Related papers: Twenty-Five Comparators is Optimal when Sorting Ni…
Sorting networks are oblivious sorting algorithms with many interesting theoretical properties and practical applications. One of the related classical challenges is the search of optimal networks respect to size (number of comparators) of…
In this paper a new method for checking the subsumption relation for the optimal-size sorting network problem is described. The new approach is based on creating a bipartite graph and modelling the subsumption test as the problem of…
This paper settles the optimality of sorting networks given in The Art of Computer Programming vol. 3 more than 40 years ago. The book lists efficient sorting networks with n <= 16 inputs. In this paper we give general combinatorial…
We show that 11-channel sorting networks have at least 35 comparators and that 12-channel sorting networks have at least 39 comparators. This positively settles the optimality of the corresponding sorting networks given in The Art of…
We solve a 40-year-old open problem on the depth optimality of sorting networks. In 1973, Donald E. Knuth detailed, in Volume 3 of "The Art of Computer Programming", sorting networks of the smallest depth known at the time for n =< 16…
One of the fundamental problem in the theory of sorting is to find the pessimistic number of comparisons sufficient to sort a given number of elements. Currently 16 is the lowest number of elements for which we do not know the exact value.…
We present new parallel sorting networks for $17$ to $20$ inputs. For $17, 19,$ and $20$ inputs these new networks are faster (i.e., they require less computation steps) than the previously known best networks. Therefore, we improve upon…
In recent work, we formalized the theory of optimal-size sorting networks with the goal of extracting a verified checker for the large-scale computer-generated proof that 25 comparisons are optimal when sorting 9 inputs, which required more…
It is a long-standing open question to determine the minimum number of comparisons $S(n)$ that suffice to sort an array of $n$ elements. Indeed, before this work $S(n)$ has been known only for $n\leq 22$ with the exception for $n=16$, $17$,…
In this paper we extend the knowledge on the problem of empirically searching for sorting networks of minimal depth. We present new search space pruning techniques for the last four levels of a candidate sorting network by considering only…
This paper studies new properties of the front and back ends of a sorting network, and illustrates the utility of these in the search for new bounds on optimal sorting networks. Search focuses first on the "outsides" of the network and then…
Since the proof of the four color theorem in 1976, computer-generated proofs have become a reality in mathematics and computer science. During the last decade, we have seen formal proofs using verified proof assistants being used to verify…
Sorting networks are oblivious sorting algorithms with many practical applications and rich theoretical properties. Propositional encodings of sorting networks are a key tool for proving concrete bounds on the minimum number of comparators…
A complete set of filters $F_n$ for the optimal-depth $n$-input sorting network problem is such that if there exists an $n$-input sorting network of depth $d$ then there exists one of the form $C \oplus C'$ for some $C \in F_n$. Previous…
Previous work identifying depth-optimal $n$-channel sorting networks for $9\leq n \leq 16$ is based on exploiting symmetries of the first two layers. However, the naive generate-and-test approach typically applied does not scale. This paper…
We study maximum selection and sorting of $n$ numbers using pairwise comparators that output the larger of their two inputs if the inputs are more than a given threshold apart, and output an adversarially-chosen input otherwise. We consider…
We present new parallel sorting networks for $17$ to $20$ inputs. For $17, 19,$ and $20$ inputs these new networks are faster (i.e., they require less computation steps) than the previously known best networks. Therefore, we improve upon…
We consider the problem of sorting $n$ items, given the outcomes of $m$ pre-existing comparisons. We present a simple and natural deterministic algorithm that runs in $O(m + \log T)$ time and does $O(\log T)$ comparisons, where $T$ is the…
We establish new depth upper bounds for sorting networks on 27 and 28 channels, improving the previous best bound of 14 to 13. Our 28-channel network is constructed with reflectional symmetry by combining high-quality prefixes of 16- and…
Boolean cardinality constraints state that at most (at least, or exactly) $k$ out of $n$ propositional literals can be true. We propose a new class of selection networks that can be used for an efficient encoding of them. Several comparator…