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Track A: Algorithms, Complexity and Games
On Tight FPT Time Approximation Algorithms for k-Clustering Problems

Authors: Han Dai, Shi Li, and Sijin Peng

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 374, 53rd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2026)


Abstract
Following recent advances in combining approximation algorithms with fixed-parameter tractability (FPT), we study FPT-time approximation algorithms for minimum-norm k-clustering problems, parameterized by the number k of open facilities. For the capacitated setting, we give a tight (3+ε)-approximation for the general-norm capacitated k-clustering problem in FPT-time parameterized by k and ε. Prior to our work, such a result was only known for the capacitated k-median problem [Cohen-Addad and Li, 2019]. As a special case, our result yields an FPT-time 3-approximation for capacitated k-center. The problem has not been studied in the FPT-time setting, with the previous best known polynomial-time approximation ratio being 9 [An et al., 2015]. In the uncapacitated setting, we consider the top-cn norm k-clustering problem, where the goal of the problem is to minimize the top-cn norm of the connection distance vector. Our main result is a tight (1 + 2/(ec) + ε)-approximation algorithm for the problem with c ∈ (1/e, 1]. (For the case c ≤ 1/e, there is a simple tight (3+ε)-approximation.) Our framework can be easily extended to give a tight (3, 1 + 2/e + ε)-bi-criteria approximation for the (k-center, k-median) problem in FPT time, improving the previous best polynomial-time (4, 8) guarantee [Soroush Alamdari and David B. Shmoys, 2017]. All results are based on a unified framework: computing a (1+ε)-approximate solution using O((k log n)/ε) facilities S via LP rounding, sampling a few client representatives R based on the solution S, guessing a few pivots from S ∪ R and some radius information on the pivots, and solving the problem using the guesses. We believe this framework can lead to further results on k-clustering problems.

Cite as

Han Dai, Shi Li, and Sijin Peng. On Tight FPT Time Approximation Algorithms for k-Clustering Problems. In 53rd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 374, pp. 72:1-72:23, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)


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@InProceedings{dai_et_al:LIPIcs.ICALP.2026.72,
  author =	{Dai, Han and Li, Shi and Peng, Sijin},
  title =	{{On Tight FPT Time Approximation Algorithms for k-Clustering Problems}},
  booktitle =	{53rd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2026)},
  pages =	{72:1--72:23},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-428-4},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{374},
  editor =	{Bhattacharya, Sayan and Nanongkai, Danupon and Benedikt, Michael and Puppis, Gabriele},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2026.72},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-264613},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2026.72},
  annote =	{Keywords: Approximation algorithms, Monotone symmetric norms, Clustering, Fixed parameter tractability}
}
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