Related papers: Disproportionate division
We provide approximation algorithms for two problems, known as NECKLACE SPLITTING and $\epsilon$-CONSENSUS SPLITTING. In the problem $\epsilon$-CONSENSUS SPLITTING, there are $n$ non-atomic probability measures on the interval $[0, 1]$ and…
A classical problem in combinatorics seeks colorings of low discrepancy. More concretely, the goal is to color the elements of a set system so that the number of appearances of any color among the elements in each set is as balanced as…
We study the classic divide-and-choose method for equitably allocating divisible goods between two players who are rational, self-interested Bayesian agents. The players have additive values for the goods. The prior distributions on those…
Without additional hypotheses, Proposition 7.1 in Brams and Taylor's book "Fair Division" (Cambridge University Press, 1996) is false, as are several related Pareto-optimality theorems of Brams, Jones and Klamler in their 2006 cake-cutting…
We study the fair allocation of indivisible goods across groups of agents, where each agent fully enjoys all goods allocated to their group. We focus on groups of two (couples) and other groups of small size. For two couples, an EF1…
We study the problem of edge partitioning, where the goal is to partition the edge set of a graph into several parts. The replication factor of a vertex $v$ is the number of parts that contain edges incident to $v$. The goal is to minimize…
There is a huge difference in techniques and runtimes of distributed algorithms for problems that can be solved by a sequential greedy algorithm and those that cannot. A prime example of this contrast appears in the edge coloring problem:…
For many hard computational problems, simple algorithms that run in time $2^n \cdot n^{O(1)}$ arise, say, from enumerating all subsets of a size-$n$ set. Finding (exponentially) faster algorithms is a natural goal that has driven much of…
The famous Ham-Sandwich theorem states that any $d$ point sets in $\mathbb{R}^d$ can be simultaneously bisected by a single hyperplane. The $\alpha$-Ham-Sandwich theorem gives a sufficient condition for the existence of biased cuts, i.e.,…
Socioeconomic segregation often arises in school districting and other contexts, causing some groups to be over- or under-represented within a particular district. This phenomenon is closely linked with disparities in opportunities and…
Consensus halving refers to the problem of dividing a resource into two parts so that every agent values both parts equally. Prior work has shown that when the resource is represented by an interval, a consensus halving with at most $n$…
We study the joint minimization of communication and computation costs in distributed computing, where a master node coordinates $N$ workers to evaluate a function over a library of $n$ files. Assuming that the function is decomposed into…
Assume you have a pizza consisting of four ingredients (e.g., bread, tomatoes, cheese and olives) that you want to share with your friend. You want to do this fairly, meaning that you and your friend should get the same amount of each…
The area of judicious partitioning considers the general family of partitioning problems in which one seeks to optimize several parameters simultaneously, and these problems have been widely studied in various combinatorial contexts. In…
Finding a maximum cut is a fundamental task in many computational settings. Surprisingly, it has been insufficiently studied in the classic distributed settings, where vertices communicate by synchronously sending messages to their…
The well-known "necklace splitting theorem" of Alon asserts that every $k$-colored necklace can be fairly split into $q$ parts using at most $t$ cuts, provided $k(q-1)\leq t$. In a joint paper with Alon et al. we studied a kind of opposite…
Given an undirected, unweighted graph with $n$ vertices and $m$ edges, the maximum cut problem is to find a partition of the $n$ vertices into disjoint subsets $V_1$ and $V_2$ such that the number of edges between them is as large as…
Ann likes oranges much more than apples; Bob likes apples much more than oranges. Tomorrow they will receive one fruit that will be an orange or an apple with equal probability. Giving one half to each agent is fair for each realization of…
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…
Fair division has long been an important problem in the economics literature. In this note, we consider the existence of proportionally fair allocations of indivisible goods, i.e., allocations of indivisible goods in which every agent gets…