Proximity problems on line segments spanned by points

Finding the closest or farthest line segment (line) from a point are fundamental proximity problems. Given a set S of n points in the plane and another point q, we present optimal O(nlogn) time, O(n) space algorithms for finding the closest and farthest line segments (lines) from q among those spanned by the points in S. We further show how to apply our techniques to find the minimum (maximum) area triangle with a vertex at q and the other two vertices in S{q} in optimal O(nlogn) time and O(n) space. Finally, we give an O(nlogn) time, O(n) space algorithm to find the kth closest line from q and show how to find the k closest lines from q in O(nlogn+k) time and O(n+k) space.     

Sparse geometric graphs with small dilation

Given a set S of n points in , and an integer k such that 0k<n, we show that a geometric graph with vertex set S, at most n−1+k edges, maximum degree five, and dilation O(n/(k+1)) can be computed in time O(nlogn). For any k, we also construct planar n-point sets for which any geometric graph with n−1+k edges has dilation Ω(n/(k+1)); a slightly weaker statement holds if the points of S are required to be in convex position.     

Unitarizability of premodular categories

We study the unitarizability of premodular categories constructed from representations of quantum group at roots of unity. We introduce Grothendieck unitarizability as a natural generalization of unitarizability to classes of premodular categories with a common Grothendieck semiring. We obtain new results for quantum groups of Lie types F₄ and G₂, and improve the previously obtained results for Lie types B and C.     

Covering point sets with two disjoint disks or squares

We study the following problem: Given a set of red points and a set of blue points on the plane, find two unit disks C_R and C_B with disjoint interiors such that the number of red points covered by C_R plus the number of blue points covered by C_B is maximized. We give an algorithm to solve this problem in O(n^8/3log²n) time, where n denotes the total number of points. We also show that the analogous problem of finding two axis-aligned unit squares S_R and S_B instead of unit disks can be solved in O(nlogn) time, which is optimal. If we do not restrict ourselves to axis-aligned squares, but require that both squares have a common orientation, we give a solution using O(n³logn) time.     

An improved algorithm for generalized comparison of minisatellites

One of the most important objects in genetic mapping and forensic studies are minisatellites. They consist of a heterogeneous tandem array of short repeat units called variants. The evolution of minisatellites is realized by tandem duplication and tandem deletion of variants. Jeffrey et al. proposed a method to obtain the sequence of variants, called maps. Bérard and Rivals designed the first algorithm of comparison of two minisatellite maps under an evolutionary model including deletion, insertion, mutation, amplification and contraction. The complexity of this first algorithm was O(n⁴) in time and O(n³) in space where n is the size of the maps. In this paper we propose a more efficient algorithm using the same generic evolutionary model which is O(n³) in time and O(n²) in space. Our algorithm with this better efficiency can even solve generalized and more refined models.     

Visibility maps of segments and triangles in 3D

Let T be a set of n triangles in three-dimensional space, let s be a line segment, and let t be a triangle, both disjoint from T. We consider the subdivision of T based on (in)visibility from s; this is the visibility map of the segment s with respect to T. The visibility map of the triangle t is defined analogously. We look at two different notions of visibility: strong (complete) visibility, and weak (partial) visibility. The trivial Ω(n²) lower bound for the combinatorial complexity of the strong visibility map of both s and t is almost tight: we prove an O(n²(n)) upper bound for both structures, where (n) is the extremely slowly increasing inverse Ackermann function. Furthermore, we prove that the weak visibility map of s has complexity Θ(n⁵), and the weak visibility map of t has complexity Θ(n⁷). If T is a polyhedral terrain, the complexity of the weak visibility map is Ω(n⁴) and O(n⁵), both for a segment and a triangle. We also present efficient algorithms to compute all discussed structures.     

Eigenvalues of association schemes of quadratic forms

The duality and primitivity of the association scheme Qua(n,q) of quadratic forms in n variables and the association scheme Sym(n,q) of symmetric bilinear forms in n variables over the finite field are discussed by Wang et al. [Association schemes of quadratic forms and symmetric bilinear forms, J. Algebraic Combin. 17 (2003) 149–161]. In this paper, eigenvalues of Qua(n,q) are computed, where q is a power of 2. As an application, two fusion schemes of Qua(n,q) are discussed and their dual schemes are constructed.     

Large convex cones in hypercubes

A family of subsets of [n] is positive linear combination free if the characteristic vector of neither member is the positive linear combination of the characteristic vectors of some other ones. We construct a positive linear combination free family which contains (1-o(1))2ⁿ subsets of [n] and we give tight bounds on the o(1)2ⁿ term. The problem was posed by Ahlswede and Khachatrian [Cone dependence—a basic combinatorial concept, Preprint 00-117, Diskrete Strukturen in der Mathematik SFB 343, Universität Bielefeld, 2000] and the result has geometric consequences.     

Chromatic numbers and products

Let f(n) be the smallest number so that there are two n chromatic graphs whose product has chromatic number f(n). Under the assumption that a certain sharper result than one obtained by Duffus et al. [On the chromatic number of the product of graphs, J. Graph Theory 9 (1985) 487–495], and Welzl [Symmetric graphs and interpretations, J. Combin. Theory, Sci. B 37 (1984) 235–244], holds we will prove that f(n)n/2.     

On finding widest empty curved corridors

An -siphon of width w is the locus of points in the plane that are at the same distance w from a 1-corner polygonal chain C such that is the interior angle of C. Given a set P of n points in the plane and a fixed angle , we want to compute the widest empty -siphon that splits P into two non-empty sets. We present an efficient O(nlog³n)-time algorithm for computing the widest oriented -siphon through P such that the orientation of a half-line of C is known. We also propose an O(n³log²n)-time algorithm for the widest arbitrarily-oriented version and an Θ(nlogn)-time algorithm for the widest arbitrarily-oriented -siphon anchored at a given point.     

Finding a length-constrained maximum-sum or maximum-density subtree and its application to logistics

We study the problem of finding a length-constrained maximum-density path in a tree with weight and length on each edge. This problem was proposed in [R.R. Lin, W.H. Kuo, K.M. Chao, Finding a length-constrained maximum-density path in a tree, Journal of Combinatorial Optimization 9 (2005) 147–156] and solved in O(nU) time when the edge lengths are positive integers, where n is the number of nodes in the tree and U is the length upper bound of the path. We present an algorithm that runs in O(nlog²n) time for the generalized case when the edge lengths are positive real numbers, which indicates an improvement when U=Ω(log²n). The complexity is reduced to O(nlogn) when edge lengths are uniform. In addition, we study the generalized problems of finding a length-constrained maximum-sum or maximum-density subtree in a given tree or graph, providing algorithmic and complexity results.     

Limit shape of convex lattice polygons with minimal perimeter

Let n be a positive integer and · any norm in . Denote by B the unit ball of · and the class of convex lattice polygons with n vertices and least ·-perimeter. We prove that after suitable normalization, all members of tend to a fixed convex body, as n→∞.     

Computing the Fréchet distance between piecewise smooth curves

We consider the Fréchet distance between two curves which are given as a sequence of m+n curved pieces. If these pieces are sufficiently well-behaved, we can compute the Fréchet distance in O(mnlog(mn)) time. The decision version of the problem can be solved in O(mn) time. The results are based on an analysis of the possible intersection patterns between circles and arcs of bounded curvature.     

Computing homotopic shortest paths efficiently

We give deterministic and randomized algorithms to find shortest paths homotopic to a given collection Π of disjoint paths that wind amongst n point obstacles in the plane. Our deterministic algorithm runs in time , and the randomized algorithm runs in expected time O(k_out+k_inlogn+n(logn)^1+ε). Here k_in is the number of edges in all the paths of Π, and k_out is the number of edges in the output paths.     

A loop-free two-close Gray-code algorithm for listing k-ary Dyck words

P. Chase and F. Ruskey each published a Gray code for length n binary strings with m occurrences of 1, coding m-combinations of n objects, which is two-close—that is, in passing from one binary string to its successor a single 1 exchanges positions with a 0 which is either adjacent to the 1 or separated from it by a single 0. If we impose the restriction that any suffix of a string contains at least k−1 times as many 0's as 1's, we obtain k-suffixes: suffixes of k-ary Dyck words. Combinations are retrieved as special case by setting k=1 and k-ary Dyck words are retrieved as a special case by imposing the additional condition that the entire string has exactly k−1 times as many 0's as 1's. We generalize Ruskey's Gray code to the first two-close Gray code for k-suffixes and we provide a loop-free implementation for k2. For k=1 we use a simplified version of Chase's loop-free algorithm for generating his two-close Gray code for combinations. These results are optimal in the sense that there does not always exist a Gray code, either for combinations or Dyck words, in which the 1 and the 0 that exchange positions are adjacent.     

A quadratic distance bound on sliding between crossing-free spanning trees

Let S be a set of n points in the plane and let be the set of all crossing-free spanning trees of S. We show that it is possible to transform any two trees in into each other by O(n²) local and constant-size edge slide operations. Previously no polynomial upper bound for this task was known, but in [O. Aichholzer, F. Aurenhammer, F. Hurtado, Sequences of spanning trees and a fixed tree theorem, Comput. Geom.: Theory Appl. 21 (1–2) (2002) 3–20] a bound of O(n²logn) operations was conjectured.     

Chaining algorithms for multiple genome comparison

Given n fragments from k>2 genomes, Myers and Miller showed how to find an optimal global chain of colinear non-overlapping fragments in O(nlog^kn) time and O(nlog^k−1n) space. For gap costs in the L₁-metric, we reduce the time complexity of their algorithm by a factor and the space complexity by a factor logn. For the sum-of-pairs gap cost, our algorithm improves the time complexity of their algorithm by a factor . A variant of our algorithm finds all significant local chains of colinear non-overlapping fragments. These chaining algorithms can be used in a variety of problems in comparative genomics: the computation of global alignments of complete genomes, the identification of regions of similarity (candidate regions of conserved synteny), the detection of genome rearrangements, and exon prediction.     

Constructing suffix arrays in linear time

The time complexity of suffix tree construction has been shown to be equivalent to that of sorting: O(n) for a constant-size alphabet or an integer alphabet and O(nlogn) for a general alphabet. However, previous algorithms for constructing suffix arrays have the time complexity of O(nlogn) even for a constant-size alphabet.

In this paper we present a linear-time algorithm to construct suffix arrays for integer alphabets, which do not use suffix trees as intermediate data structures during its construction. Since the case of a constant-size alphabet can be subsumed in that of an integer alphabet, our result implies that the time complexity of directly constructing suffix arrays matches that of constructing suffix trees.     

A survey on proper codes

The performance of a linear t-error correcting code over a q-ary symmetric memoryless channel with symbol error probability ε is characterized by the probability that a transmission error will remain undetected. This probability is a function of ε involving the code weight distribution and the weight distribution of the cosets of minimum weight at most t. When the undetectable error probability is an increasing function of ε, the code is called t-proper.

The paper presents sufficient conditions for t-properness and a list of codes known to be proper, many of which have been studied by these sufficient conditions. Special attention is paid to error detecting codes of interest in modern communication.     

On partitioning two matroids into common independent subsets

Let M₁ and M₂ be two matroids on the same ground set S. We conjecture that if there do not exist disjoint subsets A₁,A₂,…,A_k+1 of S, such that _isp_M1(A_i)≠Ø, and similarly for M₂, then S is partitioned into k sets, each independent in both M₁ and M₂. This is a possible generalization of König's edge-coloring theorem. We prove the conjecture for the case k=2 and for a regular case, in which both matroids have the same rank d, and S consists of k·d elements. Finally, we prove another special case related to a conjecture of Rota.