arXiv subjects

Michael Haythorpe

Publications and source records attributed to Michael Haythorpe.

32 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

Constructing Arbitrarily Large Graphs with a Specified Number of Hamiltonian Cycles

A constructive method is provided that outputs a directed graph which is named a broken crown graph, containing $5n-9$ vertices and $k$ Hamiltonian cycles for any choice of integers $n \geq k \geq 4$. The construction is not designed to be minimal in any sense, but rather to ensure that the graphs produced remain non-trivial instances of the Hamiltonian cycle problem even when $k$ is chosen to be much smaller than $n$.

math.CO↗

arXiv2019

FHCP Challenge Set: The First Set of Structurally Difficult Instances of the Hamiltonian Cycle Problem

The FHCP Challenge Set, comprising of 1001 instances of Hamiltonian cycle problem, is introduced. This set is the first to contain instances of Hamiltonian cycle problem for which the primary difficulty is the underlying graph structure, rather than simply size. A summary of the kinds of graphs contained in the FHCP Challenge Set is given. A discussion of the results of the FHCP Challenge, a year-long competition to solve all instances of the FHCP Challenge Set first announced at the 59th Annual Meeting for the Australian Mathematical Society, is also included.

math.CO↗

arXiv2019

A Linearly-growing Conversion from the Set Splitting Problem to the Directed Hamiltonian Cycle Problem

We consider a direct conversion of the, classical, set splitting problem to the directed Hamiltonian cycle problem. A constructive procedure for such a conversion is given, and it is shown that the input size of the converted instance is a linear function of the input size of the original instance. A proof that the two instances are equivalent is given, and a procedure for identifying a solution to the original instance from a solution of the converted instance is also provided. We conclude with two examples of set splitting problem instances, one with solutions and one without, and display the corresponding instances of the directed Hamiltonian cycle problem, along with a solution in the first example.

math.CO↗

arXiv2019

A Note on Using the Resistance-Distance Matrix to solve Hamiltonian Cycle Problem

An instance of Hamiltonian cycle problem can be solved by converting it to an instance of Travelling salesman problem, assigning any choice of weights to edges of the underlying graph. In this note we demonstrate that, for difficult instances, choosing the edge weights to be the resistance distance between its two incident vertices is often a good choice. We also demonstrate that arguably stronger performance arises from using the inverse of the resistance distance. Examples are provided demonstrating benefits gained from these choices.

math.OC↗

arXiv2019

On the Crossing Number of the Cartesian Product of a Sunlet Graph and a Star Graph

The exact crossing number is only known for a small number of families of graphs. Many of the families for which crossing numbers have been determined correspond to cartesian products of two graphs. Here, the cartesian product of the Sunlet graph, denoted $\mathcal{S}_n$, and the Star graph, denoted $K_{1,m}$, is considered for the first time. It is proved that the crossing number of $\mathcal{S}_n \Box K_{1,2}$ is $n$, and the crossing number of $\mathcal{S}_n \Box K_{1,3}$ is $3n$. An upper bound for the crossing number of $\mathcal{S}_n \Box K_{1,m}$ is also given.

math.CO↗

arXiv2019

An effective crossing minimisation heuristic based on star insertion

We present a new heuristic method for minimising crossings in a graph. The method is based upon repeatedly solving the so-called {\em star insertion problem} in the setting where the combinatorial embedding is fixed, and has several desirable characteristics for practical use. We introduce the method, discuss some aspects of algorithm design for our implementation, and provide some experimental results. The results indicate that our method compares well to existing methods, and also that it is suitable for dense instances.

math.CO↗

arXiv2018

A new benchmark set for Traveling salesman problem and Hamiltonian cycle problem

We present a benchmark set for Traveling salesman problem (TSP) with characteristics that are different from the existing benchmark sets. In particular, we focus on small instances which prove to be challenging for one or more state-of-the-art TSP algorithms. These instances are based on difficult instances of Hamiltonian cycle problem (HCP). This includes instances from literature, specially modified randomly generated instances, and instances arising from the conversion of other difficult problems to HCP. We demonstrate that such benchmark instances are helpful in understanding the weaknesses and strengths of algorithms. In particular, we conduct a benchmarking exercise for this new benchmark set totalling over five years of CPU time, comparing the TSP algorithms Concorde, Chained Lin-Kernighan, and LKH. We also include the HCP heuristic SLH in the benchmarking exercise. A discussion about the benefits of specifically considering outlying instances, and in particular instances which are unusually difficult relative to size, is also included.

cs.DS↗

arXiv2018

Change Ringing and Hamiltonian Cycles : The Search for Erin and Stedman Triples

A very old problem in campanology is the search for peals. The latter can be thought of as a heavily constrained sequence of all possible permutations of a given size, where the exact nature of the constraints depends on which method of ringing is desired. In particular, we consider the methods of bobs-only Stedman Triples and Erin Triples; the existence of the latter is still an open problem. We show that this problem can be viewed as a similarly constrained form of the Hamiltonian cycle problem (HCP). Through the use of special subgraphs, we convert this to a standard instance of HCP. The original problem can be partitioned into smaller instances, and so we use this technique to produce smaller instances of HCP as well. We note that the instances known to have solutions provide exceptionally difficult instances of HCP.

math.HO↗

arXiv2018

A construction for directed in-out subgraphs of optimal size

We discuss the recently introduced concept of k-in-out graphs, and provide a construction for k-in-out graphs for any positive integer k. We derive a lower bound for the number of vertices of a k-in-out graph for any positive integer k, and demonstrate that our construction meets this bound in all cases. For even k, we also prove our construction is optimal with respect to the number of edges, and results in a planar graph. Among the possible uses of in-out graphs, they can convert the generalized traveling salesman problem to the asymmetric traveling salesman problem, avoiding the "big M" issue present in most other conversions. We give constraints satisfied by all in-out graphs to assist cutting-plane algorithms in solving instances of traveling salesman problem which contain in-out graphs.

math.CO↗

arXiv2017

Using a Hamiltonian cycle problem algorithm to assist in solving difficult instances of Traveling Salesman Problem

We describe a hybrid procedure for solving the traveling salesman problem (TSP) to provable optimality. We first sparsify the instance, and then use a hybrid algorithm that combines a branch-and-cut TSP solver with a Hamiltonian cycle problem solver. We demonstrate that this procedure enables us to solve difficult instances to optimality, including one which had remained unsolved since its construction in 2002.

cs.DS↗

arXiv2016

On the Minimum Number of Hamiltonian Cycles in Regular Graphs

A graph construction that produces a k-regular graph on n vertices for any choice of k >= 3 and n = m(k+1) for integer m >= 2 is described. The number of Hamiltonian cycles in such graphs can be explicitly determined as a function of n and k, and empirical evidence is provided that suggests that this function gives a tight upper bound on the minimum number of Hamiltonian cycles in k-regular graphs on n vertices for k >= 5 and n >= k + 3. An additional graph construction for 4-regular graphs is described for which the number of Hamiltonian cycles is superior to the above function in the case when k = 4 and n >= 11.

math.CO↗

arXiv2016

Reducing the generalised Sudoku problem to the Hamiltonian cycle problem

The generalised Sudoku problem with $N$ symbols is known to be NP-complete, and hence is equivalent to any other NP-complete problem, even for the standard restricted version where $N$ is a perfect square. In particular, generalised Sudoku is equivalent to the, classical, Hamiltonian cycle problem. A constructive algorithm is given that reduces generalised Sudoku to the Hamiltonian cycle problem, where the resultant instance of Hamiltonian cycle problem is sparse, and has $O(N^3)$ vertices. The Hamiltonian cycle problem instance so constructed is a directed graph, and so a (known) conversion to undirected Hamiltonian cycle problem is also provided so that it can be submitted to the best heuristics. A simple algorithm for obtaining the valid Sudoku solution from the Hamiltonian cycle is provided. Techniques to reduce the size of the resultant graph are also discussed.

cs.DS↗

arXiv2013

A Linear-size Conversion of HCP to 3HCP

We provide an algorithm that converts any instance of the Hamiltonian cycle problem (HCP) into a cubic instance of HCP (3HCP), and prove that the input size of the new instance is only a linear function of that of the original instance. This is achieved by first considering various restrictions of HCP. Known conversions from directed HCP to undirected HCP, and sub-cubic HCP to cubic HCP are given. We introduce a subgraph called a 4-gate and show that it may be used to convert sub-quartic HCP into sub-cubic HCP. We further generalise this idea by first introducing the 5-gate, and then the s-gate for any s >= 4. We prove that these subgraphs may be used to convert general instances of HCP into cubic HCP instances, where the input size of the converted instance is a quadratic function of that of the original instance. This result improves upon the previously best known approach which results in cubic growth in the size of the instance. We further prove that the quadratic function is reduced to a linear function if the maximum initial degree is bounded above by a constant. Motivated by this result, we describe an algorithm to convert general HCP to HCP of bounded degree and prove that it results in only linear growth. All of the above results are then used in the proof that any instance of HCP may be converted to an equivalent instance 3HCP with only linear growth in the input size.

math.CO↗

arXiv2012

Genetic Theory for Cubic Graphs

We propose a partitioning of the set of unlabelled, connected cubic graphs into two disjoint subsets named genes and descendants, where the cardinality of the descendants is much larger than that of the genes. The key distinction between the two subsets is the presence of special edge cut sets, called crackers, in the descendants. We show that every descendant can be created by starting from a finite set of genes, and introducing the required crackers by special breeding operations. We prove that it is always possible to identify genes that can be used to generate any given descendant, and provide inverse operations that enable their reconstruction. A number of interesting properties of genes may be inherited by the descendant, and we therefore propose a natural algorithm that decomposes a descendant into its ancestor genes. We conjecture that each descendant can only be generated by starting with a unique set of ancestor genes. The latter is supported by numerical experiments.

math.CO↗