Related papers: A simple proof that the $(n^2-1)$-puzzle is hard
The Planar Steiner Tree problem is one of the most fundamental NP-complete problems as it models many network design problems. Recall that an instance of this problem consists of a graph with edge weights, and a subset of vertices (often…
In this paper we propose and study a new complexity model for approximation algorithms. The main motivation are practical problems over large data sets that need to be solved many times for different scenarios, e.g., many multicast trees…
We study a Faulty Congested Clique model, in which an adversary may fail nodes in the network throughout the computation. We show that any task of $O(n\log{n})$-bit input per node can be solved in roughly $n$ rounds, where $n$ is the size…
Euclidean Steiner trees are relevant to model minimal networks in real-world applications ubiquitously. In this paper, we study the feasibility of a hierarchical approach embedded with bundling operations to compute multiple and mutually…
The Parks Puzzle is a paper-and-pencil puzzle game that is classically played on a square grid with different colored regions (the parks). The player needs to place a certain number of "trees" in each row, column, and park such that none…
The Euclidean Steiner tree problem seeks the min-cost network to connect a collection of target locations, and it underlies many applications of wireless networks. In this paper, we present a study on solving the Euclidean Steiner tree…
Let $T$ be a tree on $n$ vertices. We can regard the edges of $T$ as transpositions of the vertex set; their product (in any order) is a cyclic permutation. All possible cyclic permutations arise (each exactly once) if and only if the tree…
We study numerically the cluster structure of random ensembles of two NP-hard optimization problems originating in computational complexity, the vertex-cover problem and the number partitioning problem. We use branch-and-bound type…
Magic squares are a fascinating mathematical challenge that has intrigued mathematicians for centuries. Given a positive (and possibly large) integer \( n \), one of the main challenges that still remains is to find, within a computational…
Many discrete optimization problems amount to selecting a feasible set of edges of least weight. We consider in this paper the context of spatial graphs where the positions of the vertices are uncertain and belong to known uncertainty sets.…
The objective of the well-known Towers of Hanoi puzzle is to move a set of disks one at a time from one of a set of pegs to another, while keeping the disks sorted on each peg. We propose an adversarial variation in which the first player…
Can you decide if there is a coincidence in the numbers counting two different combinatorial objects? For example, can you decide if two regions in $\mathbb{R}^3$ have the same number of domino tilings? There are two versions of the…
Fulton asked how many solutions to a problem of enumerative geometry can be real, when that problem is one of counting geometric figures of some kind having specified position with respect to some general fixed figures. For the problem of…
Given a set $P$ of $n$ points with their pairwise distances, the traveling salesman problem (TSP) asks for a shortest tour that visits each point exactly once. A TSP instance is rectilinear when the points lie in the plane and the distance…
In the Euclidean Bottleneck Steiner Tree problem, the input consists of a set of $n$ points in $\mathbb{R}^2$ called terminals and a parameter $k$, and the goal is to compute a Steiner tree that spans all the terminals and contains at most…
We study the parameterized complexity of the following fundamental geometric problems with respect to the dimension $d$: i) Given $n$ points in $\Rd$, compute their minimum enclosing cylinder. ii) Given two $n$-point sets in $\Rd$, decide…
This paper proves that push-pull block puzzles in 3D are PSPACE-complete to solve, and push-pull block puzzles in 2D with thin walls are NP-hard to solve, settling an open question by Zubaran and Ritt. Push-pull block puzzles are a type of…
Computing planar orthogonal drawings with the minimum number of bends is one of the most relevant topics in Graph Drawing. The problem is known to be NP-hard, even when we want to test the existence of a rectilinear planar drawing, i.e., an…
A flipturn is an operation that transforms a nonconvex simple polygon into another simple polygon, by rotating a concavity 180 degrees around the midpoint of its bounding convex hull edge. Joss and Shannon proved in 1973 that a sequence of…
In this paper we study a problem within Dempster-Shafer theory where 2**n - 1 pieces of evidence are clustered by a neural structure into n clusters. The clustering is done by minimizing a metaconflict function. Previously we developed a…