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New algorithms for maximum disjoint paths based on tree-likeness
Publikationstyp
Conference Paper
Date Issued
2016-08-01
Sprache
English
TORE-URI
Citation
24th European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2016)
Contribution to Conference
Publisher DOI
We study the classical NP-hard problems of finding maximum-size subsets from given sets of k terminal pairs that can be routed via edge-disjoint paths (MAXEDP) or node-disjoint paths (MAXNDP) in a given graph. The approximability of MAXEDP/NDP is currently not well understood; the best known lower bound is Ω(log 1/2-ϵn), assuming NP ⊈ ZPTIME(npoy gn). This constitutes a significant gap to the best known approximation upper bound of O(√n) due to Chekuri et al. (2006) and closing this gap is currently one of the big open problems in approximation algorithms. In their seminal paper, Raghavan and Thompson (Combinatorica, 1987) introduce the technique of randomized rounding for LPs; their technique gives an O(1)-approximation when edges (or nodes) may be used by O (log n/log log n) paths. In this paper, we strengthen the above fundamental results. We provide new bounds formulated in terms of the feedback vertex set number r of a graph, which measures its vertex deletion distance to a forest. In particular, we obtain the following. • For MAXEDP, we give an O(√r · log1.5 kr)-approximation algorithm. As r ≤ n, up to logarithmic factors, our result strengthens the best known ratio O(√n) due to Chekuri et al. • Further, we show how to route Ω(OPT) pairs with congestion O(log kr/log log kr), strengthening the bound obtained by the classic approach of Raghavan and Thompson. • For MAXNDP, we give an algorithm that gives the optimal answer in time (k + r)O(r) · n. This is a substantial improvement on the run time of 2k r O(r) · n, which can be obtained via an algorithm by Scheffler. We complement these positive results by proving that MAXEDP is NP-hard even for r = 1, and MAXNDP is W[1]-hard for parameter r. This shows that neither problem is fixed-parameter tractable in r unless FPT = W[1] and that our approximability results are relevant even for very small constant values of r. © Krzysztof Fleszar, Matthias Mnich, and Joachim Spoerhase.
DDC Class
004: Informatik