N-free posets as generalizations of series-parallel posets

N-Free posets have recently taken some importance and motivated many studies. This class of posets introduced by Grillet [8] and Heuchenne [11] are very related to another important class of posets, namely the series-parallel posets, introduced by Lawler [12] and studied by Valdes et al. [21]. This paper shows how N-free posets can be considered as generalizations of series-parallel posets, by giving a recursive construction of N-free posets. Furthermore we propose a linear time algorithm to recognize and decompose any N-free poset. This yields some very naturel problems, namely: which are the properties(such as linear time algorithm for some invariant) of series-parallel posets that are kept for N-free posets?     

Preemptive versus nonpreemptive scheduling of biprocessor tasks on dedicated processors

This paper investigates the computational complexity of preemptive and nonpreemptive scheduling of biprocessor tasks on dedicated processors in general and some of its special cases. We consider two criteria of optimality: the schedule length and sum of task completion times. In addition, we analyze the complexity of these problems when precedence constraints are involved. We show that in general all these problems are NP-hard in the strong sense.     

On Operators on Polynomials Preserving Real-Rootedness and the Neggers-Stanley Conjecture

We refine a technique used in a paper by Schur on real-rooted polynomials. This amounts to an extension of a theorem of Wagner on Hadamard products of Pólya frequency sequences. We also apply our results to polynomials for which the Neggers-Stanley Conjecture is known to hold. More precisely, we settle interlacing properties for E-polynomials of series-parallel posets and column-strict labelled Ferrers posets.     

Chains and Trees: ‘Strong’–‘Weak’ Order in Job Scheduling

We present a summary of recent NP-hardness and polynomial time solvability results for the distinction between strong and weak precedence for chains and trees in scheduling. We distinguish between chains and proper trees which are not chains, and demonstrate that the strong-weak precedence distinction for chains is not inclusive with regards to NP-hardness, and conjecture that the same holds for strong-weak tree precedence. The objective is to show that different interpretations for chain and tree order relations in scheduling might have far reaching computational implications.     

On Better-Quasi-Ordering Countable Series-Parallel Orders

We prove that any infinite sequence of countable series-parallel orders contains an increasing (with respect to embedding) infinite subsequence. This result generalizes Laver's and Corominas' theorems concerning better-quasi-order of the classes of countable chains and trees.

     

A compact labeling scheme for series-parallel graphs

A linear time labeling algorithm is presented for series-parallel graphs. The labels enable us to efficiently implement dynamic programming algorithms for sequencing problems with series-parallel precedence constraints. The labeling scheme can also be used to efficiently count and generate the initial sets, terminal sets and independent sets in transitive series-parallel digraphs and to provide a characterization of the maximal independent sets in transitive digraphs.     

Retractions onto series-parallel posets

The poset retraction problem for a poset P is whether a given poset Q containing P as a subposet admits a retraction onto P, that is, whether there is a homomorphism from Q onto P which fixes every element of P. We study this problem for finite series-parallel posets P. We present equivalent combinatorial, algebraic, and topological charaterisations of posets for which the problem is tractable, and, for such a poset P, we describe posets admitting a retraction onto P.     

The location of median paths on grid graphs

In this paper we consider the location of a path shaped facility on a grid graph. In the literature this problem was extensively studied on particular classes of graphs as trees or series-parallel graphs. We consider here the problem of finding a path which minimizes the sum of the (shortest) distances from it to the other vertices of the grid, where the path is also subject to an additional constraint that takes the form either of the length of the path or of the cardinality. We study the complexity of these problems and we find two polynomial time algorithms for two special cases, with time complexity of O(n) and O(nℓ) respectively, where n is the number of vertices of the grid and ℓ is the cardinality of the path to be located. The literature about locating dimensional facilities distinguishes between the location of extensive facilities in continuous spaces and network facility location. We will show that the problems presented here have a close connection with continuous dimensional facility problems, so that the procedures provided can also be useful for solving some open problems of dimensional facilities location in the continuous case.     

Cover-incomparability graphs and chordal graphs

The problem of recognizing cover-incomparability graphs (i.e. the graphs obtained from posets as the edge-union of their covering and incomparability graph) was shown to be NP-complete in general [J. Maxová, P. Pavlíkova, A. Turzík, On the complexity of cover-incomparability graphs of posets, Order 26 (2009) 229-236], while it is for instance clearly polynomial within trees. In this paper we concentrate on (classes of) chordal graphs, and show that any cover-incomparability graph that is a chordal graph is an interval graph. We characterize the posets whose cover-incomparability graph is a block graph, and a split graph, respectively, and also characterize the cover-incomparability graphs among block and split graphs, respectively. The latter characterizations yield linear time algorithms for the recognition of block and split graphs, respectively, that are cover-incomparability graphs.     

Time complexity of single- and identical parallel-machine scheduling with GERT network precedence constraints

In this paper we deal with the time complexity of single- and identical parallel-machine scheduling problems in which the durations and precedence constraints of the activities are stochastic. The stochastic precedence constraints are given by GERT networks. First, we sketch the basic concepts of GERT networks and machine scheduling with GERT network precedence constraints. Second, we discuss the time complexity of some open single-machine scheduling problems with GERT network precedence constraints. Third, we investigate the time complexity of identical parallel-machine scheduling problems with GERT network precedence constraints. Finally, we present an efficient reduction algorithm for the problem of computing the expected makespan for the latter type of scheduling problem.     

Peak quasisymmetric functions and Eulerian enumeration

Via duality of Hopf algebras, there is a direct association between peak quasisymmetric functions and enumeration of chains in Eulerian posets. We study this association explicitly, showing that the notion of cd-index, long studied in the context of convex polytopes and Eulerian posets, arises as the dual basis to a natural basis of peak quasisymmetric functions introduced by Stembridge. Thus Eulerian posets having a nonnegative cd-index (for example, face lattices of convex polytopes) correspond to peak quasisymmetric functions having a nonnegative representation in terms of this basis. We diagonalize the operator that associates the basis of descent sets for all quasisymmetric functions to that of peak sets for the algebra of peak functions, and study the g-polynomial for Eulerian posets as an algebra homomorphism.     

Complexity results for scheduling chains on a single machine

We investigate the computational complexity of deterministic sequencing problems in which unit-time jobs have to be scheduled on a single machine subject to chain-like precedence constraints. NP-hardness is established for the cases in which the number of late jobs or the total weighted tardiness is to be minimized, and for several related problems involving the total weighted completion time criterion.     

Time complexity of single machine scheduling with stochastic precedence constraints

This paper deals with single machine scheduling problems with stochastic precedence relations (so calledGERT networks). Until now most investigations on such problems, dealt with algorithms running in polynomial time. On the other hand, for scheduling problems with deterministic precedence relations exist a lot of results about time complexity. Therefore, the object of this paper is to consider time complexity of scheduling problems with stochastic precedence constraints and to describe the boundary between theNP-hard problems and those which can be solved in polynomial time.     

On forbidden configurations for strong posets

The concept of strong elements in posets is introduced. Several properties of strong elements in different types of posets are studied. Strong posets are characterized in terms of forbidden structures. It is shown that many of the classical results of lattice theory can be extended to posets. In particular, we give several characterizations of strongness for upper semimodular (USM) posets of finite length. We characterize modular pairs in USM posets of finite length and we investigate the interrelationships between consistence, strongness, and the property of being balanced in USM posets of finite length. In contrast to the situation in upper semimodular lattices, we show that these three concepts do not coincide in USM posets.     

The rank-generating functions of upho posets

Upper homogeneous finite type (upho) posets are a large class of partially ordered sets with the property that the principal order filter at every vertex is isomorphic to the whole poset. Well-known examples include k-ary trees, the grid graphs, and the Stern poset. Very little is known about upho posets in general. In this paper, we construct upho posets with Schur-positive Ehrenborg quasisymmetric functions, whose rank-generating functions have rational poles and zeros. We also categorize the rank-generating functions of all planar upho posets. Finally, we prove the existence of an upho poset with an uncomputable rank-generating function.     

The complexity of cutting complexes

This paper investigates the combinatorial and computational aspects of certain extremal geometric problems in two and three dimensions. Specifically, we examine the problem of intersecting a convex subdivision with a line in order to maximize the number of intersections. A similar problem is to maximize the number of intersected facets in a cross-section of a three-dimensional convex polytope. Related problems concern maximum chains in certain families of posets defined over the regions of a convex subdivision. In most cases we are able to prove sharp bounds on the asymptotic behavior of the corresponding extremal functions. We also describe polynomial algorithms for all the problems discussed.Bernard Chazelle wishes to acknowledge the National Science Foundation for supporting this research in part under Grant No. MCS83-03925. Herbert Edelsbrunner is pleased to acknowledge the support of Amoco Fnd. Fac. Dev. Comput. Sci. 1-6-44862.     

Algebraic properties of classes of path ideals of posets

We consider path ideals associated to special classes of posets such as tree posets and cycles. We express their property of being sequentially Cohen–Macaulay in terms of the underlying poset. Moreover, monomial ideals, which arise in algebraic statistics from the Luce-decomposable model and the ascending model, can be viewed as path ideals of certain posets. We study invariants of these so-called Luce-decomposable monomial ideals and ascending ideals for diamond posets and products of chains. In particular, for these classes of posets, we explicitly compute their Krull dimension, their projective dimension, their Castelnuovo–Mumford regularity and their Betti numbers.     

On scheduling with the non-idling constraint

In this paper, we give an overview of the main results obtained on the complexity of scheduling under the non-idling constraint, i.e, when the jobs assigned to each machine must be processed with no intermediate delay. That constraint is met in practice when the cost of intermediate idle time is too high due to the idle time itself and/or the machine restarting. The non idling constraint is a strong constraint that often needs a new solving approach and most results about classical scheduling problems do not easily extend to the non-idling variant of the problem. In this survey, we mainly consider the non-idling variants of the basic scheduling problems. So, we first present basic properties, complexity results and some algorithms concerning the one-machine non-idling scheduling problem. Then we consider the $m$ -machine non idling scheduling problem. We show that a few basic problems may be solved by rather easy extensions of the algorithm solving their classical counterpart. However, the complexity status of the non idling version of quite easy polynomial basic problems remains an open question. We finally consider a more constrained version of non-idling, called the “homogeneously non idling” constraint, where for any subset of machines, the union of their busy intervals must make an interval and we present the structural property that leads to a polynomial algorithm for unit time jobs and a weak precedence. We conclude by giving some research directions that seem quite interesting to study both for theoretical and practical issues.     

Some Remarks on Pseudotrees

This paper provides new results on pseudotrees. First, it is shown that pseudotrees are precisely those posets for which consistent sets, directed sets, and nonempty chains coincide. Second, we show that chain-complete pseudotrees yield complete meet-semilattices. Third, we prove that pseudotrees are precisely those posets that admit a set representation by sets of appropriate chains. This latter result generalizes results needed for applications in game theory and economics.