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.     

Computing simple paths among obstacles

Given a set X of points in the plane, two distinguished points s,tX, and a set Φ of obstacles represented by line segments, we wish to compute a simple polygonal path from s to t that uses only points in X as vertices and avoids the obstacles in Φ. We present two results: (1) we show that finding such simple paths among arbitrary obstacles is NP-complete, and (2) we give a polynomial-time algorithm that computes simple paths when the obstacles form a simple polygon P and X is inside P. Our algorithm runs in time O(m²n²), where m is the number of vertices of P and n is the number of points in X.     

An approximation algorithm for cutting out convex polygons

We provide an O(logn)-approximation algorithm for the following problem. Given a convex n-gon P, drawn on a convex piece of paper, cut P out of the piece of paper in the cheapest possible way. No polynomial-time approximation algorithm was known for this problem posed in 1985.     

Rotational polygon overlap minimization and compaction

An effective and fast algorithm is given for rotational overlap minimization: given an overlapping layout of polygons P₁, P₂, P₃, …, P_k in a container polygon Q, translate and rotate the polygons to diminish their overlap to a local minimum. A (local) overlap minimum has the property that any perturbation of the polygons increases the overlap. Overlap minimization is modified to create a practical algorithm for compaction: starting with a non-overlapping layout in a rectangular container, plan a non-overlapping motion that diminishes the length or area of the container to a local minimum. Experiments show that both overlap minimization and compaction work well in practice and are likely to be useful in industrial applications.     

Curve reconstruction: Connecting dots with good reason

Curve reconstruction algorithms are supposed to reconstruct curves from point samples. Recent papers present algorithms that come with a guarantee: Given a sufficiently dense sample of a closed smooth curve, the algorithms construct the correct polygonal reconstruction. Nothing is claimed about the output of the algorithms, if the input is not a dense sample of a closed smooth curve, e.g., a sample of a curve with endpoints. We present an algorithm that comes with a guarantee for any set P of input points. The algorithm constructs a polygonal reconstruction G and a smooth curve Γ that justifies G as the reconstruction from P.     

Densest translational lattice packing of non-convex polygons

A translational lattice packing of k polygons P₁,P₂,P₃,…,P_k is a (non-overlapping) packing of the k polygons which is replicated without overlap at each point of a lattice i₀v₀+i₁v₁, where v₀ and v₁ are vectors generating the lattice and i₀ and i₁ range over all integers. A densest translational lattice packing is one which minimizes the area |v₀×v₁| of the fundamental parallelogram. An algorithm and implementation is given for densest translational lattice packing. This algorithm has useful applications in industry, particularly clothing manufacture.     

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.     

On guarding the vertices of rectilinear domains

We prove that guarding the vertices of a rectilinear polygon P, whether by guards lying at vertices of P, or by guards lying on the boundary of P, or by guards lying anywhere in P, is NP-hard. For the first two proofs (i.e., vertex guards and boundary guards), we construct a reduction from minimum piercing of 2-intervals. The third proof is somewhat simpler; it is obtained by adapting a known reduction from minimum line cover.

We also consider the problem of guarding the vertices of a 1.5D rectilinear terrain. We establish an interesting connection between this problem and the problem of computing a minimum clique cover in chordal graphs. This connection yields a 2-approximation algorithm for the guarding problem.     

Length-bounded disjoint paths in planar graphs

The following problem is considered: given: an undirected planar graph G=(V,E) embedded in , distinct pairs of vertices {r₁,s₁},…,{r_k,s_k} of G adjacent to the unbounded face, positive integers b₁,…,b_k and a function ; find: pairwise vertex-disjoint paths P₁,…,P_k such that for each i=1,…,k, P_i is a r_i−s_i-path and the sum of the l-length of all edges in P_i is at most b_i. It is shown that the problem is NP-hard in the strong sense. A pseudo-polynomial-time algorithm is given for the case of k=2.     

Chromatic nearest neighbor searching: A query sensitive approach

The nearest neighbor problem is that of preprocessing a set P of n data points in so that, given any query point q, the closest point in P to q can be determined efficiently. In the chromatic nearest neighbor problem, each point of P is assigned a color, and the problem is to determine the color of the nearest point to the query point. More generally, given k1, the problem is to determine the color occurring most frequently among the k nearest neighbors. The chromatic version of the nearest neighbor problem is used in many applications in pattern recognition and learning. In this paper we present a simple algorithm for solving the chromatic k nearest neighbor problem. We provide a query sensitive analysis, which shows that if the color classes form spatially well separated clusters (as often happens in practice), then queries can be answered quite efficiently. We also allow the user to specify an error bound 0, and consider the same problem in the context of approximate nearest neighbor searching. We present empirical evidence that for well clustered data sets, this approach leads to significant improvements in efficiency.     

On the minimal reducible bound for outerplanar and planar graphs

Let L be the set of all additive and hereditary properties of graphs. For P₁, P₂ L we define the reducible property R = P₁ P₂ as follows: G P₁P₂ if there is a bipartition (V₁, V₂) of V(G) such that V₁ P₁ and V₂ P₂. For a property P L, a reducible property R is called a minimal reducible bound for P if P R and for each reducible property R′, R′ R → P R′. It is proved that the class of all outerplanar graphs has exactly two minimal reducible bounds in L. Some related problems for planar graphs are discussed.     

On the section of a convex polyhedron

Let P be a convex polyhedron in R³, and E be a plane cutting P. Then the section P_E=P∩E is a convex polygon. We show a sharp inequality , where L(P) denotes the sum of the edge-lengths of P.     

The point in polygon problem for arbitrary polygons

A detailed discussion of the point in polygon problem for arbitrary polygons is given. Two concepts for solving this problem are known in literature: the even–odd rule and the winding number, the former leading to ray-crossing, the latter to angle summation algorithms. First we show by mathematical means that both concepts are very closely related, thereby developing a first version of an algorithm for determining the winding number. Then we examine how to accelerate this algorithm and how to handle special cases. Furthermore we compare these algorithms with those found in literature and discuss the results.     

On some new types of greedy chains and greedy linear extensions of partially ordered sets

Two new types of greedy chains, strongly and semi-strongly greedy, in posets are defined and their role in solving the jump number problem is discussed in this paper. If a poset P contains a strongly greedy chain C then C may be taken as the first chain in an optimal linear extension of P. If a poset P has no strongly greedy chains then it contains an optimal linear extension which starts with a semi-strongly greedy chain. Hence, every poset has an optimal linear extension which consists of strongly and semi-strongly greedy chains. Algorithmic issues of finding such linear extensions are discussed elsewhere (Syslo, 1987, 1988), where we provide a very efficient method for solving the jump number problem which is polynomial in the class of posets whose arc representations contain a bounded number of dummy arcs. In another work, the author has recently demonstrated that this method restricted to interval orders gives rise to 3/2-approximation algorithm for such posets.     

The deviation, density, and depth of partially ordered sets

Let P be a poset, and let γ be a linear order type with |γ| ≥ 3. The γ-deviation of P, denoted by γ-dev P, is defined inductively as follows: (1) γ-dev P=0, if P contains no chain of order type γ; (2) γ-dev P = , if γ-dev P and each chain C of type γ in P contains elements a and b such that a<b and [a, b] as an interval of P has γ-deviation <. There may be no ordinal such that γ-dev P = ; i.e., γ-dev P does not exist. A chain is γ-dense if each of its intervals contains a chain of order type γ. If P contains a γ-dense chain, then γ-dev P fails to exist. If either (1) P is linearly ordered or (2) a chain of order type γ does not contain a dense interval, then the converse holds. For an ordinal ξ, a special set S(ξ) is used to study ω_ξ-deviation. The depth of P, denoted by δ(P) is the least ordinal β that does not embed in P^*. Then the following statements are equivalent: (1) ω_ξ-dev P does not exist; (2) S(ξ) embeds in P; and (3) P has a subset Q of cardinality _ξ such that δ(Q^*) = ω_{ξ + 1}. Also ω_ξ-dev P = <ω_{ξ + 1} if and only if |δ(P^*)|_ξ; if these equivalent conditions hold, then ω^β_ξ < δ(P^*) ≤ ω ^{+ 1}_ξ for all β < . Applications are made to the study of chains of submodules of a module over an associative ring.     

Generalized P(N)-graded Lie superalgebras

We generalize the P(N)-graded Lie superalgebras of Martinez-Zelmanov. This generalization is not so restrictive but suffcient enough so that we are able to have a classification for this generalized P(N)-graded Lie superalgebras. Our result is that the generalized P(N)-graded Lie super-algebra L is centrally isogenous to a matrix Lie superalgebra coordinated by an associative superalgebra with a super-involution. Moreover, L is P(N)-graded if and only if the coordinate algebra R is commutative and the super-involution is trivial. This recovers Martinez-Zelmanov's theorem for type P(N). We also obtain a generalization of Kac's coordinatization via Tits-Kantor-Koecher construction. Actually, the motivation of this generalization comes from the Fermionic-Bosonic module construction.     

On a straight-line embedding problem of graphs

Let G be a planar graph with n vertices, v be a specified vertex of G, and P be a set of n points in the Euclidian plane in general position. A straight-line embedding of G onto P is an embedding of G onto whose images of vertices are distinct points in P and whose images of edges are (straight) line segments. In this paper, we classify into five classes those pairs of G and v such that for any P and any p P, G has a straight-line embedding onto P which maps v to p. We then show that all graphs in three of the classes indeed have such an embedding. This result gives a solution to a generalized version of the rooted-tree embedding problem raised by M. Perles.     

More examples on ordered set reconstruction

We show that there are nonisomorphic ordered sets P and Q that have the same maximal and minimal decks and a rank k such that there is a map B from the elements of rank k in P to the elements of rank k in Q such that P{x} is isomorphic to Q{B(x)} for all x of rank k in P. The examples are preceded by a criterion as to when two nonisomorphic ordered sets will have a rank k and a map B as above.     

Ranks of zero patterns and sign patterns

Let F be a field with at least three elements. Zero patterns P such that all matrices over F with pattern P have the same rank are characterized. Similar results are proven for sign patterns. These results are applied to answering two open questions on conditions for formal nonsingularity of a pattern P, as well as to proving a sufficient condition on P such that all matrices over F with pattern P have the same height characteristic.     

Language-theoretic complexity of disjunctive sequences

A sequence over an alphabet ∑ is called disjunctive if it contains all possible finite strings over ∑ as its substrings. Disjunctive sequences have been recently studied in various contexts. They abound in both category and measure senses. In this paper we measure the complexity of a sequence x by the complexity of the language P(x) consisting of all prefixes of x. The languages P(x) associated to disjunctive sequences can be arbitrarily complex. We show that for some disjunctive numbers x the language P(x) is context-sensitive, but no language P(x) associated to a disjunctive number can be context-free. We also show that computing a disjunctive number x by rationals corresponding to an infinite subset of P(x) does not decrease the complexity of the procedure, i.e. if x is disjunctive, then P(x) does not have an infinite context-free subset. This result reinforces, in a way, Chaitin's thesis (1969) according to which perfect sets, i.e. sets for which there is no way to compute infinitely many of its members essentially better (simpler/quicker) than computing the whole set, do exist. Finally we prove the existence of the following language-theoretic complexity gap: There is no x ε ∑^w such that P(x) is context-free but not regular. If S(x), the set of all finite substrings of a sequence x ε ∑^w, is slender, then the set of all prefixes of x is regular, that is P(x) is regular if and only if S(x) is slender.