arXiv subjects

Lasse Wulf

Publications and source records attributed to Lasse Wulf.

25 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2023

A linear time algorithm for linearizing quadratic and higher-order shortest path problems

An instance of the NP-hard Quadratic Shortest Path Problem (QSPP) is called linearizable iff it is equivalent to an instance of the classic Shortest Path Problem (SPP) on the same input digraph. The linearization problem for the QSPP (LinQSPP) decides whether a given QSPP instance is linearizable and determines the corresponding SPP instance in the positive case. We provide a novel linear time algorithm for the LinQSPP on acyclic digraphs which runs considerably faster than the previously best algorithm. The algorithm is based on a new insight revealing that the linearizability of the QSPP for acyclic digraphs can be seen as a local property. Our approach extends to the more general higher-order shortest path problem.

cs.DS↗

arXiv2022

Exact Matching and the Top-k Perfect Matching Problem

The aim of this note is to provide a reduction of the Exact Matching problem to the Top-$k$ Perfect Matching Problem. Together with earlier work by El Maalouly, this shows that the two problems are polynomial-time equivalent. The Exact Matching Problem is a well-known 40 years old problem for which a randomized, but no deterministic poly-time algorithm has been discovered. The Top-$k$ Perfect Matching Problem is the problem of finding a perfect matching which maximizes the total weight of the $k$ heaviest edges contained in it.

cs.DS↗

arXiv2021

Two-Stage Robust Optimization Problems with Two-Stage Uncertainty

We consider two-stage robust optimization problems, which can be seen as games between a decision maker and an adversary. After the decision maker fixes part of the solution, the adversary chooses a scenario from a specified uncertainty set. Afterwards, the decision maker can react to this scenario by completing the partial first-stage solution to a full solution. We extend this classic setting by adding another adversary stage after the second decision-maker stage, which results in min-max-min-max problems, thus pushing two-stage settings further towards more general multi-stage problems. We focus on budgeted uncertainty sets and consider both the continuous and discrete case. For the former, we show that a wide range of robust combinatorial optimization problems can be decomposed into polynomially many subproblems, which can be solved in polynomial time for example in the case of (\textsc{representative}) \textsc{selection}. For the latter, we prove NP-hardness for a wide range of problems, but note that the special case where first- and second-stage adversarial costs are equal can remain solvable in polynomial time.

math.OC↗

arXiv2021

On the Recoverable Traveling Salesman Problem

In this paper we consider the Recoverable Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP). Here the task is to find two tours simultaneously, such that the intersection between the tours is at least a given minimum size, while the sum of travel distances with respect to two different distance metrics is minimized. Building upon the classic double-tree method, we derive a 4-approximation algorithm for the RecoverableTSP. We also show that if the required size of the intersection between the tours is constant, a 2-approximation guarantee can be achieved, even if more than two tours need to be constructed. We discuss consequences for approximability results in the more general area of recoverable robust optimization.

cs.DS↗

arXiv2021

Assistance and Interdiction Problems on Interval Graphs

We introduce a novel framework of graph modifications specific to interval graphs. We study interdiction problems with respect to these graph modifications. Given a list of original intervals, each interval has a replacement interval such that either the replacement contains the original, or the original contains the replacement. The interdictor is allowed to replace up to $k$ original intervals with their replacements. Using this framework we also study the contrary of interdiction problems which we call assistance problems. We study these problems for the independence number, the clique number, shortest paths, and the scattering number. We obtain polynomial time algorithms for most of the studied problems. Via easy reductions, it follows that on interval graphs, the most vital nodes problem with respect to shortest path, independence number and Hamiltonicity can be solved in polynomial time.

cs.DS↗

arXiv2021

Recoverable Robust Representatives Selection Problems with Discrete Budgeted Uncertainty

Recoverable robust optimization is a multi-stage approach, where it is possible to adjust a first-stage solution after the uncertain cost scenario is revealed. We analyze this approach for a class of selection problems. The aim is to choose a fixed number of items from several disjoint sets, such that the worst-case costs after taking a recovery action are as small as possible. The uncertainty is modeled as a discrete budgeted set, where the adversary can increase the costs of a fixed number of items. While special cases of this problem have been studied before, its complexity has remained open. In this work we make several contributions towards closing this gap. We show that the problem is NP-hard and identify a special case that remains solvable in polynomial time. We provide a compact mixed-integer programming formulation and two additional extended formulations. Finally, computational results are provided that compare the efficiency of different exact solution approaches.

math.OC↗

arXiv2018

A Greedy Heuristic for Crossing-Angle Maximization

The crossing angle of a straight-line drawing $Γ$ of a graph $G=(V, E)$ is the smallest angle between two crossing edges in $Γ$. Deciding whether a graph $G$ has a straight-line drawing with a crossing angle of $90^\circ$ is $\mathcal NP$-hard. We propose a simple heuristic to compute a drawing with a large crossing angle. The heuristic greedily selects the best position for a single vertex in a random set of points. The algorithm is accompanied by a speed-up technique to compute the crossing angle of a straight-line drawing. We show the effectiveness of the heuristic in an extensive empirical evaluation. Our heuristic was clearly the winning algorithm (CoffeeVM) in the Graph Drawing Challenge 2017.

cs.CG↗