Related papers: Time-Approximation Trade-offs for Inapproximable P…
We obtain a number of lower bounds on the running time of algorithms solving problems on graphs of bounded treewidth. We prove the results under the Strong Exponential Time Hypothesis of Impagliazzo and Paturi. In particular, assuming that…
We consider combinatorial problems that can be solved in polynomial time for graphs of bounded treewidth but where the order of the polynomial that bounds the running time is expected to depend on the treewidth bound. First we review some…
In this paper, we give new, tight subexponential lower bounds for a number of graph embedding problems. We introduce two related combinatorial problems, which we call String Crafting and Orthogonal Vector crafting, and show that these…
A cycle cover of a graph is a set of cycles such that every vertex is part of exactly one cycle. An L-cycle cover is a cycle cover in which the length of every cycle is in the set L. We investigate how well L-cycle covers of minimum weight…
The Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) is among the most famous NP-hard optimization problems. We design for this problem a randomized polynomial-time algorithm that computes a (1+eps)-approximation to the optimal tour, for any fixed eps>0,…
We study the problem of computing a minimum equivalent digraph (also known as the problem of computing a strong transitive reduction) and its maximum objective function variant, with two types of extensions. First, we allow to declare a set…
Recently it was shown that many classic graph problems -- Independent Set, Dominating Set, Hamiltonian Cycle, and more -- can be solved in subexponential time on unit-ball graphs. More precisely, these problems can be solved in…
The field of exact exponential time algorithms for NP-hard problems has thrived over the last decade. While exhaustive search remains asymptotically the fastest known algorithm for some basic problems, difficult and non-trivial exponential…
We consider extension variants of the classical graph problems Vertex Cover and Independent Set. Given a graph $G=(V,E)$ and a vertex set $U \subseteq V$, it is asked if there exists a minimal vertex cover (resp.\ maximal independent set)…
Given a linear system, we consider the problem of finding a small set of variables to affect with an input so that the resulting system is controllable. We show that this problem is NP-hard; indeed, we show that even approximating the…
We revisit the classic Pandora's Box (PB) problem under correlated distributions on the box values. Recent work of arXiv:1911.01632 obtained constant approximate algorithms for a restricted class of policies for the problem that visit boxes…
In this work we design graph neural network architectures that capture optimal approximation algorithms for a large class of combinatorial optimization problems, using powerful algorithmic tools from semidefinite programming (SDP).…
We establish new hardness results for decision tree optimization problems, adding to a line of work that dates back to Hyafil and Rivest in 1976. We prove, under randomized ETH, superpolynomial lower bounds for two basic problems: given an…
This paper addresses optimal feedback selection for generic arbitrary pole placement of structured systems when each feedback edge is associated with a cost. Given a structured system and a feedback cost matrix, our aim is to find a…
We consider the Minimum Coverage Kernel problem: given a set $B$ of $d$-dimensional boxes, find a subset of $B$ of minimum size covering the same region as $B$. This problem is $\mathsf{NP}$-hard, but as for many $\mathsf{NP}$-hard problems…
Motivated by the importance of dynamic programming (DP) in parameterized complexity, we consider several fine-grained questions, such as the following examples: (i) can Dominating Set be solved in time $(3-\epsilon)^{pw}n^{O(1)}$? (where…
We consider a multistage framework introduced recently where, given a time horizon t=1,2,...,T, the input is a sequence of instances of a (static) combinatorial optimization problem I_1,I_2,...,I_T, (one for each time step), and the goal is…
Given a set $P$ of $n$ points in the plane, {\sc Covering Points by Lines} is the problem of finding a minimum-cardinality set $\L$ of lines such that every point $p \in P$ is incident to some line $\ell \in \L$. As a geometric variant of…
Optimization problems consist of either maximizing or minimizing an objective function. Instead of looking for a maximum solution (resp. minimum solution), one can find a minimum maximal solution (resp. maximum minimal solution). Such…
Influence diagrams allow for intuitive and yet precise description of complex situations involving decision making under uncertainty. Unfortunately, most of the problems described by influence diagrams are hard to solve. In this paper we…