Quantum Algorithms for Graph Coloring and Other Partitioning, Covering, and Packing Problems

Abstract

Let U be a universe on n elements, let k be a positive integer, and let ℱ be a family of (implicitly defined) subsets of U. We consider the problems of partitioning U into k sets from ℱ, covering U with k sets from ℱ, and packing k non-intersecting sets from ℱ into U. Classically, these problems can be solved via inclusion-exclusion in 2ⁿ n^O(1) time [Andreas Björklund et al., 2009]. Quantumly, there are faster algorithms for graph coloring with running time O(1.9140ⁿ) [Kazuya Shimizu and Ryuhei Mori, 2022] and for Set Cover with a small number of sets with running time O(1.7274ⁿ |ℱ|^O(1)) [Andris Ambainis et al., 2019]. In this paper, we give a quantum speedup for Set Partition, Set Cover, and Set Packing whenever there is a classical enumeration algorithm that lends itself to a quadratic quantum speedup, which, for any subinstance on a set X ⊆ U, enumerates at least one member of a k-partition, k-cover, or k-packing (if one exists) restricted to (or projected onto, in the case of k-cover) the set X in c^|X| n^O(1) time with c < 2. Our bounded-error quantum algorithm runs in time (2+c)^{n/2} n^O(1) for Set Partition, Set Cover, and Set Packing. It is obtained by combining three algorithms that have the best running time for some values of c. When c ≤ 1.147899, our algorithm is slightly faster than (2+c)^{n/2} n^O(1); when c approaches 1, it matches the O(1.7274ⁿ |ℱ|^O(1)) running time of [Andris Ambainis et al., 2019] for Set Cover when |ℱ| is subexponential in n.
For covering, packing, and partitioning into maximal independent sets, maximal cliques, maximal bicliques, maximal cluster graphs, maximal triangle-free graphs, maximal cographs, maximal claw-free graphs, maximal trivially-perfect graphs, maximal threshold graphs, maximal split graphs, maximal line graphs, and maximal induced forests, we obtain bounded-error quantum algorithms with running times ranging from O(1.8554ⁿ) to O(1.9629ⁿ). Packing and covering by maximal induced matchings can be done quantumly in O(1.8934ⁿ) time.
For Graph Coloring (covering with k maximal independent sets), we further improve the running time to O(1.7956ⁿ) by leveraging faster algorithms for coloring with a small number of colors to better balance our divide-and-conquer steps. For Domatic Number (packing k minimal dominating sets), we obtain a O((2-ε)ⁿ) running time for some ε > 0.
Several of our results should be of interest to proponents of classical computing:  
- We present an inclusion-exclusion algorithm with running time O^*(∑_{i=0}^⌊αn⌋ binom(n,i)), which determines, for each X ⊆ U of size at most α n, 0 ≤ α ≤ 1, whether (X,ℱ) has a k-cover, k-partition, or k-packing. This running time is best-possible, up to polynomial factors. 
- We prove that for any linear-sized vertex subset X ⊆ V of a graph G = (V,E), the number of minimal dominating sets of G that are subsets of X is O((2-ε)^|X|) for some ε > 0.