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Documents authored by Pilz, Alexander

Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ISAAC.2018.53
Extending the Centerpoint Theorem to Multiple Points

Authors: Alexander Pilz and Patrick Schnider

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 123, 29th International Symposium on Algorithms and Computation (ISAAC 2018)

Abstract
The centerpoint theorem is a well-known and widely used result in discrete geometry. It states that for any point set P of n points in R^d, there is a point c, not necessarily from P, such that each halfspace containing c contains at least n/(d+1) points of P. Such a point c is called a centerpoint, and it can be viewed as a generalization of a median to higher dimensions. In other words, a centerpoint can be interpreted as a good representative for the point set P. But what if we allow more than one representative? For example in one-dimensional data sets, often certain quantiles are chosen as representatives instead of the median. We present a possible extension of the concept of quantiles to higher dimensions. The idea is to find a set Q of (few) points such that every halfspace that contains one point of Q contains a large fraction of the points of P and every halfspace that contains more of Q contains an even larger fraction of P. This setting is comparable to the well-studied concepts of weak epsilon-nets and weak epsilon-approximations, where it is stronger than the former but weaker than the latter. We show that for any point set of size n in R^d and for any positive alpha_1,...,alpha_k where alpha_1 <= alpha_2 <= ... <= alpha_k and for every i,j with i+j <= k+1 we have that (d-1)alpha_k+alpha_i+alpha_j <= 1, we can find Q of size k such that each halfspace containing j points of Q contains least alpha_j n points of P. For two-dimensional point sets we further show that for every alpha and beta with alpha <= beta and alpha+beta <= 2/3 we can find Q with |Q|=3 such that each halfplane containing one point of Q contains at least alpha n of the points of P and each halfplane containing all of Q contains at least beta n points of P. All these results generalize to the setting where P is any mass distribution. For the case where P is a point set in R^2 and |Q|=2, we provide algorithms to find such points in time O(n log^3 n).
Cite as

Alexander Pilz and Patrick Schnider. Extending the Centerpoint Theorem to Multiple Points. In 29th International Symposium on Algorithms and Computation (ISAAC 2018). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 123, pp. 53:1-53:13, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2018)

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@InProceedings{pilz_et_al:LIPIcs.ISAAC.2018.53,
  author =	{Pilz, Alexander and Schnider, Patrick},
  title =	{{Extending the Centerpoint Theorem to Multiple Points}},
  booktitle =	{29th International Symposium on Algorithms and Computation (ISAAC 2018)},
  pages =	{53:1--53:13},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-094-1},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2018},
  volume =	{123},
  editor =	{Hsu, Wen-Lian and Lee, Der-Tsai and Liao, Chung-Shou},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ISAAC.2018.53},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-100019},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ISAAC.2018.53},
  annote =	{Keywords: centerpoint, point sets, Tukey depth}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2018.8
Convex Hulls in Polygonal Domains

Authors: Luis Barba, Michael Hoffmann, Matias Korman, and Alexander Pilz

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 101, 16th Scandinavian Symposium and Workshops on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2018)

Abstract
We study generalizations of convex hulls to polygonal domains with holes. Convexity in Euclidean space is based on the notion of shortest paths, which are straight-line segments. In a polygonal domain, shortest paths are polygonal paths called geodesics. One possible generalization of convex hulls is based on the "rubber band" conception of the convex hull boundary as a shortest curve that encloses a given set of sites. However, it is NP-hard to compute such a curve in a general polygonal domain. Hence, we focus on a different, more direct generalization of convexity, where a set X is geodesically convex if it contains all geodesics between every pair of points x,y in X. The corresponding geodesic convex hull presents a few surprises, and turns out to behave quite differently compared to the classic Euclidean setting or to the geodesic hull inside a simple polygon. We describe a class of geometric objects that suffice to represent geodesic convex hulls of sets of sites, and characterize which such domains are geodesically convex. Using such a representation we present an algorithm to construct the geodesic convex hull of a set of O(n) sites in a polygonal domain with a total of n vertices and h holes in O(n^3h^{3+epsilon}) time, for any constant epsilon > 0.
Cite as

Luis Barba, Michael Hoffmann, Matias Korman, and Alexander Pilz. Convex Hulls in Polygonal Domains. In 16th Scandinavian Symposium and Workshops on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2018). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 101, pp. 8:1-8:13, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2018)

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@InProceedings{barba_et_al:LIPIcs.SWAT.2018.8,
  author =	{Barba, Luis and Hoffmann, Michael and Korman, Matias and Pilz, Alexander},
  title =	{{Convex Hulls in Polygonal Domains}},
  booktitle =	{16th Scandinavian Symposium and Workshops on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2018)},
  pages =	{8:1--8:13},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-068-2},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2018},
  volume =	{101},
  editor =	{Eppstein, David},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2018.8},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-88343},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2018.8},
  annote =	{Keywords: geometric graph, polygonal domain, geodesic hull, shortest path}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2018.31
Planar 3-SAT with a Clause/Variable Cycle

Authors: Alexander Pilz

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 101, 16th Scandinavian Symposium and Workshops on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2018)

Abstract
In the Planar 3-SAT problem, we are given a 3-SAT formula together with its incidence graph, which is planar, and are asked whether this formula is satisfiable. Since Lichtenstein's proof that this problem is NP-complete, it has been used as a starting point for a large number of reductions. In the course of this research, different restrictions on the incidence graph of the formula have been devised, for which the problem also remains hard. In this paper, we investigate the restriction in which we require that the incidence graph is augmented by the edges of a Hamiltonian cycle that first passes through all variables and then through all clauses, in a way that the resulting graph is still planar. We show that the problem of deciding satisfiability of a 3-SAT formula remains NP-complete even if the incidence graph is restricted in that way and the Hamiltonian cycle is given. This complements previous results demanding cycles only through either the variables or clauses. The problem remains hard for monotone formulas and instances with exactly three distinct variables per clause. In the course of this investigation, we show that monotone instances of Planar 3-SAT with three distinct variables per clause are always satisfiable, thus settling the question by Darmann, Döcker, and Dorn on the complexity of this problem variant in a surprising way.
Cite as

Alexander Pilz. Planar 3-SAT with a Clause/Variable Cycle. In 16th Scandinavian Symposium and Workshops on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2018). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 101, pp. 31:1-31:13, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2018)

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@InProceedings{pilz:LIPIcs.SWAT.2018.31,
  author =	{Pilz, Alexander},
  title =	{{Planar 3-SAT with a Clause/Variable Cycle}},
  booktitle =	{16th Scandinavian Symposium and Workshops on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2018)},
  pages =	{31:1--31:13},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-068-2},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2018},
  volume =	{101},
  editor =	{Eppstein, David},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2018.31},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-88571},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2018.31},
  annote =	{Keywords: 3-SAT, 1-in-3-SAT, planar graph}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2017.54
From Crossing-Free Graphs on Wheel Sets to Embracing Simplices and Polytopes with Few Vertices

Authors: Alexander Pilz, Emo Welzl, and Manuel Wettstein

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 77, 33rd International Symposium on Computational Geometry (SoCG 2017)

Abstract
A set P = H cup {w} of n+1 points in the plane is called a wheel set if all points but w are extreme. We show that for the purpose of counting crossing-free geometric graphs on P, it suffices to know the so-called frequency vector of P. While there are roughly 2^n distinct order types that correspond to wheel sets, the number of frequency vectors is only about 2^{n/2}. We give simple formulas in terms of the frequency vector for the number of crossing-free spanning cycles, matchings, w-embracing triangles, and many more. Based on these formulas, the corresponding numbers of graphs can be computed efficiently. Also in higher dimensions, wheel sets turn out to be a suitable model to approach the problem of computing the simplicial depth of a point w in a set H, i.e., the number of simplices spanned by H that contain w. While the concept of frequency vectors does not generalize easily, we show how to apply similar methods in higher dimensions. The result is an O(n^{d-1}) time algorithm for computing the simplicial depth of a point w in a set H of n d-dimensional points, improving on the previously best bound of O(n^d log n). Configurations equivalent to wheel sets have already been used by Perles for counting the faces of high-dimensional polytopes with few vertices via the Gale dual. Based on that we can compute the number of facets of the convex hull of n=d+k points in general position in R^d in time O(n^max(omega,k-2)) where omega = 2.373, even though the asymptotic number of facets may be as large as n^k.
Cite as

Alexander Pilz, Emo Welzl, and Manuel Wettstein. From Crossing-Free Graphs on Wheel Sets to Embracing Simplices and Polytopes with Few Vertices. In 33rd International Symposium on Computational Geometry (SoCG 2017). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 77, pp. 54:1-54:16, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2017)

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@InProceedings{pilz_et_al:LIPIcs.SoCG.2017.54,
  author =	{Pilz, Alexander and Welzl, Emo and Wettstein, Manuel},
  title =	{{From Crossing-Free Graphs on Wheel Sets to Embracing Simplices and Polytopes with Few Vertices}},
  booktitle =	{33rd International Symposium on Computational Geometry (SoCG 2017)},
  pages =	{54:1--54:16},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-038-5},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2017},
  volume =	{77},
  editor =	{Aronov, Boris and Katz, Matthew J.},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2017.54},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-72101},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2017.54},
  annote =	{Keywords: Geometric Graph, Wheel Set, Simplicial Depth, Gale Transform, Polytope}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ISAAC.2016.9
Packing Short Plane Spanning Trees in Complete Geometric Graphs

Authors: Oswin Aichholzer, Thomas Hackl, Matias Korman, Alexander Pilz, Günter Rote, André van Renssen, Marcel Roeloffzen, and Birgit Vogtenhuber

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 64, 27th International Symposium on Algorithms and Computation (ISAAC 2016)

Abstract
Given a set of points in the plane, we want to establish a connection network between these points that consists of several disjoint layers. Motivated by sensor networks, we want that each layer is spanning and plane, and that no edge is very long (when compared to the minimum length needed to obtain a spanning graph). We consider two different approaches: first we show an almost optimal centralized approach to extract two trees. Then we show a constant factor approximation for a distributed model in which each point can compute its adjacencies using only local information. This second approach may create cycles, but maintains planarity.
Cite as

Oswin Aichholzer, Thomas Hackl, Matias Korman, Alexander Pilz, Günter Rote, André van Renssen, Marcel Roeloffzen, and Birgit Vogtenhuber. Packing Short Plane Spanning Trees in Complete Geometric Graphs. In 27th International Symposium on Algorithms and Computation (ISAAC 2016). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 64, pp. 9:1-9:12, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2016)

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@InProceedings{aichholzer_et_al:LIPIcs.ISAAC.2016.9,
  author =	{Aichholzer, Oswin and Hackl, Thomas and Korman, Matias and Pilz, Alexander and Rote, G\"{u}nter and van Renssen, Andr\'{e} and Roeloffzen, Marcel and Vogtenhuber, Birgit},
  title =	{{Packing Short Plane Spanning Trees in Complete Geometric Graphs}},
  booktitle =	{27th International Symposium on Algorithms and Computation (ISAAC 2016)},
  pages =	{9:1--9:12},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-026-2},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2016},
  volume =	{64},
  editor =	{Hong, Seok-Hee},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ISAAC.2016.9},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-67823},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ISAAC.2016.9},
  annote =	{Keywords: Geometric Graphs, Graph Packing, Plane Graphs, Minimum Spanning Tree, Bottleneck Edge}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2016.7
An Improved Lower Bound on the Minimum Number of Triangulations

Authors: Oswin Aichholzer, Victor Alvarez, Thomas Hackl, Alexander Pilz, Bettina Speckmann, and Birgit Vogtenhuber

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 51, 32nd International Symposium on Computational Geometry (SoCG 2016)

Abstract
Upper and lower bounds for the number of geometric graphs of specific types on a given set of points in the plane have been intensively studied in recent years. For most classes of geometric graphs it is now known that point sets in convex position minimize their number. However, it is still unclear which point sets minimize the number of geometric triangulations; the so-called double circles are conjectured to be the minimizing sets. In this paper we prove that any set of n points in general position in the plane has at least Omega(2.631^n) geometric triangulations. Our result improves the previously best general lower bound of Omega(2.43^n) and also covers the previously best lower bound of Omega(2.63^n) for a fixed number of extreme points. We achieve our bound by showing and combining several new results, which are of independent interest: (1) Adding a point on the second convex layer of a given point set (of 7 or more points) at least doubles the number of triangulations. (2) Generalized configurations of points that minimize the number of triangulations have at most n/2 points on their convex hull. (3) We provide tight lower bounds for the number of triangulations of point sets with up to 15 points. These bounds further support the double circle conjecture.
Cite as

Oswin Aichholzer, Victor Alvarez, Thomas Hackl, Alexander Pilz, Bettina Speckmann, and Birgit Vogtenhuber. An Improved Lower Bound on the Minimum Number of Triangulations. In 32nd International Symposium on Computational Geometry (SoCG 2016). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 51, pp. 7:1-7:16, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2016)

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@InProceedings{aichholzer_et_al:LIPIcs.SoCG.2016.7,
  author =	{Aichholzer, Oswin and Alvarez, Victor and Hackl, Thomas and Pilz, Alexander and Speckmann, Bettina and Vogtenhuber, Birgit},
  title =	{{An Improved Lower Bound on the Minimum Number of Triangulations}},
  booktitle =	{32nd International Symposium on Computational Geometry (SoCG 2016)},
  pages =	{7:1--7:16},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-009-5},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2016},
  volume =	{51},
  editor =	{Fekete, S\'{a}ndor and Lubiw, Anna},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2016.7},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-58993},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2016.7},
  annote =	{Keywords: Combinatorial geometry, Order types, Triangulations}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.SOCG.2015.285
Order on Order Types

Authors: Alexander Pilz and Emo Welzl

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 34, 31st International Symposium on Computational Geometry (SoCG 2015)

Abstract
Given P and P', equally sized planar point sets in general position, we call a bijection from P to P' crossing-preserving if crossings of connecting segments in P are preserved in P' (extra crossings may occur in P'). If such a mapping exists, we say that P' crossing-dominates P, and if such a mapping exists in both directions, P and P' are called crossing-equivalent. The relation is transitive, and we have a partial order on the obtained equivalence classes (called crossing types or x-types). Point sets of equal order type are clearly crossing-equivalent, but not vice versa. Thus, x-types are a coarser classification than order types. (We will see, though, that a collapse of different order types to one x-type occurs for sets with triangular convex hull only.) We argue that either the maximal or the minimal x-types are sufficient for answering many combinatorial (existential or extremal) questions on planar point sets. Motivated by this we consider basic properties of the relation. We characterize order types crossing-dominated by points in convex position. Further, we give a full characterization of minimal and maximal abstract order types. Based on that, we provide a polynomial-time algorithm to check whether a point set crossing-dominates another. Moreover, we generate all maximal and minimal x-types for small numbers of points.
Cite as

Alexander Pilz and Emo Welzl. Order on Order Types. In 31st International Symposium on Computational Geometry (SoCG 2015). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 34, pp. 285-299, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2015)

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@InProceedings{pilz_et_al:LIPIcs.SOCG.2015.285,
  author =	{Pilz, Alexander and Welzl, Emo},
  title =	{{Order on Order Types}},
  booktitle =	{31st International Symposium on Computational Geometry (SoCG 2015)},
  pages =	{285--299},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-939897-83-5},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2015},
  volume =	{34},
  editor =	{Arge, Lars and Pach, J\'{a}nos},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.SOCG.2015.285},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-51194},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.SOCG.2015.285},
  annote =	{Keywords: point set, order type, planar graph, crossing-free geometric graph}
}
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