC↗

arXiv2024

Cops & Robber on Periodic Temporal Graphs

We consider the Cops and Robber pursuit-evasion game when the edge-set of the graph is allowed to change in time, possibly at every round. Specifically, the game is played on an infinite periodic sequence $\mathcal{G} = (G_0, \dots, G_{p-1})^*$ of graphs on the same set $V$ of $n$ vertices: in round $t$, the topology of $\mathcal{G}$ is $G_i=(V,E_i)$ where $i\equiv t \pmod{p}$. Concentrating on the case of a single cop, we provide a characterization of copwin periodic temporal graphs, establishing several basic properties on their nature, and extending to the temporal domain classical C&R concepts such as covers and corners. Based on these results, we design an efficient algorithm for determining if a periodic temporal graph is copwin. We also consider the case of $k>1$ cops. By shifting from a representation in terms of directed graphs to one in terms of directed multi-hypergraphs, we prove that all the fundamental properties established for $k=1$ continue to hold, providing a characterization of $k$-copwin periodic graphs, as well as a general strategy to determine if a periodic graph is $k$-copwin. Our results do not rely on any assumption on properties such as connectivity, symmetry, reflexivity held by the individual graphs in the sequence. They are established for a unified version of the game that includes the standard games studied in the literature, both for undirected and directed graphs, and both when the players are fully active and when they are not. They hold also for a variety of settings not considered in the literature.

cs.DM↗

arXiv2024

Cop numbers of periodic graphs

A \emph{periodic graph} ${\cal G}=(G_0, G_1, G_2, \dots)$ with period $p$ is an infinite periodic sequence of graphs $G_i = G_{i + p} = (V,E_i)$, where $i \geq 0$. The graph $G=(V,\cup_i E_i)$ is called the footprint of ${\cal G}$. Recently, the arena where the Cops and Robber game is played has been extended from a graph to a periodic graph; in this case, the \emph{cop number} is also the minimum number of cops sufficient for capturing the robber. We study the connections and distinctions between the cop number $c({\cal G})$ of a periodic graph ${\cal G}$ and the cop number $c(G)$ of its footprint $G$ and establish several facts. For instance, we show that the smallest periodic graph with $c({\cal G}) = 3$ has at most $8$ nodes; in contrast, the smallest graph $G$ with $c(G) = 3$ has $10$ nodes. We push this investigation by generating multiple examples showing how the cop numbers of a periodic graph ${\cal G}$, the subgraphs $G_i$ and its footprint $G$ can be loosely tied. Based on these results, we derive upper bounds on the cop number of a periodic graph from properties of its footprint such as its treewidth.

math.CO↗

arXiv2024

On 1-Planar Graphs with Bounded Cop-Number

Cops and Robbers is a type of pursuit-evasion game played on a graph where a set of cops try to capture a single robber. The cops first choose their initial vertex positions, and later the robber chooses a vertex. The cops and robbers make their moves in alternate turns: in the cops' turn, every cop can either choose to move to an adjacent vertex or stay on the same vertex, and likewise the robber in his turn. If the cops can capture the robber in a finite number of rounds, the cops win, otherwise the robber wins. The cop-number of a graph is the minimum number of cops required to catch a robber in the graph. It has long been known that graphs embedded on surfaces (such as planar graphs and toroidal graphs) have a small cop-number. Recently, Durocher et al. [Graph Drawing, 2023] investigated the problem of cop-number for the class of $1$-planar graphs, which are graphs that can be embedded in the plane such that each edge is crossed at most once. They showed that unlike planar graphs which require just three cops, 1-planar graphs have an unbounded cop-number. On the positive side, they showed that maximal 1-planar graphs require only three cops by crucially using the fact that the endpoints of every crossing in an embedded maximal 1-planar graph induce a $K_4$. In this paper, we show that the cop-number remains bounded even under the relaxed condition that the endpoints induce at least three edges. More precisely, let an $\times$-crossing of an embedded 1-planar graph be a crossing whose endpoints induce a matching; i.e., there is no edge connecting the endpoints apart from the crossing edges themselves. We show that any 1-planar graph that can be embedded without $\times$-crossings has cop-number at most 21. Moreover, any 1-planar graph that can be embedded with at most $γ$ $\times$-crossings has cop-number at most $γ+ 21$.

cs.DM↗

arXiv2024

Computing shortest paths amid non-overlapping weighted disks

In this article, we present an approximation algorithm for solving the Weighted Region Problem amidst a set of $ n $ non-overlapping weighted disks in the plane. For a given parameter $ \varepsilon \in (0,1]$, the length of the approximate path is at most $ (1 +\varepsilon) $ times larger than the length of the actual shortest path. The algorithm is based on the discretization of the space by placing points on the boundary of the disks. Using such a discretization we can use Dijkstra's algorithm for computing a shortest path in the geometric graph obtained in (pseudo-)polynomial time.

cs.CG↗

arXiv2024

The Exact Spanning Ratio of the Parallelogram Delaunay Graph

Finding the exact spanning ratio of a Delaunay graph has been one of the longstanding open problems in Computational Geometry. Currently there are only four convex shapes for which the exact spanning ratio of their Delaunay graph is known: the equilateral triangle, the square, the regular hexagon and the rectangle. In this paper, we show the exact spanning ratio of the parallelogram Delaunay graph, making the parallelogram the fifth convex shape for which an exact bound is known. The worst-case spanning ratio is exactly $$\frac{\sqrt{2}\sqrt{1+A^2+2A\cos(θ_0)+(A+\cos(θ_0))\sqrt{1+A^2+2A\cos(θ_0)}}}{\sin(θ_0)} .$$ where $A$ is the aspect ratio and $θ_0$ is the non-obtuse angle of the parallelogram. Moreover, we show how to construct a parallelogram Delaunay graph whose spanning ratio matches the above mentioned spanning ratio.

cs.CG↗

arXiv2022

Pursuit-Evasion in Graphs: Zombies, Lazy Zombies and a Survivor

We study zombies and survivor, a variant of the game of cops and robber on graphs. In this variant, the single survivor plays the role of the robber and attempts to escape from the zombies that play the role of the cops. The zombies are restricted, on their turn, to always follow an edge of a shortest path towards the survivor. Let $z(G)$ be the smallest number of zombies required to catch the survivor on a graph $G$ with $n$ vertices. We show that there exist outerplanar graphs and visibility graphs of simple polygons such that $z(G) = Θ(n)$. We also show that there exist maximum-degree-$3$ outerplanar graphs such that $z(G) = Ω\left(n/\log(n)\right)$. Let $z_L(G)$ be the smallest number of lazy zombies (zombies that can stay still on their turn) required to catch the survivor on a graph $G$. We establish that lazy zombies are more powerful than normal zombies but less powerful than cops. We prove that $z_L(G) = 2$ for connected outerplanar graphs. We show that $z_L(G)\leq k$ for connected graphs with treedepth $k$. This result implies that $z_L(G)$ is at most $(k+1)\log n$ for connected graphs with treewidth $k$, $O(\sqrt{n})$ for connected planar graphs, $O(\sqrt{gn})$ for connected graphs with genus $g$ and $O(h\sqrt{hn})$ for connected graphs with any excluded $h$-vertex minor. Our results on lazy zombies still hold when an adversary chooses the initial positions of the zombies.

math.CO↗

arXiv2021

Convex Polygons in Cartesian Products

We study several problems concerning convex polygons whose vertices lie in a Cartesian product of two sets of $n$ real numbers (for short, \emph{grid}). First, we prove that every such grid contains $Ω(\log n)$ points in convex position and that this bound is tight up to a constant factor. We generalize this result to $d$ dimensions (for a fixed $d\in \mathbb{N}$), and obtain a tight lower bound of $Ω(\log^{d-1}n)$ for the maximum number of points in convex position in a $d$-dimensional grid. Second, we present polynomial-time algorithms for computing the longest $x$- or $y$-monotone convex polygonal chain in a grid that contains no two points with the same $x$- or $y$-coordinate. We show that the maximum size of a convex polygon with such unique coordinates can be efficiently approximated up to a factor of $2$. Finally, we present exponential bounds on the maximum number of point sets in convex position in such grids, and for some restricted variants. These bounds are tight up to polynomial factors.

cs.CG↗