arXiv subjects

Tobias Mömke

Publications and source records attributed to Tobias Mömke.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

A $59/33$ Cut-LP Guarantee for Matching Augmentation

The Matching Augmentation Problem (MAP) asks for a minimum-cardinality set of unit-cost edges that, together with a zero-cost matching, forms a 2-edge-connected spanning multigraph. We study the standard cut relaxation. Bamas, Drygala, and Svensson proposed a particularly simple LP-guided algorithm: compute an extreme optimum, run a depth-first search that prioritizes large LP coordinates, and augment the resulting DFS tree optimally. We give a new structural analysis of the Bamas--Drygala--Svensson LP-guided DFS algorithm. The analysis combines an exact primal--dual identity for the residual uplink problem with a rank bound that measures fractional support relative to the unit-valued skeleton. The result is that for every root and every deterministic tie-breaking order consistent with the LP priorities, the algorithm returns a solution of cost at most $\frac{59}{33}c(x^*)-\frac{25}{33}=\left(2-\frac7{33}\right)c(x^*)-\frac{25}{33}\approx1.788c(x^*)-0.758$, where $x^*$ is an optimum of the cut LP. Consequently, the integrality gap of the relaxation is at most $59/33\approx1.788$. No new algorithmic step is required; the improvement is analytical. The exact packing certificate for the residual uplink problem yields a cost identity with a packing-slack term, while a rank theorem bounds fractional support relative to the unit-valued skeleton. A regional classification accounts for the non-tree edges, and a two-cut identity handles self-holes. As a direct corollary, the same $59/33\approx1.788$ bound holds for Forest Augmentation in the minimum-value regime. The proof is self-contained apart from one theorem on the dimension of minimum-cut vectors.

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arXiv2026

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

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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arXiv2026

Approximating Traveling Salesman Problems Using a Bridge Lemma

We give improved approximations for two metric Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) variants. In Ordered TSP (OTSP) we are given a linear ordering on a subset of nodes $o_1, \ldots, o_k$. The TSP solution must have that $o_{i+1}$ is visited at some point after $o_i$ for each $1 \leq i < k$. This is the special case of Precedence-Constrained TSP ($PTSP$) in which the precedence constraints are given by a single chain on a subset of nodes. In $k$-Person TSP Path (k-TSPP), we are given pairs of nodes $(s_1,t_1), \ldots, (s_k,t_k)$. The goal is to find an $s_i$-$t_i$ path with minimum total cost such that every node is visited by at least one path. We obtain a $3/2 + e^{-1} < 1.878$ approximation for OTSP, the first improvement over a trivial $α+1$ approximation where $α$ is the current best TSP approximation. We also obtain a $1 + 2 \cdot e^{-1/2} < 2.214$ approximation for k-TSPP, the first improvement over a trivial $3$-approximation. These algorithms both use an adaptation of the Bridge Lemma that was initially used to obtain improved Steiner Tree approximations [Byrka et al., 2013]. Roughly speaking, our variant states that the cost of a cheapest forest rooted at a given set of terminal nodes will decrease by a substantial amount if we randomly sample a set of non-terminal nodes to also become terminals such provided each non-terminal has a constant probability of being sampled. We believe this view of the Bridge Lemma will find further use for improved vehicle routing approximations beyond this paper.

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arXiv2025

Hardness of SetCover Reoptimization

We study hardness of reoptimization of the fundamental and hard to approximate SetCover problem. Reoptimization considers an instance together with a solution and a modified instance where the goal is to approximate the modified instance while utilizing the information gained by solution to the related instance. We study four different types of reoptimization for (weighted) SetCover: adding a set, removing a set, adding an element to the universe, and removing an element from the universe. A few of these cases are known to be easier to approximate than the classic SetCover problem. We show that all the other cases are essentially as hard to approximate as SetCover. The reoptimization problem of adding and removing an element in the unweighted case is known to admit a PTAS. For these settings we show that there is no EPTAS under common hardness assumptions via a novel combination of the classic way to show that a reoptimization problem is NP-hard and the relation between EPTAS and FPT.

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arXiv2025

Polynomial-time algorithms for PATH COVER and PATH PARTITION on trees and graphs of bounded treewidth

In the PATH COVER problem, one asks to cover the vertices of a graph using the smallest possible number of (not necessarily disjoint) paths. While the variant where the paths need to be pairwise vertex-disjoint, which we call PATH PARTITION, is extensively studied, surprisingly little is known about PATH COVER. We start filling this gap by designing a linear-time algorithm for PATH COVER on trees. We show that PATH COVER can be solved in polynomial time on graphs of bounded treewidth using a dynamic programming scheme. It runs in XP time $n^{t^{O(t)}}$ (where $n$ is the number of vertices and $t$ the treewidth of the input graph) or $κ^{t^{O(t)}}n$ if there is an upper-bound $κ$ on the solution size. A similar algorithm gives an FPT $2^{O(t\log t)}n$ algorithm for PATH PARTITION, which can be improved to (randomized) $2^{O(t)}n$ using the Cut\&Count technique. These results also apply to the variants where the paths are required to be induced (i.e. chordless) and/or edge-disjoint.

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arXiv2025

Approximating Multiple-Depot Capacitated Vehicle Routing via LP Rounding

In Capacitated Vehicle Routing with Multiple Depots (CVRP-MD) we are given a set of client locations $C$ and a set of depots $R$ located in a metric space with costs $c(i,j)$ between $u,v \in C \cup R$. Additionally, we are given a capacity bound $k$. The goal is to find a collection of tours of minimum total cost such that each tour starts and ends at some depot $r \in R$ and includes at most $k$ clients and such that each client lies on at least one tour. Our main result is a $3.9365$-approximation based on rounding a new LP relaxation for CVRP-MD.

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arXiv2025

Approximating Graphic Multi-Path TSP and Graphic Ordered TSP

The path version of the Traveling Salesman Problem is one of the most well-studied variants of the ubiquitous TSP. Its generalization, the Multi-Path TSP, has recently been used in the best known algorithm for path TSP by Traub and Vygen [Cambridge University Press, 2024]. The best known approximation factor for this problem is $2.214$ by Böhm, Friggstad, Mömke and Spoerhase [SODA 2025]. In this paper we show that for the case of graphic metrics, a significantly better approximation guarantee of $2$ can be attained. Our algorithm is based on sampling paths from a decomposition of the flow corresponding to the optimal solution to the LP for the problem, and connecting the left-out vertices with doubled edges. The cost of the latter is twice the optimum in the worst case; we show how the cost of the sampled paths can be absorbed into it without increasing the approximation factor. Furthermore, we prove that any below-$2$ approximation algorithm for the special case of the problem where each source is the same as the corresponding sink yields a below-$2$ approximation algorithm for Graphic Multi-Path TSP. We also show that our ideas can be utilized to give a factor $1.791$-approximation algorithm for Ordered TSP in graphic metrics, for which the aforementioned paper [SODA 2025] and Armbruster, Mnich and Nägele [APPROX 2024] give a $1.868$-approximation algorithm in general metrics.

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arXiv2025

A Linear Time Gap-ETH-Tight Approximation Scheme for Euclidean TSP

The Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) in the $d$-dimensional Euclidean space is among the oldest and most famous NP-hard optimization problems. In breakthrough works, Arora [J. ACM 1998] and Mitchell [SICOMP 1999] gave the first polynomial time approximation schemes. To improve the running time, Rao and Smith [STOC 1998] gave a randomized $(1/\varepsilon)^{O(1/\varepsilon^{d-1})}\cdot n\log n$ time approximation scheme. Bartal and Gottlieb [FOCS 2013] gave a randomized approximation scheme in $2^{(1/\varepsilon)^{O(d)}} n$ time, which is linear in $n$. Recently, Kisfaludi-Bak, Nederlof, and Węgrzycki [FOCS 2021] gave a randomized approximation scheme in $2^{O(1/\varepsilon^{d-1})} n \log n$ time, achieving a Gap-ETH tight dependence on $\varepsilon$. It is raised as a challenging open question by Kisfaludi-Bak, Nederlof, and Węgrzycki [FOCS 2021] whether a running time of $2^{O(1/\varepsilon^{d-1})}n$ is achievable. We answer their question positively by giving a randomized $2^{O(1/\varepsilon^{d-1})} n$ time approximation scheme for Euclidean TSP.

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arXiv2025

Approximating Maximum Edge 2-Coloring by Normalizing Graphs

In a simple, undirected graph G, an edge 2-coloring is a coloring of the edges such that no vertex is incident to edges with more than 2 distinct colors. The problem maximum edge 2-coloring (ME2C) is to find an edge 2-coloring in a graph G with the goal to maximize the number of colors. For a relevant graph class, ME2C models anti-Ramsey numbers and it was considered in network applications. For the problem a 2-approximation algorithm is known, and if the input graph has a perfect matching, the same algorithm has been shown to have a performance guarantee of 5/3. It is known that ME2C is APX-hard and that it is UG-hard to obtain an approximation ratio better than 1.5. We show that if the input graph has a perfect matching, there is a polynomial time 1.625-approximation and if the graph is claw-free or if the maximum degree of the input graph is at most three (i.e., the graph is subcubic), there is a polynomial time 1.5-approximation algorithm for ME2C

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arXiv2025

Improved Approximation Algorithms for (1,2)-TSP and Max-TSP Using Path Covers in the Semi-Streaming Model

We investigate semi-streaming algorithms for the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP). Specifically, we focus on a variant known as the $(1,2)$-TSP, where the distances between any two vertices are either one or two. Our primary emphasis is on the closely related Maximum Path Cover Problem, which aims to find a collection of vertex-disjoint paths that cover the maximum number of edges in a graph. We propose an algorithm that, for any $ε> 0$, achieves a $(\frac{2}{3}-ε)$-approximation of the maximum path cover size for an $n$-vertex graph, using $\text{poly}(\frac{1}ε)$ passes. This result improves upon the previous $\frac{1}{2}$-approximation by Behnezhad et al. [ICALP 2024] in the semi-streaming model. Building on this result, we design a semi-streaming algorithm that constructs a tour for an instance of $(1,2)$-TSP with an approximation factor of $(\frac{4}{3} + ε)$, improving upon the previous $\frac{3}{2}$-approximation actor algorithm by Behnezhad et al. [ICALP 2024] (Although it is not explicitly stated in the paper that their algorithm works in the semi-streaming model, it is easy to verify). Furthermore, we extend our approach to develop an approximation algorithm for the Maximum TSP (Max-TSP), where the goal is to find a Hamiltonian cycle with the maximum possible weight in a given weighted graph $G$. Our algorithm provides a $(\frac{7}{12} - ε)$-approximation for Max-TSP in $\text{poly}(\frac{1}ε)$ passes, improving on the previously known $(\frac{1}{2}-ε)$-approximation obtained via maximum weight matching in the semi-streaming model.

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arXiv2024

Approximating Prize-Collecting Variants of TSP

We present an approximation algorithm for the Prize-collecting Ordered Traveling Salesman Problem (PCOTSP), which simultaneously generalizes the Prize-collecting TSP and the Ordered TSP. The Prize-collecting TSP is well-studied and has a long history, with the current best approximation factor slightly below $1.6$, shown by Blauth, Klein and Nägele [IPCO 2024]. The best approximation ratio for Ordered TSP is $\frac{3}{2}+\frac{1}{e}$, presented by Böhm, Friggstad, Mömke, Spoerhase [SODA 2025] and Armbruster, Mnich, Nägele [Approx 2024]. The former also present a factor 2.2131 approximation algorithm for Multi-Path-TSP. By carefully tuning the techniques of the latest results on the aforementioned problems and leveraging the unique properties of our problem, we present a 2.097-approximation algorithm for PCOTSP. A key idea in our result is to first sample a set of trees, and then probabilistically pick up some vertices, while using the pruning ideas of Blauth, Klein, Nägele [IPCO 2024] on other vertices to get cheaper parity correction; the sampling probability and the penalty paid by the LP playing a crucial part in both cases. A straightforward adaptation of the aforementioned pruning ideas would only give minuscule improvements over standard parity correction methods. Instead, we use the specific characteristics of our problem together with properties gained from running a simple combinatorial algorithm to bring the approximation factor below 2.1. Our techniques extend to Prize-collecting Multi-Path TSP, building on results from Böhm, Friggstad, Mömke, Spoerhase [SODA 2025], leading to a 2.41-approximation.

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arXiv2022

Capacitated Vehicle Routing in Graphic Metrics

We study the capacitated vehicle routing problem in graphic metrics (graphic CVRP). Our main contribution is a new lower bound on the cost of an optimal solution. For graphic metrics, this lower bound is tight and significantly stronger than the well-known bound for general metrics. The proof of the new lower bound is simple and combinatorial. Using this lower bound, we analyze the approximation ratio of the classical iterated tour partitioning algorithm combined with the TSP algorithms for graphic metrics of Christofides [1976], of Mömke-Svensson [JACM 2016], and of Sebő-Vygen [Combinatorica 2014]. In particular, we obtain a 1.95-approximation for the graphic CVRP.

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arXiv2021

A 2-Approximation for the Bounded Treewidth Sparsest Cut Problem in FPT Time

In the non-uniform sparsest cut problem, we are given a supply graph G and a demand graph D, both with the same set of nodes V. The goal is to find a cut of V that minimizes the ratio of the total capacity on the edges of G crossing the cut over the total demand of the crossing edges of D. In this work, we study the non-uniform sparsest cut problem for supply graphs with bounded treewidth k. For this case, Gupta, Talwar and Witmer [STOC 2013] obtained a 2-approximation with polynomial running time for fixed k, and the question of whether there exists a c-approximation algorithm for a constant c independent of k, that runs in FPT time, remained open. We answer this question in the affirmative. We design a 2-approximation algorithm for the non-uniform sparsest cut with bounded treewidth supply graphs that runs in FPT time, when parameterized by the treewidth. Our algorithm is based on rounding the optimal solution of a linear programming relaxation inspired by the Sherali-Adams hierarchy. In contrast to the classic Sherali-Adams approach, we construct a relaxation driven by a tree decomposition of the supply graph by including a carefully chosen set of lifting variables and constraints to encode information of subsets of nodes with super-constant size, and at the same time we have a sufficiently small linear program that can be solved in FPT time.

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arXiv2021

A (2+ε)-Approximation Algorithm for Maximum Independent Set of Rectangles

We study the Maximum Independent Set of Rectangles (MISR) problem, where we are given a set of axis-parallel rectangles in the plane and the goal is to select a subset of non-overlapping rectangles of maximum cardinality. In a recent breakthrough, Mitchell [2021] obtained the first constant-factor approximation algorithm for MISR. His algorithm achieves an approximation ratio of 10 and it is based on a dynamic program that intuitively recursively partitions the input plane into special polygons called corner-clipped rectangles (CCRs), without intersecting certain special horizontal line segments called fences. In this paper, we present a $(2+ε)$-approximation algorithm for MISR which is also based on a recursive partitioning scheme. First, we use a partition into a class of axis-parallel polygons with constant complexity each that are more general than CCRs. This allows us to provide an arguably simpler analysis and at the same time already improves the approximation ratio to 6. Then, using a more elaborate charging scheme and a recursive partitioning into general axis-parallel polygons with constant complexity, we improve our approximation ratio to $2+ε$. In particular, we construct a recursive partitioning based on more general fences which can be sequences of up to $O(1/ε)$ line segments each. This partitioning routine and our other new ideas may be useful for future work towards a PTAS for MISR.

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arXiv2019

Breaking the Barrier of 2 for the Storage Allocation Problem

Packing problems are an important class of optimization problems. The probably most well-known problem if this type is knapsack and many generalizations of it have been studied in the literature like Two-dimensional Geometric Knapsack (2DKP) and Unsplittable Flow on a Path (UFP). For the latter two problems, recently the first polynomial time approximation algorithms with better approximation ratios than 2 were presented [Gálvez et al., FOCS 2017][Grandoni et al., STOC 2018]. In this paper we break the barrier of 2 for the Storage Allocation Problem (SAP) which is a natural intermediate problem between 2DKP and UFP. We are given a path with capacitated edges and a set of tasks where each task has a start vertex, an end vertex, a size, and a profit. We seek to select the most profitable set of tasks that we can draw as non-overlapping rectangles underneath the capacity profile of the edges where the height of each rectangle equals the size of the corresponding task. This problem is motivated by settings of allocation resources like memory, bandwidths, etc. where each request needs a contiguous portion of the resource. The best known polynomial time approximation algorithm for SAP has an approximation ratio of 2+epsilon$ [Mömke and Wiese, ICALP 2015] and no better quasi-polynomial time algorithm is known. We present a polynomial time (63/32) < 1.969-approximation algorithm for the case of uniform edge capacities and a quasi-polynomial time (1.997)-approximation algorithm for non-uniform quasi-polynomially bounded edge capacities. Finally, we show that under slight resource augmentation we can obtain approximation ratios of 3/2 + epsilon in polynomial time and 1 + epsilon in quasi-polynomial time, both for arbitrary edge capacities.

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arXiv2018

A QPTAS for Gapless MEC

We consider the problem Minimum Error Correction (MEC). A MEC instance is an n x m matrix M with entries from {0,1,-}. Feasible solutions are composed of two binary m-bit strings, together with an assignment of each row of M to one of the two strings. The objective is to minimize the number of mismatches (errors) where the row has a value that differs from the assigned solution string. The symbol "-" is a wildcard that matches both 0 and 1. A MEC instance is gapless, if in each row of M all binary entries are consecutive. Gapless-MEC is a relevant problem in computational biology, and it is closely related to segmentation problems that were introduced by [Kleinberg-Papadimitriou-Raghavan STOC'98] in the context of data mining. Without restrictions, it is known to be UG-hard to compute an O(1)-approximate solution to MEC. For both MEC and Gapless-MEC, the best polynomial time approximation algorithm has a logarithmic performance guarantee. We partially settle the approximation status of Gapless-MEC by providing a quasi-polynomial time approximation scheme (QPTAS). Additionally, for the relevant case where the binary part of a row is not contained in the binary part of another row, we provide a polynomial time approximation scheme (PTAS).

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arXiv2017

Complexity and Approximability of Parameterized MAX-CSPs

We study the optimization version of constraint satisfaction problems (Max-CSPs) in the framework of parameterized complexity; the goal is to compute the maximum fraction of constraints that can be satisfied simultaneously. In standard CSPs, we want to decide whether this fraction equals one. The parameters we investigate are structural measures, such as the treewidth or the clique-width of the variable-constraint incidence graph of the CSP instance. We consider Max-CSPs with the constraint types AND, OR, PARITY, and MAJORITY, and with various parameters k, and we attempt to fully classify them into the following three cases: 1. The exact optimum can be computed in FPT time. 2. It is W[1]-hard to compute the exact optimum, but there is a randomized FPT approximation scheme (FPTAS), which computes a $(1-ε)$-approximation in time $f(k,ε)\cdot poly(n)$. 3. There is no FPTAS unless FPT=W[1]. For the corresponding standard CSPs, we establish FPT vs. W[1]-hardness results.

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arXiv2016

Maximum Scatter TSP in Doubling Metrics

We study the problem of finding a tour of $n$ points in which every edge is long. More precisely, we wish to find a tour that visits every point exactly once, maximizing the length of the shortest edge in the tour. The problem is known as Maximum Scatter TSP, and was introduced by Arkin et al. (SODA 1997), motivated by applications in manufacturing and medical imaging. Arkin et al. gave a $0.5$-approximation for the metric version of the problem and showed that this is the best possible ratio achievable in polynomial time (assuming $P \neq NP$). Arkin et al. raised the question of whether a better approximation ratio can be obtained in the Euclidean plane. We answer this question in the affirmative in a more general setting, by giving a $(1-ε)$-approximation algorithm for $d$-dimensional doubling metrics, with running time $\tilde{O}\big(n^3 + 2^{O(K \log K)}\big)$, where $K \leq \left( \frac{13}ε \right)^d$. As a corollary we obtain (i) an efficient polynomial-time approximation scheme (EPTAS) for all constant dimensions $d$, (ii) a polynomial-time approximation scheme (PTAS) for dimension $d = \log\log{n}/c$, for a sufficiently large constant $c$, and (iii) a PTAS for constant $d$ and $ε= Ω(1/\log\log{n})$. Furthermore, we show the dependence on $d$ in our approximation scheme to be essentially optimal, unless Satisfiability can be solved in subexponential time.

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