Related papers: Mastermind with a Linear Number of Queries
We present the first optimal randomized algorithm for constructing the order-$k$ Voronoi diagram of $n$ points in two dimensions. The expected running time is $O(n\log n + nk)$, which improves the previous, two-decades-old result of Ramos…
It is known that the dual of the general adversary bound can be used to build quantum query algorithms with optimal complexity. Despite this result, not many quantum algorithms have been designed this way. This paper shows another example…
A set of colored graphs are compatible, if for every color $i$, the number of vertices of color $i$ is the same in every graph. A simultaneous embedding of $k$ compatibly colored graphs, each with $n$ vertices, consists of $k$ planar…
The $k$-mappability problem has two integers parameters $m$ and $k$. For every subword of size $m$ in a text $S$, we wish to report the number of indices in $S$ in which the word occurs with at most $k$ mismatches. The problem was lately…
We prove a quantum query lower bound \Omega(n^{(d+1)/(d+2)}) for the problem of deciding whether an input string of size n contains a k-tuple which belongs to a fixed orthogonal array on k factors of strength d<=k-1 and index 1, provided…
The Minimum Fill-in problem is to decide if a graph can be triangulated by adding at most k edges. Kaplan, Shamir, and Tarjan [FOCS 1994] have shown that the problem is solvable in time O(2^(O(k)) + k2 * nm) on graphs with n vertices and m…
The n-queens puzzle is a well-known combinatorial problem that requires to place n queens on an n x n chessboard so that no two queens can attack each other. Since the 19th century, this problem was studied by many mathematicians and…
In the exact quantum query model a successful algorithm must always output the correct function value. We investigate the function that is true if exactly $k$ or $l$ of the $n$ input bits given by an oracle are 1. We find an optimal…
We are given $n$ balls and an unknown coloring of them with two colors. Our goal is to find a ball that belongs to the larger color class, or show that the color classes have the same size. We can ask sets of $k$ balls as queries, and the…
A new algorithm for exactly sampling from the set of proper colorings of a graph is presented. This is the first such algorithm that has an expected running time that is guaranteed to be linear in the size of a graph with maximum degree \(…
The problem we are considering is the following. A colorblind player is given a set $B = \{b_1,b_2,...,b_N\}$ of $N$ colored balls. He knows that each ball is colored either red or green, and that there are less green balls (this will be…
We study a version of online edge coloring, where the goal is to color as many edges as possible using only a given number, $k$, of available colors. All of our results are with regard to competitive analysis. Previous attempts to identify…
This paper tightens the best known analysis of Hein's 1989 algorithm to infer the topology of a weighted tree based on the lengths of paths between its leaves. It shows that the number of length queries required for a degree-$k$ tree of $n$…
We consider the distinct elements problem, where the goal is to estimate the number of distinct colors in an urn containing $ k $ balls based on $n$ samples drawn with replacements. Based on discrete polynomial approximation and…
The area of computing with uncertainty considers problems where some information about the input elements is uncertain, but can be obtained using queries. For example, instead of the weight of an element, we may be given an interval that is…
Contemporary large language models are powerful problem-solving tools, but they exhibit weaknesses in their reasoning abilities which ongoing research seeks to mitigate. We investigate graph coloring as a means of evaluating an LLM's…
We give a polynomial-time approximation algorithm for the (not necessarily metric) $k$-Median problem. The algorithm is an $\alpha$-size-approximation algorithm for $\alpha < 1 + 2 \ln(n/k)$. That is, it guarantees a solution having size at…
The $k$-colouring reconfiguration problem asks whether, for a given graph $G$, two proper $k$-colourings $\alpha$ and $\beta$ of $G$, and a positive integer $\ell$, there exists a sequence of at most $\ell+1$ proper $k$-colourings of $G$…
In this paper we show that the Mastermind Satisfiability Problem (MSP) is NP-complete. The Mastermind is a popular game which can be turned into a logical puzzle called Mastermind Satisfiability Problem in a similar spirit to the…
Given a graph $G$ that is modified by a sequence of edge insertions and deletions, we study the Maximum $k$-Edge Coloring problem Having access to $k$ colors, how can we color as many edges of $G$ as possible such that no two adjacent edges…