13 Search Results for "Könemann, Jochen"

Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.63
Connected k-Median with Disjoint and Non-Disjoint Clusters

Authors: Jan Eube, Kelin Luo, Dorian Reineccius, Heiko Röglin, and Melanie Schmidt

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

Abstract
The connected k-median problem is a constrained clustering problem that combines distance-based k-clustering with connectivity information. The problem allows to input a metric space and an unweighted undirected connectivity graph that is completely unrelated to the metric space. The goal is to compute k centers and corresponding clusters such that each cluster forms a connected subgraph of G, and such that the k-median cost is minimized. The problem has applications in very different fields like geodesy (particularly districting), social network analysis (especially community detection), or bioinformatics. We study a version with overlapping clusters where points can be part of multiple clusters which is natural for the use case of community detection. This problem variant is Ω(log n)-hard to approximate, and our main result is an 𝒪(k² log n)-approximation algorithm for the problem. We complement it with an Ω(n^{1-ε})-hardness result for the case of disjoint clusters without overlap with general connectivity graphs, as well as an exact algorithm in this setting if the connectivity graph is a tree.
Cite as

Jan Eube, Kelin Luo, Dorian Reineccius, Heiko Röglin, and Melanie Schmidt. Connected k-Median with Disjoint and Non-Disjoint Clusters. In 33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 351, pp. 63:1-63:14, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{eube_et_al:LIPIcs.ESA.2025.63,
  author =	{Eube, Jan and Luo, Kelin and Reineccius, Dorian and R\"{o}glin, Heiko and Schmidt, Melanie},
  title =	{{Connected k-Median with Disjoint and Non-Disjoint Clusters}},
  booktitle =	{33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025)},
  pages =	{63:1--63:14},
  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.2025.63},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-245317},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.63},
  annote =	{Keywords: Clustering, Connectivity constraints, Approximation algorithms}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.38
Tight Guarantees for Cut-Relative Survivable Network Design via a Decomposition Technique

Authors: Nikhil Kumar, J. J. Nan, and Chaitanya Swamy

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

Abstract
In the classical survivable-network-design problem (SNDP), we are given an undirected graph G = (V, E), non-negative edge costs, and some k tuples (s_i,t_i,r_i), where s_i,t_i ∈ V and r_i ∈ ℤ_+. The objective is to find a minimum-cost subset H ⊆ E such that each s_i-t_i pair remains connected even after the failure of any r_i-1 edges. It is well-known that SNDP can be equivalently modeled using a weakly-supermodular cut-requirement function f, where the objective is to find the minimum-cost subset of edges that picks at least f(S) edges across every cut S ⊆ V. Recently, motivated by fault-tolerance in graph spanners, Dinitz, Koranteng, and Kortsartz proposed a variant of SNDP that enforces a relative level of fault tolerance with respect to G. Even if a feasible SNDP-solution may not exist due to G lacking the required fault-tolerance, the goal is to find a solution H that is at least as fault-tolerant as G itself. They formalize the latter condition in terms of paths and fault-sets, which gives rise to path-relative SNDP (which they call relative SNDP). Along these lines, we introduce a new model of relative network design, called cut-relative SNDP (CR-SNDP), where the goal is to select a minimum-cost subset of edges that satisfies the given (weakly-supermodular) cut-requirement function to the maximum extent possible, i.e., by picking min{f(S), |δ_G(S)|} edges across every cut S ⊆ V. Unlike SNDP, the cut-relative and path-relative versions of SNDP are not equivalent. The resulting cut-requirement function for CR-SNDP (as also path-relative SNDP) is not weakly supermodular, and extreme-point solutions to the natural LP-relaxation need not correspond to a laminar family of tight cut constraints. Consequently, standard techniques cannot be used directly to design approximation algorithms for this problem. We develop a novel decomposition technique to circumvent this difficulty and use it to give a tight 2-approximation algorithm for CR-SNDP. We also show some new hardness results for these relative-SNDP problems.
Cite as

Nikhil Kumar, J. J. Nan, and Chaitanya Swamy. Tight Guarantees for Cut-Relative Survivable Network Design via a Decomposition Technique. In 33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 351, pp. 38:1-38:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{kumar_et_al:LIPIcs.ESA.2025.38,
  author =	{Kumar, Nikhil and Nan, J. J. and Swamy, Chaitanya},
  title =	{{Tight Guarantees for Cut-Relative Survivable Network Design via a Decomposition Technique}},
  booktitle =	{33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025)},
  pages =	{38:1--38:18},
  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.2025.38},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-245061},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.38},
  annote =	{Keywords: Approximation algorithms, Network Design, Cut-requirement functions, Weak Supermodularity, Iterative rounding, LP rounding algorithms}
}
Document
APPROX
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.25
Covering a Few Submodular Constraints and Applications

Authors: Tanvi Bajpai, Chandra Chekuri, and Pooja Kulkarni

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

Abstract
We consider the problem of covering multiple submodular constraints. Given a finite ground set N, a cost function c: N → ℝ_+, r monotone submodular functions f_1,f_2,…,f_r over N and requirements b_1,b_2,…,b_r the goal is to find a minimum cost subset S ⊆ N such that f_i(S) ≥ b_i for 1 ≤ i ≤ r. When r = 1 this is the well-known Submodular Set Cover problem. Previous work [Chekuri et al., 2022] considered the setting when r is large and developed bi-criteria approximation algorithms, and approximation algorithms for the important special case when each f_i is a weighted coverage function. These are fairly general models and capture several concrete and interesting problems as special cases. The approximation ratios for these problem are at least Ω(log r) which is unavoidable when r is part of the input. In this paper, motivated by some recent applications, we consider the problem when r is a fixed constant and obtain two main results. When the f_i are weighted coverage functions from a deletion-closed set system we obtain a (1+ε)(e/(e-1))(1+β)-approximation where β is the approximation ratio for the underlying set cover instances via the natural LP. Second, for covering multiple submodular constraints we obtain a randomized bi-criteria approximation algorithm that for any given integer α ≥ 1 outputs a set S such that f_i(S) ≥ (1-1/e^α-ε)b_i for each i ∈ [r] and 𝔼[c(S)] ≤ (1+ε)α ⋅ OPT. These results show that one can obtain nearly as good an approximation for any fixed r as what one would achieve for r = 1. We also demonstrate applications of our results to implicit covering problems such as fair facility location.
Cite as

Tanvi Bajpai, Chandra Chekuri, and Pooja Kulkarni. Covering a Few Submodular Constraints and Applications. In Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 353, pp. 25:1-25:22, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{bajpai_et_al:LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.25,
  author =	{Bajpai, Tanvi and Chekuri, Chandra and Kulkarni, Pooja},
  title =	{{Covering a Few Submodular Constraints and Applications}},
  booktitle =	{Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025)},
  pages =	{25:1--25:22},
  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.2025.25},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-243917},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.25},
  annote =	{Keywords: covering, linear programming, rounding, fairness}
}
Document
APPROX
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.1
Approximation Schemes for Orienteering and Deadline TSP in Doubling Metrics

Authors: Kinter Ren and Mohammad R. Salavatipour

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

Abstract
In this paper we look at various extensions of the classic Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) on graphs with bounded doubling dimension and bounded treewidth and present approximation schemes for them. Suppose we are given a weighted graph G = (V,E) with a start node s ∈ V, distances on the edges d:E → ℚ^+ and integer k. In k-stroll problem the goal is to find a path from s of minimum length that visits at least k vertices. In k-path we are given an additional end node t ∈ V and the path is supposed to go from s to t. The dual problem to k-stroll is the rooted orienteering in which instead of k we are given a budget B and the goal is to find a walk of length at most B starting at s that visits as many vertices as possible. In the point-to-point orienteering (P2P orienteering) we are given start and end nodes s,t and the walk is supposed to start at s and end at t. In the deadline TSP (which generalizes P2P orienteering) we are given a deadline D(v) for each v ∈ V and the goal is to find a walk starting at s that visits as many vertices as possible before their deadline (where the visit time of a node is the distance travelled from s to that node). The best approximation for rooted orienteering (or P2P orienteering) is (2+ε)-approximation [Chekuri et al., 2012] and O(log n)-approximation for deadline TSP [Nikhil Bansal et al., 2004]. For Euclidean metrics of fixed dimension, Chen and Har-Peled present [Chen and Har-Peled, 2008] a PTAS for rooted orienteering. There is no known approximation scheme for deadline TSP for any metric (not even trees). Our main result is the first approximation scheme for deadline TSP on metrics with bounded doubling dimension (which includes Euclidean metrics). To do so we first we present a quasi-polynomial time approximation scheme for k-path and P2P orienteering on such metrics. More specifically, if G is a metric with doubling dimension κ and aspect ratio Δ, we present a (1+ε)-approximation that runs in time n^{O((logΔ/ε) ^{2κ+1})}. Building upon these, we obtain an approximation scheme for deadline TSP when the distances and deadlines are integer which runs in time n^{O((log Δ/ε) ^{2κ+2})}. The same approach also implies a bicriteria (1+ε,1+ε)-approximation for deadline TSP for when distances and deadlines are in ℚ^+. For graphs with bounded treewidth ω we show how to solve k-path and P2P orienteering exactly in polynomial time and a (1+ε)-approximation for deadline TSP in time n^O((ωlogΔ/ε)²).
Cite as

Kinter Ren and Mohammad R. Salavatipour. Approximation Schemes for Orienteering and Deadline TSP in Doubling Metrics. In Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 353, pp. 1:1-1:22, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{ren_et_al:LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.1,
  author =	{Ren, Kinter and Salavatipour, Mohammad R.},
  title =	{{Approximation Schemes for Orienteering and Deadline TSP in Doubling Metrics}},
  booktitle =	{Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025)},
  pages =	{1:1--1:22},
  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.2025.1},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-243678},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.1},
  annote =	{Keywords: Deadline Traveling Salesman Problem, Orienteering, Doubling Metrics, Approximation algorithm}
}
Document
APPROX
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.2
Covering Simple Orthogonal Polygons with Rectangles

Authors: Aniket Basu Roy

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

Abstract
We study the problem of Covering Orthogonal Polygons with Rectangles, focusing on three variants: covering the interior, the boundary, and the corners. While previous work provided constant-factor approximation algorithms for these problems, significant improvements had not been achieved for over two decades. The main contribution of this work is the development of a Polynomial Time Approximation Scheme (PTAS) for both the Boundary Cover and Corner Cover problems on simple polygons, using a local search algorithm. Our work advances the state of the art, improving upon the previous best-known 4-approximation for the Boundary Cover and 2-approximation for the Corner Cover problems. The technical core of our work lies in proving the existence of planar support graphs for certain geometric hypergraphs defined by the polygon and its containment-maximal rectangles. This structural insight enables the application of the local search framework to achieve the PTAS results. We also demonstrate the limitations of this approach by constructing instances where local search fails for the Interior Cover and certain dual problems, such as the Maximum Antirectangle and Hitting Set problems. Additionally, the methods yield a PTAS for a special case of the Discrete Independent Set problem for rectangles. These results not only settle longstanding open questions but also introduce new techniques that may be of independent interest within computational geometry.
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Aniket Basu Roy. Covering Simple Orthogonal Polygons with Rectangles. In Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 353, pp. 2:1-2:23, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{basuroy:LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.2,
  author =	{Basu Roy, Aniket},
  title =	{{Covering Simple Orthogonal Polygons with Rectangles}},
  booktitle =	{Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025)},
  pages =	{2:1--2:23},
  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.2025.2},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-243686},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.2},
  annote =	{Keywords: Polygon Covering, Approximation Algorithms, Orthogonal Polygons, Rectangles, Local Search, Planar Supports}
}
Document
APPROX
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.22
Directed Buy-At-Bulk Spanners

Authors: Elena Grigorescu, Nithish Kumar, and Young-San Lin

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

Abstract
We present a framework that unifies directed buy-at-bulk network design and directed spanner problems, namely, buy-at-bulk spanners. The goal is to find a minimum-cost routing solution for network design problems that captures economies at scale, while satisfying demands and distance constraints for terminal pairs. A more restricted version of this problem was shown to be O(2^{log^{1-ε} n})-hard to approximate, where n is the number of vertices, under a standard complexity assumption, by Elkin and Peleg (Theory of Computing Systems, 2007). Our results for buy-at-bulk spanners are the following. - When the edge lengths are integral with magnitude polynomial in n we present: 1) An Õ(n^{4/5 + ε})-approximation polynomial-time randomized algorithm for uniform demands. 2) An Õ(k^{1/2 + ε})-approximation polynomial-time randomized algorithm for general demands, where k is the number of terminal pairs. This can be improved to an Õ(k^{ε})-approximation algorithm for the single-source problem. The same approximation ratios hold in the online setting. - When the edge lengths are rational and well-conditioned, we present an Õ(k^{1/2 + ε})-approximation polynomial-time randomized algorithm that may slightly violate the distance constraints. The result can be improved to an Õ(k^ε)-approximation algorithm for the single-source problem. The same approximation ratios hold for the online setting when the condition number is given in advance. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first sublinear factor approximation algorithms for directed buy-at-bulk spanners. We allow the edge lengths to be negative and the demands to be non-unit, unlike the previous literature. Our approximation ratios match the state-of-the-art ratios in special cases, namely, buy-at-bulk network design by Antonakopoulos (WAOA, 2010) and (online) weighted spanners by Grigorescu, Kumar, and Lin (APPROX 2023). Furthermore, we improve the competitive ratio for online buy-at-bulk by Chakrabarty, Ene, Krishnaswamy, and Panigrahi (SICOMP, 2018) by a factor of log R, where R is the ratio between the maximum demand and the minimum demand.
Cite as

Elena Grigorescu, Nithish Kumar, and Young-San Lin. Directed Buy-At-Bulk Spanners. In Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 353, pp. 22:1-22:24, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{grigorescu_et_al:LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.22,
  author =	{Grigorescu, Elena and Kumar, Nithish and Lin, Young-San},
  title =	{{Directed Buy-At-Bulk Spanners}},
  booktitle =	{Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025)},
  pages =	{22:1--22:24},
  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.2025.22},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-243885},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.22},
  annote =	{Keywords: buy-at-bulk spanners, minimum density junction tree, resource constrained shortest path}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.WADS.2025.7
Approximation and Parameterized Algorithms for Covering with Disks of Two Types of Radii

Authors: Sayan Bandyapadhyay and Eli Mitchell

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 349, 19th International Symposium on Algorithms and Data Structures (WADS 2025)

Abstract
We study the Discrete Covering with Two Types of Radii problem motivated by its application in wireless networks. In this problem, the goal is to assign either small-range high frequency or large-range low frequency to each access point, maximizing the number of users in high-frequency regions while ensuring that each user is in the range of an access point. Unlike other weighted covering problems, our problem requires satisfying two simultaneous objectives, which calls for novel approaches that leverage the underlying geometry of the problem. In our work, we present two new algorithms: the first is a polynomial-time (2.5 + ε)-approximation, and the second is an exact algorithm for sparse instances, which is fixed-parameter tractable (FPT) in the number of large-radius disks. We also prove that such an FPT algorithm is impossible for general instances lacking sparsity, assuming the Exponential Time Hypothesis. Before our work, the best-known polynomial-time approximation factor was 4 for the problem. Our approximation algorithm results from a fine-grained classification of points that can contribute to the gain of a solution. Based on this classification, we design two sub-algorithms with interdependent guarantees to recover the respective class of points as gain. Our algorithm exploits further properties of Delaunay triangulations to achieve the improved bound. The FPT algorithm is based on branching that utilizes the sparsity of the instances to limit the overall search space.
Cite as

Sayan Bandyapadhyay and Eli Mitchell. Approximation and Parameterized Algorithms for Covering with Disks of Two Types of Radii. In 19th International Symposium on Algorithms and Data Structures (WADS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 349, pp. 7:1-7:14, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{bandyapadhyay_et_al:LIPIcs.WADS.2025.7,
  author =	{Bandyapadhyay, Sayan and Mitchell, Eli},
  title =	{{Approximation and Parameterized Algorithms for Covering with Disks of Two Types of Radii}},
  booktitle =	{19th International Symposium on Algorithms and Data Structures (WADS 2025)},
  pages =	{7:1--7:14},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-398-0},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{349},
  editor =	{Morin, Pat and Oh, Eunjin},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.WADS.2025.7},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-242386},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.WADS.2025.7},
  annote =	{Keywords: Covering, Disks, Approximation, FPT}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.93
Improved Approximation Algorithms for Capacitated Vehicle Routing with Fixed Capacity

Authors: Jingyang Zhao and Mingyu Xiao

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 345, 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)

Abstract
The Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP) is one of the most extensively studied problems in combinatorial optimization. Based on customer demand, we distinguish three variants of CVRP: unit-demand, splittable, and unsplittable. In this paper, we consider k-CVRP in general metrics and on general graphs, where k is the vehicle capacity. All three versions are APX-hard for any fixed k ≥ 3. Assume that the approximation ratio of metric TSP is 3/2. We present a (5/2 - Θ(√{1/k}))-approximation algorithm for the splittable and unit-demand cases, and a (5/2 + ln 2 - Θ(√{1/k}))-approximation algorithm for the unsplittable case. Our approximation ratio is better than the previous results when k is less than a sufficiently large value, approximately 1.7 x 10⁷. For small values of k, we design independent and elegant algorithms with further improvements. For the splittable and unit-demand cases, we improve the approximation ratio from 1.792 to 1.500 for k = 3, and from 1.750 to 1.500 for k = 4. For the unsplittable case, we improve the approximation ratio from 1.792 to 1.500 for k = 3, from 2.051 to 1.750 for k = 4, and from 2.249 to 2.157 for k = 5. The approximation ratio for k = 3 surprisingly achieves the same value as in the splittable case. Our techniques, such as EX-ITP - an extension of the classic ITP method, have the potential to improve algorithms for other routing problems as well.
Cite as

Jingyang Zhao and Mingyu Xiao. Improved Approximation Algorithms for Capacitated Vehicle Routing with Fixed Capacity. In 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 345, pp. 93:1-93:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{zhao_et_al:LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.93,
  author =	{Zhao, Jingyang and Xiao, Mingyu},
  title =	{{Improved Approximation Algorithms for Capacitated Vehicle Routing with Fixed Capacity}},
  booktitle =	{50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)},
  pages =	{93:1--93:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-388-1},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{345},
  editor =	{Gawrychowski, Pawe{\l} and Mazowiecki, Filip and Skrzypczak, Micha{\l}},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.93},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-242008},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.93},
  annote =	{Keywords: Combinatorial Optimization, Capacitated Vehicle Routing, Approximation Algorithms, Graph Algorithms}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2025.57
Approximate Minimum Tree Cover in All Symmetric Monotone Norms Simultaneously

Authors: Matthias Kaul, Kelin Luo, Matthias Mnich, and Heiko Röglin

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 327, 42nd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2025)

Abstract
We study the problem of partitioning a set of n objects in a metric space into k clusters V₁,...,V_k. The quality of the clustering is measured by considering the vector of cluster costs and then minimizing some monotone symmetric norm of that vector (in particular, this includes the 𝓁_p-norms). For the costs of the clusters we take the weight of a minimum-weight spanning tree on the objects in V_i, which may serve as a proxy for the cost of traversing all objects in the cluster, for example in the context of Multirobot Coverage as studied by Zheng, Koenig, Kempe, Jain (IROS 2005), but also as a shape-invariant measure of cluster density similar to Single-Linkage Clustering. This problem has been studied by Even, Garg, Könemann, Ravi, Sinha (Oper. Res. Lett., 2004) for the setting of minimizing the weight of the largest cluster (i.e., using 𝓁_∞) as Min-Max Tree Cover, for which they gave a constant-factor approximation algorithm. We provide a careful adaptation of their algorithm to compute solutions which are approximately optimal with respect to all monotone symmetric norms simultaneously, and show how to find them in polynomial time. In fact, our algorithm is purely combinatorial and can process metric spaces with 10,000 points in less than a second. As an extension, we also consider the case where instead of a target number of clusters we are provided with a set of depots in the space such that every cluster should contain at least one such depot. One can consider these as the fixed starting points of some agents that will traverse all points of a cluster. For this setting also we are able to give a polynomial-time algorithm computing a constant-factor approximation with respect to all monotone symmetric norms simultaneously. To show that the algorithmic results are tight up to the precise constant of approximation attainable, we also prove that such clustering problems are already APX-hard when considering only one single 𝓁_p norm for the objective.
Cite as

Matthias Kaul, Kelin Luo, Matthias Mnich, and Heiko Röglin. Approximate Minimum Tree Cover in All Symmetric Monotone Norms Simultaneously. In 42nd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 327, pp. 57:1-57:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{kaul_et_al:LIPIcs.STACS.2025.57,
  author =	{Kaul, Matthias and Luo, Kelin and Mnich, Matthias and R\"{o}glin, Heiko},
  title =	{{Approximate Minimum Tree Cover in All Symmetric Monotone Norms Simultaneously}},
  booktitle =	{42nd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2025)},
  pages =	{57:1--57:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-365-2},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{327},
  editor =	{Beyersdorff, Olaf and Pilipczuk, Micha{\l} and Pimentel, Elaine and Thắng, Nguy\~{ê}n Kim},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2025.57},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-228821},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2025.57},
  annote =	{Keywords: Clustering, spanning trees, all-norm approximation}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX-RANDOM.2017.17
On the Integrality Gap of the Prize-Collecting Steiner Forest LP

Authors: Jochen Könemann, Neil Olver, Kanstantsin Pashkovich, R. Ravi, Chaitanya Swamy, and Jens Vygen

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 81, Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2017)

Abstract
In the prize-collecting Steiner forest (PCSF) problem, we are given an undirected graph G=(V,E), nonnegative edge costs {c_e} for e in E, terminal pairs {(s_i,t_i)} for i=1,...,k, and penalties {pi_i} for i=1,...,k for each terminal pair; the goal is to find a forest F to minimize c(F) + sum{ pi_i: (s_i,t_i) is not connected in F }. The Steiner forest problem can be viewed as the special case where pi_i are infinite for all i. It was widely believed that the integrality gap of the natural (and well-studied) linear-programming (LP) relaxation for PCSF (PCSF-LP) is at most 2. We dispel this belief by showing that the integrality gap of this LP is at least 9/4 even if the input instance is planar. We also show that using this LP, one cannot devise a Lagrangian-multiplier-preserving (LMP) algorithm with approximation guarantee better than 4. Our results thus show a separation between the integrality gaps of the LP-relaxations for prize-collecting and non-prize-collecting (i.e., standard) Steiner forest, as well as the approximation ratios achievable relative to the optimal LP solution by LMP- and non-LMP-approximation algorithms for PCSF. For the special case of prize-collecting Steiner tree (PCST), we prove that the natural LP relaxation admits basic feasible solutions with all coordinates of value at most 1/3 and all edge variables positive. Thus, we rule out the possibility of approximating PCST with guarantee better than 3 using a direct iterative rounding method.
Cite as

Jochen Könemann, Neil Olver, Kanstantsin Pashkovich, R. Ravi, Chaitanya Swamy, and Jens Vygen. On the Integrality Gap of the Prize-Collecting Steiner Forest LP. In Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2017). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 81, pp. 17:1-17:13, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2017)

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@InProceedings{konemann_et_al:LIPIcs.APPROX-RANDOM.2017.17,
  author =	{K\"{o}nemann, Jochen and Olver, Neil and Pashkovich, Kanstantsin and Ravi, R. and Swamy, Chaitanya and Vygen, Jens},
  title =	{{On the Integrality Gap of the Prize-Collecting Steiner Forest LP}},
  booktitle =	{Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2017)},
  pages =	{17:1--17:13},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-044-6},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2017},
  volume =	{81},
  editor =	{Jansen, Klaus and Rolim, Jos\'{e} D. P. and Williamson, David P. and Vempala, Santosh S.},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX-RANDOM.2017.17},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-75665},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX-RANDOM.2017.17},
  annote =	{Keywords: Integrality gap, Steiner tree, Steiner forest, prize-collecting, Lagrangianmultiplier- preserving}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ISAAC.2016.33
Fast Approximation Algorithms for the Generalized Survivable Network Design Problem

Authors: Andreas Emil Feldmann, Jochen Könemann, Kanstantsin Pashkovich, and Laura Sanità

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

Abstract
In a standard f-connectivity network design problem, we are given an undirected graph G = (V, E), a cut-requirement function f : 2^V to N, and non-negative costs c(e) for all e in E. We are then asked to find a minimum-cost vector x in N^E such that x(delta(S)) geq f (S) for all S subseteq V. We focus on the class of such problems where f is a proper function. This encodes many well-studied NP-hard problems such as the generalized survivable network design problem. In this paper we present the first strongly polynomial time FPTAS for solving the LP relaxation of the standard IP formulation of the f-connectivity problem with general proper functions f. Implementing Jain’s algorithm, this yields a strongly polynomial time (2 + epsilon)-approximation for the generalized survivable network design problem (where we consider rounding up of rationals an arithmetic operation).
Cite as

Andreas Emil Feldmann, Jochen Könemann, Kanstantsin Pashkovich, and Laura Sanità. Fast Approximation Algorithms for the Generalized Survivable Network Design Problem. In 27th International Symposium on Algorithms and Computation (ISAAC 2016). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 64, pp. 33:1-33:12, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2016)

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@InProceedings{feldmann_et_al:LIPIcs.ISAAC.2016.33,
  author =	{Feldmann, Andreas Emil and K\"{o}nemann, Jochen and Pashkovich, Kanstantsin and Sanit\`{a}, Laura},
  title =	{{Fast Approximation Algorithms for the Generalized Survivable Network Design Problem}},
  booktitle =	{27th International Symposium on Algorithms and Computation (ISAAC 2016)},
  pages =	{33:1--33:12},
  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.2016.33},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-68035},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ISAAC.2016.33},
  annote =	{Keywords: strongly polynomial runtime, generalized survivable network design, primal-dual method}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2016.3
A Logarithmic Integrality Gap Bound for Directed Steiner Tree in Quasi-bipartite Graphs

Authors: Zachary Friggstad, Jochen Könemann, and Mohammad Shadravan

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 53, 15th Scandinavian Symposium and Workshops on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2016)

Abstract
We demonstrate that the integrality gap of the natural cut-based LP relaxation for the directed Steiner tree problem is O(log k) in quasi-bipartite graphs with k terminals. Such instances can be seen to generalize set cover, so the integrality gap analysis is tight up to a constant factor. A novel aspect of our approach is that we use the primal-dual method; a technique that is rarely used in designing approximation algorithms for network design problems in directed graphs.
Cite as

Zachary Friggstad, Jochen Könemann, and Mohammad Shadravan. A Logarithmic Integrality Gap Bound for Directed Steiner Tree in Quasi-bipartite Graphs. In 15th Scandinavian Symposium and Workshops on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2016). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 53, pp. 3:1-3:11, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2016)

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@InProceedings{friggstad_et_al:LIPIcs.SWAT.2016.3,
  author =	{Friggstad, Zachary and K\"{o}nemann, Jochen and Shadravan, Mohammad},
  title =	{{A Logarithmic Integrality Gap Bound for Directed Steiner Tree in Quasi-bipartite Graphs}},
  booktitle =	{15th Scandinavian Symposium and Workshops on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2016)},
  pages =	{3:1--3:11},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-011-8},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2016},
  volume =	{53},
  editor =	{Pagh, Rasmus},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2016.3},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-60323},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2016.3},
  annote =	{Keywords: Approximation algorithm, Primal-Dual algorithm, Directed Steiner tree}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX-RANDOM.2014.176
On the Equivalence of the Bidirected and Hypergraphic Relaxations for Steiner Tree

Authors: Andreas Emil Feldmann, Jochen Könemann, Neil Olver, and Laura Sanità

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 28, Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2014)

Abstract
The bottleneck of the currently best (ln(4) + epsilon)-approximation algorithm for the NP-hard Steiner tree problem is the solution of its large, so called hypergraphic, linear programming relaxation (HYP). Hypergraphic LPs are NP-hard to solve exactly, and it is a formidable computational task to even approximate them sufficiently well. We focus on another well-studied but poorly understood LP relaxation of the problem: the bidirected cut relaxation (BCR). This LP is compact, and can therefore be solved efficiently. Its integrality gap is known to be greater than 1.16, and while this is widely conjectured to be close to the real answer, only a (trivial) upper bound of 2 is known. In this paper, we give an efficient constructive proof that BCR and HYP are polyhedrally equivalent in instances that do not have an (edge-induced) claw on Steiner vertices, i.e., they do not contain a Steiner vertex with 3 Steiner neighbors. This implies faster ln(4)-approximations for these graphs, and is a significant step forward from the previously known equivalence for (so called quasi-bipartite) instances in which Steiner vertices form an independent set. We complement our results by showing that even restricting to instances where Steiner vertices induce one single star, determining whether the two relaxations are equivalent is NP-hard.
Cite as

Andreas Emil Feldmann, Jochen Könemann, Neil Olver, and Laura Sanità. On the Equivalence of the Bidirected and Hypergraphic Relaxations for Steiner Tree. In Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2014). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 28, pp. 176-191, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2014)

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@InProceedings{feldmann_et_al:LIPIcs.APPROX-RANDOM.2014.176,
  author =	{Feldmann, Andreas Emil and K\"{o}nemann, Jochen and Olver, Neil and Sanit\`{a}, Laura},
  title =	{{On the Equivalence of the Bidirected and Hypergraphic Relaxations for Steiner Tree}},
  booktitle =	{Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2014)},
  pages =	{176--191},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-939897-74-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2014},
  volume =	{28},
  editor =	{Jansen, Klaus and Rolim, Jos\'{e} and Devanur, Nikhil R. and Moore, Cristopher},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX-RANDOM.2014.176},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-46962},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX-RANDOM.2014.176},
  annote =	{Keywords: Steiner tree, bidirected cut relaxation, hypergraphic relaxation, polyhedral equivalence, approximation algorithms}
}
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