DROPS

Volume

LIPIcs, Volume 162

17th Scandinavian Symposium and Workshops on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2020)

SWAT 2020, June 22-24, 2020, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands

Editors: Susanne Albers

Volume

LIPIcs, Volume 3

26th International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science

STACS 2009, February 26-28, 2009, Freiburg, Germany

Editors: Susanne Albers and Jean-Yves Marion

Volume

LIPIcs, Volume 1

25th International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science

STACS 2008, February 21-23, 2008, Bordeaux, France

Editors: Susanne Albers and Pascal Weil

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.86

The Secretary Problem with Predictions and a Chosen Order

Authors: Helia Karisani, Mohammadreza Daneshvaramoli, Hedyeh Beyhaghi, Mohammad Hajiesmaili, and Cameron Musco

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 362, 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)

Abstract

We study a learning-augmented variant of the secretary problem, recently introduced by Fujii and Yoshida (2023). In this variant, the decision-maker has access to machine-learned predictions of candidate values in advance. The key challenge is to balance consistency and robustness: when the predictions are accurate, the algorithm should hire a near-best secretary; however, if they are inaccurate, the algorithm should still achieve a bounded competitive ratio. We consider both the standard Random Order Secretary Problem (ROSP), where candidates arrive in a uniform random order, and a more natural model in the learning-augmented setting, where the decision-maker can choose the arrival order based on the predicted candidate values. This model, which we call the Chosen Order Secretary Problem (COSP), can capture scenarios such as an interview schedule that is set by the decision-maker. We propose a novel algorithm that applies to both ROSP and COSP. Building on the approach of Fujii and Yoshida, our method switches from fully trusting predictions to a threshold-based rule when a large deviation of a prediction is observed. Importantly, unlike the algorithm of Fujii and Yoshida, our algorithm uses randomization as part of its decision logic. We show that if ε ∈ [0,1] denotes the maximum multiplicative prediction error, then for ROSP our algorithm achieves competitive ratio max {0.221, (1-ε)/(1+ε)}, improving on a previous bound of max {0.215, (1-ε)/(1+ε)} due to Fujii and Yoshida [Fujii and Yoshida, 2023]. For COSP, our algorithm achieves max {0.262, (1-ε)/(1+ε)}. This surpasses a 0.25 upper bound on the worst-case competitive ratio that applies to the approach of Fujii and Yoshida, and gets closer to the classical secretary benchmark of 1/e ≈ 0.368, which is an upper bound for any algorithm. Our result for COSP highlights the benefit of integrating predictions with arrival-order control in online decision-making.

Cite as

Helia Karisani, Mohammadreza Daneshvaramoli, Hedyeh Beyhaghi, Mohammad Hajiesmaili, and Cameron Musco. The Secretary Problem with Predictions and a Chosen Order. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 86:1-86:24, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{karisani_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.86,
  author =	{Karisani, Helia and Daneshvaramoli, Mohammadreza and Beyhaghi, Hedyeh and Hajiesmaili, Mohammad and Musco, Cameron},
  title =	{{The Secretary Problem with Predictions and a Chosen Order}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{86:1--86:24},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-410-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{362},
  editor =	{Saraf, Shubhangi},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.86},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253734},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.86},
  annote =	{Keywords: Secretary problem, learning-augmented algorithms, online algorithms}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2025.39

Improved Approximation for Pathwidth One Vertex Deletion and Parameterized Complexity of Its Variants

Authors: Satyabrata Jana, Soumen Mandal, Ashutosh Rai, and Saket Saurabh

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 360, 45th IARCS Annual Conference on Foundations of Software Technology and Theoretical Computer Science (FSTTCS 2025)

Abstract

The pathwidth of a graph is a measure of how path-like the graph is. The Pathwidth One Vertex Deletion (POVD) problem asks whether, given an undirected graph G and an integer k, one can delete at most k vertices from G so that the remaining graph has pathwidth at most one. This is a natural variation of the classical Feedback vertex Set (FVS) problem, where the deletion of at most k vertices results in a graph of treewidth at most one. In this work, we investigate POVD in the realm of approximation algorithms. We first design a 3-approximation algorithm for POVD running in polynomial time. Then, using this constant factor approximation algorithm, we obtain a randomized parameterized approximation algorithm for POVD running in time 𝒪^*((h_β)^k), that improves the fastest existing running times for approximation ratios in the range (1.76147,3). Here the constant h_β depends on the approximation factor β alone and has value 2^{(3-β)}, which lies in the range (1,2.3596), when β ∈ (1.76147,3). Taking inspiration from two extensively studied problems, namely Connected FVS and Independent FVS, we investigate two variations of the POVD problem from the perspective of parameterized algorithms. These variations are the connected variant, called Connected pathwidth One Vertex Deletion (CPOVD) and the independent variant, called Independent Pathwidth One Vertex Deletion (IPOVD). While in CPOVD the subgraph G[S] induced by the vertices to be deleted needs to be connected, in IPOVD it needs to be independent. Specifically, we show the following results. - CPOVD can be solved in {𝒪}^*(14^k) time and admits no polynomial kernel unless NP ⊆ {co-NP/poly}. - IPOVD can be solved in {𝒪}^*(7^k) time, and admits a kernel of size 𝒪(k³).

Cite as

Satyabrata Jana, Soumen Mandal, Ashutosh Rai, and Saket Saurabh. Improved Approximation for Pathwidth One Vertex Deletion and Parameterized Complexity of Its Variants. In 45th IARCS Annual Conference on Foundations of Software Technology and Theoretical Computer Science (FSTTCS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 360, pp. 39:1-39:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{jana_et_al:LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2025.39,
  author =	{Jana, Satyabrata and Mandal, Soumen and Rai, Ashutosh and Saurabh, Saket},
  title =	{{Improved Approximation for Pathwidth One Vertex Deletion and Parameterized Complexity of Its Variants}},
  booktitle =	{45th IARCS Annual Conference on Foundations of Software Technology and Theoretical Computer Science (FSTTCS 2025)},
  pages =	{39:1--39:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-406-2},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{360},
  editor =	{Aiswarya, C. and Mehta, Ruta and Roy, Subhajit},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2025.39},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-251192},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2025.39},
  annote =	{Keywords: Pathwidth, Parameterized complexity, Approximation, Kernelization}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ISAAC.2025.13

Optimal Online Bipartite Matching in Degree-2 Graphs

Authors: Amey Bhangale, Arghya Chakraborty, and Prahladh Harsha

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 359, 36th International Symposium on Algorithms and Computation (ISAAC 2025)

Abstract

Online bipartite matching is a classical problem in online algorithms and we know that both the deterministic fractional and randomized integral online matchings achieve the same competitive ratio of 1-1/e. In this work, we study classes of graphs where the online degree is restricted to 2. As expected, one can achieve a competitive ratio of better than 1-1/e in both the deterministic fractional and randomized integral cases, but surprisingly, these ratios are not the same. It was already known that for fractional matching, a 0.75 competitive ratio algorithm is optimal. We show that the folklore Half-Half algorithm achieves a competitive ratio of η ≈ 0.717772… and more surprisingly, show that this is optimal by giving a matching lower-bound. This yields a separation between the two problems: deterministic fractional and randomized integral, showing that it is impossible to obtain a perfect rounding scheme.

Cite as

Amey Bhangale, Arghya Chakraborty, and Prahladh Harsha. Optimal Online Bipartite Matching in Degree-2 Graphs. In 36th International Symposium on Algorithms and Computation (ISAAC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 359, pp. 13:1-13:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{bhangale_et_al:LIPIcs.ISAAC.2025.13,
  author =	{Bhangale, Amey and Chakraborty, Arghya and Harsha, Prahladh},
  title =	{{Optimal Online Bipartite Matching in Degree-2 Graphs}},
  booktitle =	{36th International Symposium on Algorithms and Computation (ISAAC 2025)},
  pages =	{13:1--13:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-408-6},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{359},
  editor =	{Chen, Ho-Lin and Hon, Wing-Kai and Tsai, Meng-Tsung},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ISAAC.2025.13},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-249216},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ISAAC.2025.13},
  annote =	{Keywords: Online Algorithm, Bipartite matching}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2025.18

Complexity Landscape for Local Certification

Authors: Nicolas Bousquet, Laurent Feuilloley, and Sébastien Zeitoun

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 356, 39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025)

Abstract

An impressive recent line of work has charted the complexity landscape of distributed graph algorithms. For many settings, it has been determined which time complexities exist, and which do not (in the sense that no local problem could have an optimal algorithm with that complexity). In this paper, we initiate the study of the landscape for space complexity of distributed graph algorithms. More precisely, we focus on the local certification setting, where a prover assigns certificates to nodes to certify a property, and where the space complexity is measured by the size of the certificates. Already for anonymous paths and cycles, we unveil a surprising landscape: - There is a gap between complexity O(1) and Θ(log log n) in paths. This is the first gap established in local certification. - There exists a property that has complexity Θ(log log n) in paths, a regime that was not known to exist for a natural property. - There is a gap between complexity O(1) and Θ(log n) in cycles, hence a gap that is exponentially larger than for paths. We then generalize our result for paths to the class of trees. Namely, we show that there is a gap between complexity O(1) and Θ(log log d) in trees, where d is the diameter. We finally describe some settings where there are no gaps at all. To prove our results we develop a new toolkit, based on various results of automata theory and arithmetic, which is of independent interest.

Cite as

Nicolas Bousquet, Laurent Feuilloley, and Sébastien Zeitoun. Complexity Landscape for Local Certification. In 39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 356, pp. 18:1-18:21, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{bousquet_et_al:LIPIcs.DISC.2025.18,
  author =	{Bousquet, Nicolas and Feuilloley, Laurent and Zeitoun, S\'{e}bastien},
  title =	{{Complexity Landscape for Local Certification}},
  booktitle =	{39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025)},
  pages =	{18:1--18:21},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-402-4},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{356},
  editor =	{Kowalski, Dariusz R.},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2025.18},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-248350},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2025.18},
  annote =	{Keywords: Local certification, proof-labeling schemes, locally checkable proofs, space complexity, distributed graph algorithms, complexity gap}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2025.12

Distributed Computation with Local Advice

Authors: Alkida Balliu, Sebastian Brandt, Fabian Kuhn, Krzysztof Nowicki, Dennis Olivetti, Eva Rotenberg, and Jukka Suomela

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 356, 39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025)

Abstract

Algorithms with advice have received ample attention in the distributed and online settings, and they have recently proven useful also in dynamic settings. In this work we study local computation with advice: the goal is to solve a graph problem Π with a distributed algorithm in T(Δ) communication rounds, for some function T that only depends on the maximum degree Δ of the graph, and the key question is how many bits of advice per node are needed. Some of our results regard Locally Checkable Labeling problems (LCLs), which is an important family of problems that includes various coloring and orientation problems on finite-degree graphs. These are constraint-satisfaction graph problems that can be defined with a finite set of valid input/output-labeled neighborhoods. Our main results are: 1) Any locally checkable labeling problem can be solved with only 1 bit of advice per node in graphs with sub-exponential growth (the number of nodes within radius r is sub-exponential in r; for example, grids are such graphs). Moreover, we can make the set of nodes that carry advice bits arbitrarily sparse. As a corollary, any locally checkable labeling problem admits a locally checkable proof with 1 bit per node in graphs with sub-exponential growth. 2) The assumption of sub-exponential growth is complemented by a conditional lower bound: assuming the Exponential-Time Hypothesis, there are locally checkable labeling problems that cannot be solved in general with any constant number of bits per node. 3) In any graph we can find an almost-balanced orientation (indegrees and outdegrees differ by at most one) with 1 bit of advice per node, and again we can make the advice arbitrarily sparse. As a corollary, we can also compress an arbitrary subset of edges so that a node of degree d stores only d/2 + 2 bits, and we can decompress it locally, in T(Δ) rounds. 4) In any graph of maximum degree Δ, we can find a Δ-coloring (if it exists) with 1 bit of advice per node, and again, we can make the advice arbitrarily sparse. 5) In any 3-colorable graph, we can find a 3-coloring with 1 bit of advice per node. As a corollary, in bounded-degree graphs there is a locally checkable proof that certifies 3-colorability with 1 bit of advice per node, while prior work shows that this is not possible with a proof labeling scheme (PLS), which is a more restricted setting where the verifier can only see up to distance 1. Our work shows that for many problems the key threshold is not whether we can achieve 1 bit of advice per node, but whether we can make the advice arbitrarily sparse. To formalize this idea, we develop a general framework of composable schemas that enables us to build algorithms for local computation with advice in a modular fashion: once we have (1) a schema for solving Π₁ and (2) a schema for solving Π₂ assuming an oracle for Π₁, we can also compose them and obtain (3) a schema that solves Π₂ without the oracle. It turns out that many natural problems admit composable schemas, all of them can be solved with only 1 bit of advice, and we can make the advice arbitrarily sparse.

Cite as

Alkida Balliu, Sebastian Brandt, Fabian Kuhn, Krzysztof Nowicki, Dennis Olivetti, Eva Rotenberg, and Jukka Suomela. Distributed Computation with Local Advice. In 39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 356, pp. 12:1-12:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{balliu_et_al:LIPIcs.DISC.2025.12,
  author =	{Balliu, Alkida and Brandt, Sebastian and Kuhn, Fabian and Nowicki, Krzysztof and Olivetti, Dennis and Rotenberg, Eva and Suomela, Jukka},
  title =	{{Distributed Computation with Local Advice}},
  booktitle =	{39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025)},
  pages =	{12:1--12:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-402-4},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{356},
  editor =	{Kowalski, Dariusz R.},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2025.12},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-248295},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2025.12},
  annote =	{Keywords: Distributed graph algorithms, LOCAL model, computation with advice, locally checkable labeling problems, proof labeling schemes, locally checkable proofs, graph coloring, exponential-time hypothesis}
}

@InProceedings{balliu_et_al:LIPIcs.DISC.2025.12,
  author =	{Balliu, Alkida and Brandt, Sebastian and Kuhn, Fabian and Nowicki, Krzysztof and Olivetti, Dennis and Rotenberg, Eva and Suomela, Jukka},
  title =	{{Distributed Computation with Local Advice}},
  booktitle =	{39th International Symposium on Distributed Computing (DISC 2025)},
  pages =	{12:1--12:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-402-4},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{356},
  editor =	{Kowalski, Dariusz R.},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2025.12},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-248295},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.DISC.2025.12},
  annote =	{Keywords: Distributed graph algorithms, LOCAL model, computation with advice, locally checkable labeling problems, proof labeling schemes, locally checkable proofs, graph coloring, exponential-time hypothesis}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.52

Beating Competitive Ratio 4 for Graphic Matroid Secretary

Authors: Kiarash Banihashem, MohammadTaghi Hajiaghayi, Dariusz R. Kowalski, Piotr Krysta, Danny Mittal, and Jan Olkowski

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 351, 33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025)

Abstract

One of the classic problems in online decision-making is the secretary problem, where the goal is to hire the best secretary out of n rankable applicants or, in a natural extension, to maximize the probability of selecting the largest number from a sequence arriving in random order. Many works have considered generalizations of this problem where one can accept multiple values subject to a combinatorial constraint. The seminal work of Babaioff, Immorlica, Kempe, and Kleinberg (SODA'07, JACM'18) proposed the matroid secretary conjecture, suggesting that there exists an O(1)-competitive algorithm for the matroid constraint, and many works since have attempted to obtain algorithms for both general matroids and specific classes of matroids. The ultimate goal of these results is to obtain an e-competitive algorithm, and the strong matroid secretary conjecture states that this is possible for general matroids. One of the most important classes of matroids is the graphic matroid, where a set of edges in a graph is deemed independent if it contains no cycle. Given the rich combinatorial structure of graphs, obtaining algorithms for these matroids is often seen as a good first step towards solving the problem for general matroids. For matroid secretary, Babaioff et al. (SODA'07, JACM'18) first studied graphic matroid case and obtained a 16-competitive algorithm. Subsequent works have improved the competitive ratio, most recently to 4 by Soto, Turkieltaub, and Verdugo (SODA'18). In this paper, we break the 4-competitive barrier for the problem, obtaining a new algorithm with a competitive ratio of 3.95. For the special case of simple graphs (i.e., graphs that do not contain parallel edges) we further improve this to 3.77. Intuitively, solving the problem for simple graphs is easier as they do not contain cycles of length two. A natural question that arises is whether we can obtain a ratio arbitrarily close to e by assuming the graph has a large enough girth. We answer this question affirmatively, proving that one can obtain a competitive ratio arbitrarily close to e even for constant values of girth, providing further evidence for the strong matroid secretary conjecture. We further show that this bound is tight: for any constant g, one cannot obtain a competitive ratio better than e even if we assume that the input graph has girth at least g. To our knowledge, such a bound was not previously known even for simple graphs.

Cite as

Kiarash Banihashem, MohammadTaghi Hajiaghayi, Dariusz R. Kowalski, Piotr Krysta, Danny Mittal, and Jan Olkowski. Beating Competitive Ratio 4 for Graphic Matroid Secretary. In 33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 351, pp. 52:1-52:16, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{banihashem_et_al:LIPIcs.ESA.2025.52,
  author =	{Banihashem, Kiarash and Hajiaghayi, MohammadTaghi and Kowalski, Dariusz R. and Krysta, Piotr and Mittal, Danny and Olkowski, Jan},
  title =	{{Beating Competitive Ratio 4 for Graphic Matroid Secretary}},
  booktitle =	{33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025)},
  pages =	{52:1--52:16},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-395-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{351},
  editor =	{Benoit, Anne and Kaplan, Haim and Wild, Sebastian and Herman, Grzegorz},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.52},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-245205},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.52},
  annote =	{Keywords: online algorithms, graphic matroids, secretary problem}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.27

Online Makespan Scheduling Under Scenarios

Authors: Ekin Ergen

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 351, 33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025)

Abstract

We consider a natural extension of online makespan scheduling on identical parallel machines by introducing scenarios. A scenario is a subset of jobs, and the task of our problem is to find a global assignment of the jobs to machines so that the maximum makespan under a scenario, i.e., the maximum makespan of any schedule restricted to a scenario, is minimized. For varying values of the number of scenarios and machines, we explore the competitiveness of online algorithms. We prove tight and near-tight bounds, several of which are achieved through novel constructions. In particular, we leverage the interplay between the unit processing time case of our problem and the hypergraph coloring problem both ways: We use hypergraph coloring techniques to steer an adversarial family of instances proving lower bounds for our problem, which in turn leads to lower bounds for several variants of online hypergraph coloring.

Cite as

Ekin Ergen. Online Makespan Scheduling Under Scenarios. In 33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 351, pp. 27:1-27:16, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{ergen:LIPIcs.ESA.2025.27,
  author =	{Ergen, Ekin},
  title =	{{Online Makespan Scheduling Under Scenarios}},
  booktitle =	{33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025)},
  pages =	{27:1--27:16},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-395-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{351},
  editor =	{Benoit, Anne and Kaplan, Haim and Wild, Sebastian and Herman, Grzegorz},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.27},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-244950},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.27},
  annote =	{Keywords: online scheduling, scenario-based model, online algorithms}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.76

A 3.3904-Competitive Online Algorithm for List Update with Uniform Costs

Authors: Mateusz Basiak, Marcin Bienkowski, Martin Böhm, Marek Chrobak, Łukasz Jeż, Jiří Sgall, and Agnieszka Tatarczuk

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 351, 33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025)

Abstract

We consider the List Update problem where the cost of each swap is assumed to be 1. This is in contrast to the "standard" model, in which an algorithm is allowed to swap the requested item with previous items for free. We construct an online algorithm Full-Or-Partial-Move (FPM), whose competitive ratio is at most 3.3904, improving over the previous best known bound of 4.

Cite as

Mateusz Basiak, Marcin Bienkowski, Martin Böhm, Marek Chrobak, Łukasz Jeż, Jiří Sgall, and Agnieszka Tatarczuk. A 3.3904-Competitive Online Algorithm for List Update with Uniform Costs. In 33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 351, pp. 76:1-76:15, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{basiak_et_al:LIPIcs.ESA.2025.76,
  author =	{Basiak, Mateusz and Bienkowski, Marcin and B\"{o}hm, Martin and Chrobak, Marek and Je\.{z}, {\L}ukasz and Sgall, Ji\v{r}{\'\i} and Tatarczuk, Agnieszka},
  title =	{{A 3.3904-Competitive Online Algorithm for List Update with Uniform Costs}},
  booktitle =	{33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025)},
  pages =	{76:1--76:15},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-395-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{351},
  editor =	{Benoit, Anne and Kaplan, Haim and Wild, Sebastian and Herman, Grzegorz},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.76},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-245442},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.76},
  annote =	{Keywords: List update, work functions, amortized analysis, online algorithms, competitive analysis}
}

@InProceedings{basiak_et_al:LIPIcs.ESA.2025.76,
  author =	{Basiak, Mateusz and Bienkowski, Marcin and B\"{o}hm, Martin and Chrobak, Marek and Je\.{z}, {\L}ukasz and Sgall, Ji\v{r}{\'\i} and Tatarczuk, Agnieszka},
  title =	{{A 3.3904-Competitive Online Algorithm for List Update with Uniform Costs}},
  booktitle =	{33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025)},
  pages =	{76:1--76:15},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-395-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{351},
  editor =	{Benoit, Anne and Kaplan, Haim and Wild, Sebastian and Herman, Grzegorz},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.76},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-245442},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.76},
  annote =	{Keywords: List update, work functions, amortized analysis, online algorithms, competitive analysis}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.39

Going Beyond Surfaces in Diameter Approximation

Authors: Michał Włodarczyk

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 351, 33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025)

Abstract

Calculating the diameter of an undirected graph requires quadratic running time under the Strong Exponential Time Hypothesis and this barrier works even against any approximation better than 3/2. For planar graphs with positive edge weights, there are known (1+ε)-approximation algorithms with running time poly(1/ε, log n)⋅ n. However, these algorithms rely on shortest path separators and this technique falls short to yield efficient algorithms beyond graphs of bounded genus. In this work we depart from embedding-based arguments and obtain diameter approximations relying on VC set systems and the local treewidth property. We present two orthogonal extensions of the planar case by giving (1+ε)-approximation algorithms with the following running times: - 𝒪_h((1/ε)^𝒪(h) ⋅ nlog² n)-time algorithm for graphs excluding an apex graph of size h as a minor, - 𝒪_d((1/ε)^𝒪(d) ⋅ nlog² n)-time algorithm for the class of d-apex graphs. As a stepping stone, we obtain efficient (1+ε)-approximate distance oracles for graphs excluding an apex graph of size h as a minor. Our oracle has preprocessing time 𝒪_h((1/ε)⁸⋅ nlog nlog W) and query time 𝒪_h((1/ε)²⋅log n log W), where W is the metric stretch. Such oracles have been so far only known for bounded genus graphs. All our algorithms are deterministic.

Cite as

Michał Włodarczyk. Going Beyond Surfaces in Diameter Approximation. In 33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 351, pp. 39:1-39:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{wlodarczyk:LIPIcs.ESA.2025.39,
  author =	{W{\l}odarczyk, Micha{\l}},
  title =	{{Going Beyond Surfaces in Diameter Approximation}},
  booktitle =	{33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025)},
  pages =	{39:1--39:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-395-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{351},
  editor =	{Benoit, Anne and Kaplan, Haim and Wild, Sebastian and Herman, Grzegorz},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.39},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-245076},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.39},
  annote =	{Keywords: diameter, approximation, distance oracles, graph minors, treewidth}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.89

A Simple Algorithm for Trimmed Multipoint Evaluation

Authors: Nick Fischer, Melvin Kallmayer, and Leo Wennmann

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 351, 33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025)

Abstract

Evaluating a polynomial on a set of points is a fundamental task in computer algebra. In this work, we revisit a particular variant called trimmed multipoint evaluation: given an n-variate polynomial with bounded individual degree d and total degree D, the goal is to evaluate it on a natural class of input points. This problem arises as a key subroutine in recent algorithmic results [Dinur; SODA '21], [Dell, Haak, Kallmayer, Wennmann; SODA '25]. It is known that trimmed multipoint evaluation can be solved in near-linear time [van der Hoeven, Schost; AAECC '13] by a clever yet somewhat involved algorithm. We give a simple recursive algorithm that avoids heavy computer-algebraic machinery, and can be readily understood by researchers without specialized background.

Cite as

Nick Fischer, Melvin Kallmayer, and Leo Wennmann. A Simple Algorithm for Trimmed Multipoint Evaluation. In 33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 351, pp. 89:1-89:11, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{fischer_et_al:LIPIcs.ESA.2025.89,
  author =	{Fischer, Nick and Kallmayer, Melvin and Wennmann, Leo},
  title =	{{A Simple Algorithm for Trimmed Multipoint Evaluation}},
  booktitle =	{33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025)},
  pages =	{89:1--89:11},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-395-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{351},
  editor =	{Benoit, Anne and Kaplan, Haim and Wild, Sebastian and Herman, Grzegorz},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.89},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-245574},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.89},
  annote =	{Keywords: Algebraic Algorithms, Multipoint Evaluation, Interpolation, LU Decomposition}
}

Document

RANDOM

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.41

What Is the Minimum Number of Random Bits Required for Computability and Efficiency in Anonymous Networks?

Authors: Dariusz R. Kowalski, Piotr Krysta, and Shay Kutten

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 353, Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025)

Abstract

Angluin (STOC'80) and Yamashita and Kameda (PODC'88) show that some useful distributed tasks are impossible (for deterministic algorithms) in a general network if nodes do not possess unique identifiers. However, any task decidable in the non-distributed context, can be solved deterministically if the network has a unique leader. Alternatively, much research has been devoted to randomized distributed algorithms in anonymous networks. We present tight upper and lower bounds for the fundamental question: How much randomness is necessary and sufficient to solve Leader Election (LE) in anonymous networks, i.e., to transform an anonymous network into a non-anonymous one? We prove that at least one random bit per node is required in some cases. Surprisingly, a single random bit is also enough, for a total of n bits, where n is the number of nodes. However, the time complexity of our (total of) n random bits algorithm for general networks turned out to be impractically high. Hence, we also developed time-efficient algorithms for the very symmetric graphs of cliques and cycles, paying only an additional cost of o(n) random bits. The primary steps of our algorithms are of independent interest. At first glance, it seems that using one random bit per node, any algorithm can distinguish only two sets of nodes: those with 0 and those with 1. Our algorithms manage to partition the nodes into more than two sets with high probability. In some sense, they perform the task of a "distributed pseudorandom generator", for example, one of our algorithms turns n bits, one per node, into n unique (with high probability) numbers. Even though a complete graph looks very symmetric, the algorithms explore interesting asymmetries inherent in any n permutations (of n values each), if each describes the assignment (by the adversary) of ports in a node to edges leading to neighbors. Finally, we show how to transform any randomized algorithm that generates xn+o(n) random bits in total to one where each node generates at most x+1 bits. Our results apply to both synchronous and asynchronous networks.

Cite as

Dariusz R. Kowalski, Piotr Krysta, and Shay Kutten. What Is the Minimum Number of Random Bits Required for Computability and Efficiency in Anonymous Networks?. In Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 353, pp. 41:1-41:24, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{kowalski_et_al:LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.41,
  author =	{Kowalski, Dariusz R. and Krysta, Piotr and Kutten, Shay},
  title =	{{What Is the Minimum Number of Random Bits Required for Computability and Efficiency in Anonymous Networks?}},
  booktitle =	{Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025)},
  pages =	{41:1--41:24},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-397-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{353},
  editor =	{Ene, Alina and Chattopadhyay, Eshan},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.41},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-244071},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.41},
  annote =	{Keywords: Distributed computability, Anonymous Networks, Randomness, Leader Election}
}

Document

APPROX

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.9

Optimal Competitive Ratio for Optimization Problems with Congestion Effects

Authors: Miriam Fischer, Dario Paccagnan, and Cosimo Vinci

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 353, Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025)

Abstract

In this work we study online optimization problems with congestion effects. These are problems where tasks arrive online and a decision maker is required to allocate them on the fly to available resources in order to minimize the cost suffered, which grows with the amount of resources used. This class of problems corresponds to the online counterpart of well-known studied problems, including optimization problems with diseconomies of scale [Konstantin Makarychev and Maxim Sviridenko, 2018], minimum cost in congestion games [Gairing and Paccagnan, 2023], and load balancing problems [Baruch Awerbuch et al., 1995]. Within this setting, our work settles the problem of designing online algorithms with optimal competitive ratio, i.e., algorithms whose incurred cost is as close as possible to that of an oracle with complete knowledge of the future instance ahead of time. We provide three contributions underpinning this result. First, we show that no online algorithm can achieve a competitive ratio below a given factor depending solely on the resource costs. Second, we show that, when guided by carefully modified cost functions, the greedy algorithm achieves a competitive ratio matching this lower bound and thus is optimal. Finally, we show how to compute such modified cost functions in polynomial time.

Cite as

Miriam Fischer, Dario Paccagnan, and Cosimo Vinci. Optimal Competitive Ratio for Optimization Problems with Congestion Effects. In Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 353, pp. 9:1-9:24, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{fischer_et_al:LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.9,
  author =	{Fischer, Miriam and Paccagnan, Dario and Vinci, Cosimo},
  title =	{{Optimal Competitive Ratio for Optimization Problems with Congestion Effects}},
  booktitle =	{Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025)},
  pages =	{9:1--9:24},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-397-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{353},
  editor =	{Ene, Alina and Chattopadhyay, Eshan},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.9},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-243754},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.9},
  annote =	{Keywords: Online Algorithms, Competitive Ratio, Algorithmic Game Theory, Greedy Algorithms, Congestion Games}
}

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