Recognizing Knödel graphs

Knödel graphs form a class of bipartite incident-graph of circulant digraphs. This class has been extensively studied for the purpose of fast communications in networks, and it has deserved a lot of attention in this context. In this paper, we show that there exists an O(n log⁵ n)-time algorithm to recognize Knödel graphs of order 2n. The algorithm is based on a characterization of the cycles of length six in these graphs (bipartite incident-graphs of circulant digraphs always have cycles of length six). A consequence of our result is that the circulant digraphs whose chords are the power of two minus one can be recognized in O(n log⁵ n) time.     

Partitions of finite affine geometries into caps

In a finite geometry of order q² we define a (q^mq^r)-affine cap to be a set of cardinality q^m which is a disjoint union ot q^m affine subgeometrics AG(r,q). such that no three points are coliinear unless contained in the same AG(r,q).

Given a PG(n,q²), where n = 2t + 1 or 2t + 2, and an n + 1 by n + 1 Hermitian matrix H over Gh(q²) with minimal polynomial (x - λ)^{n + 1}. we show that H induces a partition of the AG(n, q²) obtained by deleting a distinguished hyperplane from the PG, into (qⁿ,q^{l + 1})-affine caps; these caps can be viewed as the "large points" of an AG (n,q) with a natural incidence relation. It is also shown that H induces another partition of AG(n,q²), into q^{n - l 1}-caps, constituting the "large points" of an affine geometry AG(n + t + 1,q).

Also, the collineation C of PG(n, q²) given by x^c = H^Tx induces collineations on the AG(n,q) and AG(n + t + 1,q).     

On embedding an outer-planar graph in a point set

Given an n-vertex outer-planar graph G and a set P of n points in the plane, we present an O(nlog³n) time and O(n) space algorithm to compute a straight-line embedding of G in P, improving upon the algorithm in [8,12] that requires O(n²) time. Our algorithm is near-optimal as there is an Ω(nlogn) lower bound for the problem [4]. We present a simpler O(nd) time and O(n) space algorithm to compute a straight-line embedding of G in P where lognd2n is the length of the longest vertex disjoint path in the dual of G. Therefore, the time complexity of the simpler algorithm varies between O(nlogn) and O(n²) depending on the value of d. More efficient algorithms are presented for certain restricted cases. If the dual of G is a path, then an optimal Θ(nlogn) time algorithm is presented. If the given point set is in convex position then we show that O(n) time suffices.     

Lower bounds for computing geometric spanners and approximate shortest paths

We consider the problems of constructing geometric spanners, possibly containing Steiner points, for a set of n input points in d-dimensional space , and constructing spanners and approximate shortest paths among a collection of polygonal obstacles on the plane. The complexities of these problems are shown to be Ω(n log n) in the algebraic computation tree model. Since O(n log n)-time algorithms are known for solving these problems, our lower bounds are tight up to a constant factor.     

A faster 2-approximation algorithm for the minmax p-traveling salesmen problem on a tree

Given an edge-weighted tree T and an integer p1, the minmax p-traveling salesmen problem on a tree T asks to find p tours such that the union of the p tours covers all the vertices. The objective is to minimize the maximum of length of the p tours. It is known that the problem is NP-hard and has a (2−2/(p+1))-approximation algorithm which runs in O(p^p−1n^p−1) time for a tree with n vertices. In this paper, we consider an extension of the problem in which the set of vertices to be covered now can be chosen as a subset S of vertices and weights to process vertices in S are also introduced in the tour length. For the problem, we give an approximation algorithm that has the same performance guarantee, but runs in O((p−1)!·n) time.     

On parallel rectilinear obstacle- avoiding paths

We give improved space and processor complexities for the problem of computing, in parallel, a data structure that supports queries about shortest rectilinear obstacle-avoiding paths in the plane, where the obstacles are disjoint rectangles. That is, a query specifies any source and destination in the plane, and the data structure enables efficient processing of the query. We now can build the data structure with O(n²/log n) CREW PRAM processors, as opposed to the previous O(n²), and with O(n²) space, as opposed to the previous O(n²(log n)²). The time complexity remains unchanged, at O((log n)²). As before, the data structure we compute enables a query to be processed in O(log n) time, by one processor for obtaining a path length, or by O(k/log n) processors for retrieving a shortest path itself, where k is the number of segments on that path. The new ideas that made our improvement possible include a new partitioning scheme of the recursion tree, which is used to schedule the computations performed on that tree. Since a number of other related shortest paths problems are solved using this technique as a subroutine our improvement translates into a similar improvement in the complexities of these problems as well.     

First passage time for some stationary processes

For a 1-dependent stationary sequence {X_n} we first show that if u satisfies p₁=p₁(u)=P(X₁>u)0.025 and n>3 is such that 88np₁³1, then

P{max(X₁,…,X_n)u}=ν·μⁿ+O{p₁³(88n(1+124np₁³)+561)}, n>3,

where

ν=1−p₂+2p₃−3p₄+p₁²+6p₂²−6p₁p₂,μ=(1+p₁−p₂+p₃−p₄+2p₁²+3p₂²−5p₁p₂)⁻¹

with

p_k=p_k(u)=P{min(X₁,…,X_k)>u}, k1

and

|O(x)||x|.

From this result we deduce, for a stationary T-dependent process with a.s. continuous path {Y_s}, a similar, in terms of P{max_0skTY_s<u}, k=1,2 formula for P{max_0stY_su}, t>3T and apply this formula to the process Y_s=W(s+1)−W(s), s0, where {W(s)} is the Wiener process. We then obtain numerical estimations of the above probabilities.     

Computing the face lattice of a polytope from its vertex-facet incidences

We give an algorithm that constructs the Hasse diagram of the face lattice of a convex polytope P from its vertex-facet incidences in time O(min{n,m}··), where n is the number of vertices, m is the number of facets, is the number of vertex-facet incidences, and  is the total number of faces of P. This improves results of Fukuda and Rosta [Computational Geometry 4 (4) (1994) 191–198], who described an algorithm for enumerating all faces of a d-polytope in O(min{n,m}·d·²) steps. For simple or simplicial d-polytopes our algorithm can be specialized to run in time O(d··). Furthermore, applications of the algorithm to other atomic lattices are discussed, e.g., to face lattices of oriented matroids.     

An efficient direct approach for computing shortest rectilinear paths among obstacles in a two-layer interconnection model

In this paper, we present a direct approach for routing a shortest rectilinear path between two points among a set of rectilinear obstacles in a two-layer interconnection model that is used for VLSI routing applications. The previously best known direct approach for this problem takes O(nlog²n) time and O(nlogn) space, where n is the total number of obstacle edges. By using integer data structures and an implicit graph representation scheme (i.e., a generalization of the distance table method), we improve the time bound to O(nlog^3/2n) while still maintaining the O(nlogn) space bound. Comparing with the indirect approach for this problem, our algorithm is simpler to implement and is probably faster for a quite large range of input sizes.     

Finding all essential terms of a characteristic maxpolynomial

Let us denote ab=max(a,b) and ab=a+b for and extend this pair of operations to matrices and vectors in the same way as in linear algebra. We present an O(n²(m+n log n)) algorithm for finding all essential terms of the max-algebraic characteristic polynomial of an n×n matrix over with m finite elements. In the cases when all terms are essential, this algorithm also solves the following problem: Given an n×n matrix A and k{1,…,n}, find a k×k principal submatrix of A whose assignment problem value is maximum.     

A one-dimensional Poisson growth model with non-overlapping intervals

Suppose given a realization of a Poisson process on the line: call the points ‘germs’ because at a given instant ‘grains’ start growing around every germ, stopping for any particular grain when it touches another grain. When all growth stops a fraction e⁻¹ of the line remains uncovered. Let n germs be thrown uniformly and independently onto the circumference of a circle, and let grains grow under a similar protocol. Then the expected fraction of the circle remaining uncovered is the nth partial sum of the usual series for e⁻¹. These results, which sharpen inequalities obtained earlier, have one-sided analogues: the grains on the positive axis alone do not cover the origin with probability e^−1/2, and the conditional probability that the origin is uncovered by these positive grains, given that the germs n and n+1 coincide, is the nth partial sum of the series for e^−1/2. Despite the close similarity of these results to the rencontre, or matching, problem, we have no inclusion–exclusion derivation of them. We give explicitly the distributions for the length of a contiguous block of grains and the number of grains in such a block, and for the length of a grain. The points of the line not covered by any grain constitute a Kingman-type regenerative phenomenon for which the associated p-function p(t) gives the conditional probability that a point at distance t from an uncovered point is also uncovered. These functions enable us to identify a continuous-time Markov chain on the integers for which p(t) is a diagonal transition probability.     

Homogenization of Elliptic Problems with Neumann Boundary Conditions in Non-smooth Domains

We consider a family of second-order elliptic operators {L_ε} in divergence form with rapidly oscillating and periodic coefficients in Lipschitz and convex domains in R~n. We are able to show that the uniform W~(1,p) estimate of second order elliptic systems holds for 2n/(n+1)-δ p 2n/(n-1)+ δ where δ 0 is independent of ε and the ranges are sharp for n = 2, 3. And for elliptic equations in Lipschitz domains, the W~(1,p) estimate is true for 3/2-δ p 3 + δ if n ≥ 4, similar estimate was extended to convex domains for 1 p ∞.     

Subsets of an interval whose product is a power

We form squares from the product of integers in a short interval [n, n + t_n], where we include n in the product. If p is prime, p|n, and (₂^p) > n, we prove that p is the minimum t_n. If no such prime exists, we prove t_n √5n when n> 32. If n = p(2p − 1) and both p and 2p − 1 are primes, then t_n = 3p> 3 √n/2. For n(n + u) a square > n², we conjecture that a and b exist where n < a < b < n + u and nab is a square (except n = 8 and N = 392). Let g₂(n) be minimal such that a square can be formed as the product of distinct integers from [n, g₂(n)] so that no pair of consecutive integers is omitted. We prove that g₂(n) 3n − 3, and list or conjecture the values of g₂(n) for all n. We describe the generalization to kth powers and conjecture the values for large n.     

3-D vertical ray shooting and 2-D point enclosure, range searching, and arc shooting amidst convex fat objects

We present a new data structure for a set of n convex simply-shaped fat objects in the plane, and use it to obtain efficient and rather simple solutions to several problems including (i) vertical ray shooting—preprocess a set of n non-intersecting convex simply-shaped flat objects in 3-space, whose xy-projections are fat, for efficient vertical ray shooting queries, (ii) point enclosure—preprocess a set C of n convex simply-shaped fat objects in the plane, so that the k objects containing a query point p can be reported efficiently, (iii) bounded-size range searching— preprocess a set C of n convex fat polygons, so that the k objects intersecting a “not-too-large” query polygon can be reported efficiently, and (iv) bounded-size segment shooting—preprocess a set C as in (iii), so that the first object (if exists) hit by a “not-too-long” oriented query segment can be found efficiently. For the first three problems we construct data structures of size O(λ_s(n)log³n), where s is the maximum number of intersections between the boundaries of the (xy-projections) of any pair of objects, and λ_s(n) is the maximum length of (n, s) Davenport-Schinzel sequences. The data structure for the fourth problem is of size O(λ_s(n)log²n). The query time in the first problem is O(log⁴n), the query time in the second and third problems is O(log³n + klog²n), and the query time in the fourth problem is O(log³n).

We also present a simple algorithm for computing a depth order for a set as in (i), that is based on the solution to the vertical ray shooting problem. (A depth order for , if exists, is a linear order of , such that, if K₁, K₂ and K₁ lies vertically above K₂, then K₁ precedes K₂.) Unlike the algorithm of Agarwal et al. (1995) that might output a false order when a depth order does not exist, the new algorithm is able to determine whether such an order exists, and it is often more efficient in practical situations than the former algorithm.     

The thermal equilibrium state of semiconductor devices

The thermal equilibrium state of two oppositely charged gases confined to a bounded domain , m = 1,2 or m = 3, is entirely described by the gases' particle densities p, n minimizing the total energy (p, n). it is shown that for given P, N > 0 the energy functional admits a unique minimizer in {(p, n) ε L²(Ω) x L ²(Ω) : p, n ≥ 0, _Ωp = P, _Ωn = N} and that p, n ε C(Ω) ∩ L^∞(Ω).

The analysis is applied to the hydrodynamic semiconductor device equations. These equations in general possess more than one thermal equilibrium solution, but only the unique solution of the corresponding variational problem minimizes the total energy. It is equivalent to prescribe boundary data for electrostatic potential and particle densities satisfying the usual compatibility relations and to prescribe V^e and P, N for the variational problem.     

On the Equation n_1n_2= n_3n_4 Restricted to Factor Closed Sets

We study the number of solutions N(B,F) of the diophantine equation n_1n_2 = n_3 n_4,where 1 ≤ n_1 ≤ B,1 ≤ n_3 ≤ B,n_2,n_4 ∈ F and F[1,B] is a factor closed set.We study more particularly the case when F={m = p_1~(ε1)···p_k~(εk),ε_j∈{0,1},1 ≤ j ≤ k},p_1,...,p_k being distinct prime numbers.     

Stability of Periodic Orbits and Return Trajectories of Continuous Multi-valued Maps on Intervals

Let I be a compact interval of real axis R, and(I, H) be the metric space of all nonempty closed subintervals of I with the Hausdorff metric H and f : I → I be a continuous multi-valued map. Assume that Pn =(x_0, x_1,..., xn) is a return tra jectory of f and that p ∈ [min Pn, max Pn] with p ∈ f(p). In this paper, we show that if there exist k(≥ 1) centripetal point pairs of f(relative to p)in {(x_i; x_i+1) : 0 ≤ i ≤ n-1} and n = sk + r(0 ≤ r ≤ k-1), then f has an R-periodic orbit, where R = s + 1 if s is even, and R = s if s is odd and r = 0, and R = s + 2 if s is odd and r 0. Besides,we also study stability of periodic orbits of continuous multi-valued maps from I to I.     

An efficient algorithm for the parametric resource allocation problem

The parametric resource allocation problem asks to minimize the sum of separable single-variable convex functions containing a parameter λ, Σ_{i = 1}ⁿ (ƒ_i(x_i + λg_i(x_i)), under simple constraints Σ_{i = 1}ⁿ x_i = M, l_i≤x_i≤u_i and x_i: nonnegative integers for i = 1, 2, …, n, where M is a given positive integer, and l_i and u_i are given lower and upper bounds on x_i. This paper presents an efficient algorithm for computing the sequence of all optimal solutions when λ is continuously changed from 0 to ∞. The required time is O(G√Mlog² n + n log n + n log(M/n)), where G = Σ_{i = 1}ⁿ u_i − Σ_{i = 1n} l_i and an evaluation of ƒ_i(·) or g_i(·) is assumed to be done in constant time.     

The growth of laguerre matrix polynomials on bounded intervals

Let A be a matrix in ^r×r such that Re(z) > −1/2 for all the eigenvalues of A and let {π_n^(A,1/2) (x)} be the normalized sequence of Laguerre matrix polynomials associated with A. In this paper, it is proved that π_n^(A,1/2) (x) = O(n^(A)/2ln^r−1(n)) and π_n+1^(A,1/2) (x) − π_n^(A,1/2) (x) = O(n^((A)−1)/2ln^r−1(n)) uniformly on bounded intervals, where (A) = max{Re(z); z eigenvalue of A}.     

Almost perfect matchings in random uniform hypergraphs

We consider the following model H_r(n, p) of random r-uniform hypergraphs. The vertex set consists of two disjoint subsets V of size | V | = n and U of size | U | = (r − 1)n. Each r-subset of V × (_r−1^U) is chosen to be an edge of H ε H_r(n, p) with probability p = p(n), all choices being independent. It is shown that for every 0 < < 1 if P = (C ln n)/n^r−1 with C = C() sufficiently large, then almost surely every subset V₁ V of size | V₁ | = (1 − )n is matchable, that is, there exists a matching M in H such that every vertex of V₁ is contained in some edge of M.