Related papers: Approximating the Integral Fr\'echet Distance
Among various variants of the traveling salesman problem, the s-t-path graph TSP has the special feature that we know the exact integrality ratio, 3/2, and an approximation algorithm matching this ratio. In this paper, we go below this…
Consider positive integral solutions $x \in \mathbb{Z}^{n+1}$ to the equation $a_0 x_0 + \ldots + a_n x_n = t$. In the so called unbounded subset sum problem, the objective is to decide whether such a solution exists, whereas in the…
We derive an approximate formula for the mean first-passage time (MFPT) to a small absorbing target of arbitrary shape inside an elongated domain of a slowly varying axisymmetric profile. For this purpose, the original Poisson equation in…
We present a polynomial-time $(\alpha_{GW} + \varepsilon)$-approximation algorithm for the Maximum Cut problem on interval graphs and split graphs, where $\alpha_{GW} \approx 0.878$ is the approximation guarantee of the Goemans-Williamson…
The Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) distance is a popular similarity measure for polygonal curves (i.e., sequences of points). It finds many theoretical and practical applications, especially for temporal data, and is known to be a robust,…
We present the first polynomial time approximation algorithm for computing shortest paths in weighted three-dimensional domains. Given a polyhedral domain $\D$, consisting of $n$ tetrahedra with positive weights, and a real number…
We study the footprint function, with respect to a monomial order, of complete intersection graded ideals in a polynomial ring with coefficients in a field. For graded ideals of dimension one, whose initial ideal is a complete intersection,…
We show that there is a polynomial-time algorithm with approximation guarantee $\frac{3}{2}+\epsilon$ for the $s$-$t$-path TSP, for any fixed $\epsilon>0$. It is well known that Wolsey's analysis of Christofides' algorithm also works for…
Merge trees are a common topological descriptor for data with a hierarchical component, such as terrains and scalar fields. The interleaving distance, in turn, is a common distance for comparing merge trees. However, the interleaving…
In this paper, we propose a new trigonometric interpolation algorithm and establish relevant convergent properties. The method adjusts an existing trigonometric interpolation algorithm such that it can better leverage Fast Fourier Transform…
Given a weighted undirected graph $G=(V,E,w)$, a hopset $H$ of hopbound $\beta$ and stretch $(1+\epsilon)$ is a set of edges such that for any pair of nodes $u, v \in V$, there is a path in $G \cup H$ of at most $\beta$ hops, whose length…
Makespan scheduling on identical machines is one of the most basic and fundamental packing problems studied in the discrete optimization literature. It asks for an assignment of $n$ jobs to a set of $m$ identical machines that minimizes the…
We consider a model of a Rouse polymer extended by the mechanism of active loop extrusion. The model is based on a kinetic equation that is valid provided that the extrusion rate is high enough and the resulting loop ensemble is…
In motion planning problems for autonomous robots, such as self-driving cars, the robot must ensure that its planned path is not in close proximity to obstacles in the environment. However, the problem of evaluating the proximity is…
The paper presents a discrete variation of the Frechet distance between closed curves, which can be seen as an approximation of the continuous measure. A rather straightforward approach to compute the discrete Frechet distance between two…
Optimal transport (OT) theory has been been used in machine learning to study and characterize maps that can push-forward efficiently a probability measure onto another. Recent works have drawn inspiration from Brenier's theorem, which…
Given two distributions $P$ and $S$ of equal total mass, the Earth Mover's Distance measures the cost of transforming one distribution into the other, where the cost of moving a unit of mass is equal to the distance over which it is moved.…
Finding the point in an algebraic variety that is closest to a given point is an optimization problem with many applications. We study the case when the variety is a Fermat hypersurface. Our formula for its Euclidean distance degree is a…
The Procrustes distance is used to quantify the similarity or dissimilarity of (3-dimensional) shapes, and extensively used in biological morphometrics. Typically each (normalized) shape is represented by N landmark points, chosen to be…
We propose an $\widetilde{O}(n + 1/\eps)$-time FPTAS (Fully Polynomial-Time Approximation Scheme) for the classical Partition problem. This is the best possible (up to a polylogarithmic factor) assuming SETH (Strong Exponential Time…