Related papers: Lower Bounds for Sorting 16, 17, and 18 Elements
Sorting is the task of ordering $n$ elements using pairwise comparisons. It is well known that $m=\Theta(n\log n)$ comparisons are both necessary and sufficient when the outcomes of the comparisons are observed with no noise. In this paper,…
We consider the quantum complexities of the following three problems: searching an ordered list, sorting an un-ordered list, and deciding whether the numbers in a list are all distinct. Letting N be the number of elements in the input list,…
This paper introduces a new comparison base stable sorting algorithm, named RS sort. RS Sort involves only the comparison of pair of elements in an array which ultimately sorts the array and does not involve the comparison of each element…
In the online sorting problem, a sequence of $n$ numbers in $[0, 1]$ (including $\{0,1\}$) have to be inserted in an array of size $m \ge n$ so as to minimize the sum of absolute differences between pairs of numbers occupying consecutive…
We are given a stack of pancakes of different sizes and the only allowed operation is to take several pancakes from top and flip them. The unburnt version requires the pancakes to be sorted by their sizes at the end, while in the burnt…
We explore the fundamental problem of sorting through the lens of learning-augmented algorithms, where algorithms can leverage possibly erroneous predictions to improve their efficiency. We consider two different settings: In the first…
Suppose $P_n=\{1,2,...,n\}$ is a partially ordered set with the partial order defined by divisibility, that is, for any two distinct elements $i,j\in P_n$ satisfying $i$ divides $j$, $i<_{P_n} j$. A table $A_n=\{a_i|i=1,2,...,n\}$ of…
We revisit the well-known problem of sorting under partial information: sort a finite set given the outcomes of comparisons between some pairs of elements. The input is a partially ordered set P, and solving the problem amounts to…
We study the space requirements of a sorting algorithm where only items that at the end will be adjacent are kept together. This is equivalent to the following combinatorial problem: Consider a string of fixed length n that starts as a…
This paper studies new properties of the front and back ends of a sorting network, and illustrates the utility of these in the search for new bounds on optimal sorting networks. Search focuses first on the "outsides" of the network and then…
Sorting is a fundamental problem in computer science. In the classical setting, it is well-known that $(1\pm o(1)) n\log_2 n$ comparisons are both necessary and sufficient to sort a list of $n$ elements. In this paper, we study the Noisy…
This paper settles the optimality of sorting networks given in The Art of Computer Programming vol. 3 more than 40 years ago. The book lists efficient sorting networks with n <= 16 inputs. In this paper we give general combinatorial…
Optimal gap sequences in Shellsort, defined as gap sequences having the minimised maximum number of comparisons for a fixed number of pairwise distinct elements, are found by minimax search in reduced permutational spaces, namely Bad…
Given a rooted tree and a ranking of its leaves, what is the minimum number of inversions of the leaves that can be attained by ordering the tree? This variation of the problem of counting inversions in arrays originated in mathematical…
We study parallel comparison-based algorithms for finding all equivalence classes of a set of $n$ elements, where sorting according to some total order is not possible. Such scenarios arise, for example, in applications, such as in…
We examine sorting algorithms for $n$ elements whose basic operation is comparing $t$ elements simultaneously (a $t$-comparator). We focus on algorithms that use only a single round or two rounds -- comparisons performed in the second round…
We show that several versions of Floyd and Rivest's algorithm Select for finding the $k$th smallest of $n$ elements require at most $n+\min\{k,n-k\}+o(n)$ comparisons on average and with high probability. This rectifies the analysis of…
We consider a simple model of imprecise comparisons: there exists some $\delta>0$ such that when a subject is given two elements to compare, if the values of those elements (as perceived by the subject) differ by at least $\delta$, then the…
The sudoku minimum number of clues problem is the following question: what is the smallest number of clues that a sudoku puzzle can have? For several years it had been conjectured that the answer is 17. We have performed an exhaustive…
Given $n$ elements, an integer $k$ and a parameter $\varepsilon$, we study to select an element with rank in $(k-n\varepsilon,k+n\varepsilon]$ using unreliable comparisons where the outcome of each comparison is incorrect independently with…