Constrained Spanning Tree Problem Research Articles

The Generalized Dependency Constrained Spanning Tree Problem

We introduce the Generalized Dependency Constrained Spanning Tree Problem (G-DCST), where an edge can be chosen only if the number of edges chosen from its dependency set lies in a certain interval. The dependency relations between the edges of the input graph G are described by the input digraph D, whose vertices are the edges of G. The in-neighbors of a vertex of D form its dependency set. We show that G-DCST unifies and generalizes some known spanning tree problems that apply conflict constraints over edges or lower and upper bounds on vertex degrees. We show that the feasibility version of G-DCST is NP-complete even under strong restrictions on the structures of G and D as well as on the functions that define the minimum or maximum number of dependencies to be satisfied. We also show that this problem keeps an lnn inapproximability threshold under tight assumptions over G and D. On the other hand, we spot a polynomial case via a matroid intersection argument.

Chain-constrained spanning trees

We consider the problem of finding a spanning tree satisfying a family of additional constraints. Several settings have been considered previously, the most famous being the problem of finding a spanning tree with degree constraints. Since the problem is hard, the goal is typically to find a spanning tree that violates the constraints as little as possible. Iterative rounding has become the tool of choice for constrained spanning tree problems. However, iterative rounding approaches are very hard to adapt to settings where an edge can be part of more than a constant number of constraints. We consider a natural constrained spanning tree problem of this type, namely where upper bounds are imposed on a family of cuts forming a chain. Our approach reduces the problem to a family of independent matroid intersection problems, leading to a spanning tree that violates each constraint by a factor of at most 9. We also present strong hardness results: among other implications, these are the first to show, in the setting of a basic constrained spanning tree problem, a qualitative difference between what can be achieved when allowing multiplicative as opposed to additive constraint violations.

Sharp Separation and Applications to Exact and Parameterized Algorithms

Many divide-and-conquer algorithms employ the fact that the vertex set of a graph of bounded treewidth can be separated in two roughly balanced subsets by removing a small subset of vertices, referred to as a separator. In this paper we prove a trade-off between the size of the separator and the sharpness with which we can fix the size of the two sides of the partition. Our result appears to be a handy and powerful tool for the design of exact and parameterized algorithms for NP-hard problems. We illustrate that by presenting two applications. Our first application is a O(2 n+o(n))-time algorithm for the Degree Constrained Spanning Tree problem: find a spanning tree of a graph with the maximum number of nodes satisfying given degree constraints. This problem generalizes some well-studied problems, among them Hamiltonian Path, Full Degree Spanning Tree, Bounded Degree Spanning Tree, and Maximum Internal Spanning Tree. The second application is a parameterized algorithm with running time O(16 k+o(k)+n O(1)) for the k-Internal Out-Branching problem: here the goal is to compute an out-branching of a digraph with at least k internal nodes. This is a significant improvement over the best previously known parameterized algorithm for the problem by Cohen et al. (J. Comput. Syst. Sci. 76:650–662, 2010), running in time O(49.4k +n O(1)).

Enhancing discretized formulations: the knapsack reformulation and the star reformulation

Discretized formulations have proved to be useful for modeling combinatorial optimizations. The main focus of this work is on how to strengthen the linear programming relaxation of a given discretized formulation. More precisely, we will study and strengthen subproblems that arise in these formulations. In one case we will focus on the so-called knapsack reformulation which is based on viewing these models as the intersection of two polyhedra, one of them being a specialized knapsack problem. We will show that strong inequalities used in previous works are a special case of inequalities implied by the knapsack formulation. In the second case we will analyze a star-like subproblem and will provide an extended formulation for this problem as well as a set of inequalities on the original space, implied by the inequalities of the extended formulation. We will use a generalization of the Degree Constrained Spanning Tree problem as a setting for this study. In the present work, besides contextualizing these enhancements in terms of discretized models presented in previous works, we also compare and combine together them, for the first time.

Study on Constrained Spanning Tree Problems with Genetic Algorithms

Study on Constrained Spanning Tree Problems with Genetic Algorithms