28 Search Results for "Skutella, Martin"

Document
Track A: Algorithms, Complexity and Games
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2026.74
Unsplittable Transshipments

Authors: Srinwanti Debgupta, Sarah Morell, and Martin Skutella

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

Abstract
We introduce the Unsplittable Transshipment Problem in directed graphs with multiple sources and sinks. An unsplittable transshipment routes given supplies and demands using at most one path for each source-sink pair. Although they are a natural generalization of single source unsplittable flows, unsplittable transshipments raise interesting new challenges and require novel algorithmic techniques. As our main contribution, we give a nontrivial generalization of a seminal result of Dinitz, Garg, and Goemans (1999) by showing how to efficiently turn a given transshipment x into an unsplittable transshipment y with y_a < x_a+d_max for all arcs a, where d_max is the maximum demand (or supply) value. Further results include bounds on the number of rounds required to satisfy all demands, where each round consists of an unsplittable transshipment that routes a subset of the demands while respecting arc capacity constraints.
Cite as

Srinwanti Debgupta, Sarah Morell, and Martin Skutella. Unsplittable Transshipments. In 53rd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 374, pp. 74:1-74:17, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{debgupta_et_al:LIPIcs.ICALP.2026.74,
  author =	{Debgupta, Srinwanti and Morell, Sarah and Skutella, Martin},
  title =	{{Unsplittable Transshipments}},
  booktitle =	{53rd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2026)},
  pages =	{74:1--74:17},
  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.2026.74},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-264634},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2026.74},
  annote =	{Keywords: Network flow, unsplittable flow, flow augmentation}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.SEA.2026.26
Engineering Algorithms for Dynamic Greedy Set Cover

Authors: Amitai Uzrad

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 371, 24th International Symposium on Experimental Algorithms (SEA 2026)

Abstract
In the dynamic set cover problem, the input is a dynamic universe of elements and a fixed collection of sets. As elements are inserted or deleted, the goal is to efficiently maintain an approximate minimum set cover. While the past decade has seen significant theoretical breakthroughs for this problem, a notable gap remains between theoretical design and practical performance, as no comprehensive experimental study currently exists to validate these results. In this paper, we bridge this gap by implementing and evaluating four greedy-based dynamic algorithms across a diverse range of real-world instances. We derive our implementations from state-of-the-art frameworks - such as [GKKP(STOC'17); SU(STOC'23); SUZ(FOCS'24)] - which we simplify by identifying and modifying intricate subroutines that optimize asymptotic bounds but hinder practical performance. We evaluate these algorithms based on solution quality (set cover size) and efficiency, which comprises update time - the time required to update the solution following each insertion/deletion - and recourse - the number of changes made to the solution per update. Each algorithm uses a parameter β to balance quality against efficiency; we investigate the influence of this tradeoff parameter on each algorithm and then perform a comparative analysis to evaluate the algorithms against each other. Our results provide the first practical insights into which algorithmic strategies provide the most value in realistic scenarios.
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Amitai Uzrad. Engineering Algorithms for Dynamic Greedy Set Cover. In 24th International Symposium on Experimental Algorithms (SEA 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 371, pp. 26:1-26:22, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{uzrad:LIPIcs.SEA.2026.26,
  author =	{Uzrad, Amitai},
  title =	{{Engineering Algorithms for Dynamic Greedy Set Cover}},
  booktitle =	{24th International Symposium on Experimental Algorithms (SEA 2026)},
  pages =	{26:1--26:22},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-422-2},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{371},
  editor =	{Aum\"{u}ller, Martin and Finocchi, Irene},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.SEA.2026.26},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-260308},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.SEA.2026.26},
  annote =	{Keywords: Dynamic graphs, set cover, recourse}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2026.31
Improved and Parameterized Algorithms for Online Multi-Level Aggregation

Authors: Young-San Lin and Alex Turoczy

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 370, 20th Scandinavian Symposium on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2026)

Abstract
We study the online multi-level aggregation problem with deadlines (MLAP-D) introduced by Bienkowski, Böhm, Byrka, Chrobak, Dürr, Folwarczný, Jeż, Sgall, Thang, and Veselý (ESA 2016, OR 2020). In this problem, requests arrive over time at the vertices of a given vertex-weighted tree, and each request has a deadline that it must be served by. The cost of serving a request equals the cost of a path from the root to the vertex where the request resides. Instead of serving each request individually, requests can be aggregated and served by transmitting a subtree from the root that spans the vertices on which the requests reside, to potentially be more cost-effective. The aggregated cost is the weight of the transmission subtree. The goal of MLAP-D is to find an aggregation solution that minimizes the total cost while serving all requests. MLAP-D generalizes some well-studied problems including the TCP acknowledgment problem and the joint replenishment problem, and arises in natural scenarios such as multi-casting, sensor networks, and supply chain management. We present improved and parameterized algorithms for MLAP-D. Our result is twofold. First, we present an e(D+1)-competitive algorithm where D is the depth of the tree. Second, we present an e(4H+2)-competitive algorithm where H is the caterpillar dimension of the tree. Here, H ≤ D and H ≤ log₂ |V| where |V| is the number of vertices in the given tree. The caterpillar dimension remains constant for rich but simple classes of trees, such as line graphs (H = 1), caterpillar graphs (H = 2), and lobster graphs (H = 3). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first online algorithm parameterized on a measure better than depth. The state-of-the-art online algorithms are 6(D+1)-competitive by Buchbinder, Feldman, Naor, and Talmon (SODA 2017) and O(log |V|)-competitive by Azar and Touitou (FOCS 2020). Our framework outperforms the state-of-the-art ratios when H = o(min{D,log₂ |V|}). Our memory-based algorithms extend transmission subtrees with a cost comparable to transmission subtrees used to serve previous requests. Our simple framework directly applies to trees with any structure and differs from the previous frameworks that reduce the problem to trees with specific structures.
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Young-San Lin and Alex Turoczy. Improved and Parameterized Algorithms for Online Multi-Level Aggregation. In 20th Scandinavian Symposium on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 370, pp. 31:1-31:17, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{lin_et_al:LIPIcs.SWAT.2026.31,
  author =	{Lin, Young-San and Turoczy, Alex},
  title =	{{Improved and Parameterized Algorithms for Online Multi-Level Aggregation}},
  booktitle =	{20th Scandinavian Symposium on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2026)},
  pages =	{31:1--31:17},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-421-5},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{370},
  editor =	{Fraigniaud, Pierre},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2026.31},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-260673},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2026.31},
  annote =	{Keywords: Online Algorithms, Approximation Algorithms, Graph Problems}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2026.48
FPT Approximations for Capacitated Sum of Radii and Diameters

Authors: Arnold Filtser and Ameet Gadekar

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 367, 42nd International Symposium on Computational Geometry (SoCG 2026)

Abstract
The Capacitated Sum of Radii problem involves partitioning a set of points P, where each point p ∈ P has capacity U_p, into k clusters that minimize the sum of cluster radii, such that the number of points in the cluster centered at point p is at most U_p. We begin by showing that the problem is APX-hard, and that under gap-ETH there is no parameterized approximation scheme (FPT-AS). We then construct a ≈5.83-approximation algorithm in FPT time (improving a previous ≈7.61 approximation in FPT time). Our results also hold when the objective is a general monotone symmetric norm of radii. We also improve the approximation factors for the uniform capacity case, and for the closely related problem of Capacitated Sum of Diameters.
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Arnold Filtser and Ameet Gadekar. FPT Approximations for Capacitated Sum of Radii and Diameters. In 42nd International Symposium on Computational Geometry (SoCG 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 367, pp. 48:1-48:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{filtser_et_al:LIPIcs.SoCG.2026.48,
  author =	{Filtser, Arnold and Gadekar, Ameet},
  title =	{{FPT Approximations for Capacitated Sum of Radii and Diameters}},
  booktitle =	{42nd International Symposium on Computational Geometry (SoCG 2026)},
  pages =	{48:1--48:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-418-5},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{367},
  editor =	{Ahn, Hee-Kap and Hoffmann, Michael and Nayyeri, Amir},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2026.48},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-258545},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2026.48},
  annote =	{Keywords: clustering, sum of radii, sum of diameter, capacitated clustering, fpt}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.31
Lower Bounds for Ranking-Based Pivot Rules

Authors: Yann Disser, Georg Loho, Matthew Maat, and Nils Mosis

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 364, 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)

Abstract
The existence of a polynomial pivot rule for the simplex method for linear programming, policy iteration for Markov decision processes, and strategy improvement for parity games each are prominent open problems in their respective fields. While numerous natural candidates for efficient rules have been eliminated, all existing lower bound constructions are tailored to individual or small sets of pivot rules. We introduce a unified framework for formalizing classes of rules according to the information about the input that they rely on. Within this framework, we show lower bounds for ranking-based classes of rules that base their decisions on orderings of the improving pivot steps induced by the underlying data. Our first result is a superpolynomial lower bound for strategy improvement, obtained via a family of sink parity games, which applies to memory-based generalizations of Bland’s rule that only access the input by comparing the ranks of improving edges in some global order. Our second result is a subexponential lower bound for policy iteration, obtained via a family of Markov decision processes, which applies to memoryless rules that only access the input by comparing improving actions according to their ranks in a global order, their reduced costs, and the associated improvements in objective value. Both results carry over to the simplex method for linear programming.
Cite as

Yann Disser, Georg Loho, Matthew Maat, and Nils Mosis. Lower Bounds for Ranking-Based Pivot Rules. In 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 364, pp. 31:1-31:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{disser_et_al:LIPIcs.STACS.2026.31,
  author =	{Disser, Yann and Loho, Georg and Maat, Matthew and Mosis, Nils},
  title =	{{Lower Bounds for Ranking-Based Pivot Rules}},
  booktitle =	{43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)},
  pages =	{31:1--31:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-412-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{364},
  editor =	{Mahajan, Meena and Manea, Florin and McIver, Annabelle 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.2026.31},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-255207},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.31},
  annote =	{Keywords: lower bounds, Markov decision processes, parity games, pivot rules, policy iteration, simplex method}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.32
Optimal Verification of a Minimum-Weight Basis in an Uncertainty Matroid

Authors: Haya Diwan, Lisa Hellerstein, Nicole Megow, and Jens Schlöter

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 364, 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)

Abstract
Research in explorable uncertainty addresses combinatorial optimization problems where there is partial information about the values of numeric input parameters, and exact values of these parameters can be determined by performing costly queries. The goal is to design an adaptive query strategy that minimizes the query cost incurred in computing an optimal solution. Solving such problems generally requires that we be able to solve the associated verification problem: given the answers to all queries in advance, find a minimum-cost set of queries that certifies an optimal solution to the combinatorial optimization problem. We present a polynomial-time algorithm for verifying a minimum-weight basis of a matroid, where each weight lies in a given uncertainty area. These areas may be finite sets, real intervals, or unions of open and closed intervals, strictly generalizing previous work by Erlebach and Hoffman which only handled the special case of open intervals. Our algorithm introduces new techniques to address the resulting challenges. Verification problems are of particular importance in the area of explorable uncertainty, as the structural insights and techniques used to solve the verification problem often heavily influence work on the corresponding online problem and its stochastic variant. In our case, we use structural results from the verification problem to give a best-possible algorithm for a promise variant of the corresponding adaptive online problem. Finally, we show that our algorithms can be applied to two learning-augmented variants of the minimum-weight basis problem under explorable uncertainty.
Cite as

Haya Diwan, Lisa Hellerstein, Nicole Megow, and Jens Schlöter. Optimal Verification of a Minimum-Weight Basis in an Uncertainty Matroid. In 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 364, pp. 32:1-32:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{diwan_et_al:LIPIcs.STACS.2026.32,
  author =	{Diwan, Haya and Hellerstein, Lisa and Megow, Nicole and Schl\"{o}ter, Jens},
  title =	{{Optimal Verification of a Minimum-Weight Basis in an Uncertainty Matroid}},
  booktitle =	{43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)},
  pages =	{32:1--32:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-412-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{364},
  editor =	{Mahajan, Meena and Manea, Florin and McIver, Annabelle 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.2026.32},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-255216},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.32},
  annote =	{Keywords: Matroid verification, minimum-weight basis, query strategy, uncertainty matroid, explorable uncertainty}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.98
Weighted Chairman Assignment and Flow-Time Scheduling

Authors: Siyue Liu and Victor Reis

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

Abstract
Given positive integers m, n, a fractional assignment x ∈ [0,1]^{m × n} and weights d ∈ ℝⁿ_{> 0}, we show that there exists an assignment y ∈ {0,1}^{m × n} so that for every i ∈ [m] and t ∈ [n], |∑_{j ∈ [t]} d_j (x_{ij} - y_{ij})| < max_{j ∈ [n]} d_j. This generalizes a result of Tijdeman (1973) on the unweighted version, known as the chairman assignment problem. This also confirms a special case of the single-source unsplittable flow conjecture with arc-wise lower and upper bounds due to Morell and Skutella (IPCO 2020). As an application, we consider a scheduling problem where jobs have release times and machines have closing times, and a job can only be scheduled on a machine if it is released before the machine closes. We give a 3-approximation algorithm for maximum flow-time minimization.
Cite as

Siyue Liu and Victor Reis. Weighted Chairman Assignment and Flow-Time Scheduling. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 98:1-98:15, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{liu_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.98,
  author =	{Liu, Siyue and Reis, Victor},
  title =	{{Weighted Chairman Assignment and Flow-Time Scheduling}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{98:1--98:15},
  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.2026.98},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253858},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.98},
  annote =	{Keywords: prefix discrepancy, flow-time scheduling, unsplittable flow}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.IPEC.2025.7
Parameterized Complexity of Scheduling Unit-Time Jobs with Generalized Precedence Constraints

Authors: Christina Büsing, Maurice Draeger, and Corinna Mathwieser

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 358, 20th International Symposium on Parameterized and Exact Computation (IPEC 2025)

Abstract
We study the parameterized complexity of scheduling unit-time jobs on parallel, identical machines under generalized precedence constraints for minimization of the makespan and the sum of completion times (P|gen-prec, p_j = 1|γ, γ ∈ {C_max,∑_jC_j}). In our setting, each job is equipped with a Boolean formula (precedence constraint) over the set of jobs. A schedule satisfies a job’s precedence constraint if setting earlier jobs to true satisfies the formula. Our definition generalizes several common types of precedence constraints: classical and-constraints if every formula is a conjunction, or-constraints if every formula is a disjunction, and and/or-constraints if every formula is in conjunctive normal form. We prove fixed-parameter tractability when parameterizing by the number of predecessors. For parameterization by the number of successors, however, the complexity depends on the structure of the precedence constraints. If every constraint is a conjunction or a disjunction, we prove the problem to be fixed-parameter tractable. For constraints in disjunctive normal form, we prove W[1]-hardness. We show that the and/or-constrained problem is NP-hard, even for a single successor. Moreover, we prove NP-hardness on two machines if every constraint is a conjunction or a disjunction. This result not only proves para-NP-hardness for parameterization by the number of machines but also complements the polynomial-time solvability on two machines if every constraint is a conjunction [Coffman and Graham, 1972] or if every constraint is a disjunction [Johannes, 2005].
Cite as

Christina Büsing, Maurice Draeger, and Corinna Mathwieser. Parameterized Complexity of Scheduling Unit-Time Jobs with Generalized Precedence Constraints. In 20th International Symposium on Parameterized and Exact Computation (IPEC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 358, pp. 7:1-7:16, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{busing_et_al:LIPIcs.IPEC.2025.7,
  author =	{B\"{u}sing, Christina and Draeger, Maurice and Mathwieser, Corinna},
  title =	{{Parameterized Complexity of Scheduling Unit-Time Jobs with Generalized Precedence Constraints}},
  booktitle =	{20th International Symposium on Parameterized and Exact Computation (IPEC 2025)},
  pages =	{7:1--7:16},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-407-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{358},
  editor =	{Agrawal, Akanksha and van Leeuwen, Erik Jan},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.IPEC.2025.7},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-251390},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.IPEC.2025.7},
  annote =	{Keywords: scheduling, precedence constraints, fixed-parameter tractability, complexity}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.34
On the Approximability of Train Routing and the Min-Max Disjoint Paths Problem

Authors: Umang Bhaskar, Katharina Eickhoff, Lennart Kauther, Jannik Matuschke, Britta Peis, and Laura Vargas Koch

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

Abstract
In train routing, the headway is the minimum distance that must be maintained between successive trains for safety and robustness. We introduce a model for train routing that requires a fixed headway to be maintained between trains, and study the problem of minimizing the makespan, i.e., the arrival time of the last train, in a single-source single-sink network. For this problem, we first show that there exists an optimal solution where trains move in convoys - that is, the optimal paths for any two trains are either the same or are arc-disjoint. Via this insight, we are able to reduce the approximability of our train routing problem to that of the min-max disjoint paths problem, which asks for a collection of disjoint paths where the maximum length of any path in the collection is as small as possible. While min-max disjoint paths inherits a strong inapproximability result on directed acyclic graphs from the multi-level bottleneck assignment problem, we show that a natural greedy composition approach yields a logarithmic approximation in the number of disjoint paths for series-parallel graphs. We also present an alternative analysis of this approach that yields a guarantee depending on how often the decomposition tree of the series-parallel graph alternates between series and parallel compositions on any root-leaf path.
Cite as

Umang Bhaskar, Katharina Eickhoff, Lennart Kauther, Jannik Matuschke, Britta Peis, and Laura Vargas Koch. On the Approximability of Train Routing and the Min-Max Disjoint Paths Problem. In 33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 351, pp. 34:1-34:15, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{bhaskar_et_al:LIPIcs.ESA.2025.34,
  author =	{Bhaskar, Umang and Eickhoff, Katharina and Kauther, Lennart and Matuschke, Jannik and Peis, Britta and Vargas Koch, Laura},
  title =	{{On the Approximability of Train Routing and the Min-Max Disjoint Paths Problem}},
  booktitle =	{33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025)},
  pages =	{34:1--34:15},
  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.2025.34},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-245029},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.34},
  annote =	{Keywords: Train Routing, Scheduling, Approximation Algorithms, Flows over Time, Min-Max Disjoint Paths}
}
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.
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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.2025.111
Hardness of Median and Center in the Ulam Metric

Authors: Nick Fischer, Elazar Goldenberg, Mursalin Habib, and Karthik C. S.

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

Abstract
The classical rank aggregation problem seeks to combine a set X of n permutations into a single representative "consensus" permutation. In this paper, we investigate two fundamental rank aggregation tasks under the well-studied Ulam metric: computing a median permutation (which minimizes the sum of Ulam distances to X) and computing a center permutation (which minimizes the maximum Ulam distance to X) in two settings. - Continuous Setting: In the continuous setting, the median/center is allowed to be any permutation. It is known that computing a center in the Ulam metric is NP-hard and we add to this by showing that computing a median is NP-hard as well via a simple reduction from the Max-Cut problem. While this result may not be unexpected, it had remained elusive until now and confirms a speculation by Chakraborty, Das, and Krauthgamer [SODA '21]. - Discrete Setting: In the discrete setting, the median/center must be a permutation from the input set. We fully resolve the fine-grained complexity of the discrete median and discrete center problems under the Ulam metric, proving that the naive Õ(n² L)-time algorithm (where L is the length of the permutation) is conditionally optimal. This resolves an open problem raised by Abboud, Bateni, Cohen-Addad, Karthik C. S., and Seddighin [APPROX '23]. Our reductions are inspired by the known fine-grained lower bounds for similarity measures, but we face and overcome several new highly technical challenges.
Cite as

Nick Fischer, Elazar Goldenberg, Mursalin Habib, and Karthik C. S.. Hardness of Median and Center in the Ulam Metric. In 33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 351, pp. 111:1-111:17, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{fischer_et_al:LIPIcs.ESA.2025.111,
  author =	{Fischer, Nick and Goldenberg, Elazar and Habib, Mursalin and Karthik C. S.},
  title =	{{Hardness of Median and Center in the Ulam Metric}},
  booktitle =	{33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025)},
  pages =	{111:1--111:17},
  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.2025.111},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-245809},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.111},
  annote =	{Keywords: Ulam distance, median, center, rank aggregation, fine-grained complexity}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.112
A Faster Parametric Search for the Integral Quickest Transshipment Problem

Authors: Mariia Anapolska, Dario van den Boom, Christina Büsing, and Timo Gersing

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

Abstract
Algorithms for computing fractional solutions to the quickest transshipment problem have been significantly improved since Hoppe and Tardos first solved the problem in strongly polynomial time. For integral solutions, however, no structural improvements on their algorithm itself have yet been proposed. Runtime improvements are limited to general progress on submodular function minimization (SFM), which is an integral part of Hoppe and Tardos' algorithm. In fact, SFM constitutes the main computational load of the algorithm, as the runtime is blown up by using it within Megiddo’s parametric search algorithm. We replace this part of Hoppe and Tardos' algorithm with a more efficient routine that solves only a linear number of SFM and, in contrast to previous techniques, exclusively uses minimum cost flow algorithms within Megiddo’s parametric search. Our approach improves the state-of-the-art runtime from 𝒪̃(m⁴ k^15) down to 𝒪̃(m²k⁵ + m⁴ k²), where k is the number of terminals and m is the number of arcs.
Cite as

Mariia Anapolska, Dario van den Boom, Christina Büsing, and Timo Gersing. A Faster Parametric Search for the Integral Quickest Transshipment Problem. In 33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 351, pp. 112:1-112:15, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{anapolska_et_al:LIPIcs.ESA.2025.112,
  author =	{Anapolska, Mariia and van den Boom, Dario and B\"{u}sing, Christina and Gersing, Timo},
  title =	{{A Faster Parametric Search for the Integral Quickest Transshipment Problem}},
  booktitle =	{33rd Annual European Symposium on Algorithms (ESA 2025)},
  pages =	{112:1--112:15},
  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.2025.112},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-245817},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ESA.2025.112},
  annote =	{Keywords: Flow over time, dynamic transshipment, quickest transshipment, parametric submodular functions, efficient algorithms}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.WADS.2025.25
An Efficient Polynomial Time Approximation Scheme for Minimizing the Total Weighted Completion Time on Uniformly Related Machines

Authors: Leah Epstein and Asaf Levin

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

Abstract
We study a classic scheduling problem on uniformly related machines for which we show an efficient polynomial time approximation scheme (EPTAS), where an EPTAS is a fast and practical approximation scheme. For a desired approximation ratio of 1+ε for ε > 0, the running time of an EPTAS is a function of ε multiplied by a polynomial function of the input length. New methods and techniques are essential in developing such improved approximation schemes, and their design is a primary goal of this research agenda. We present an EPTAS for the scheduling problem of a set of jobs on uniformly related machines so as to minimize the total weighted completion time. The problem is NP-hard in the strong sense, and therefore an EPTAS is the best possible approximation scheme for the problem, unless P=NP. Prior to our work, only a PTAS was known for the problem, while an EPTAS was known only for the special case of identical machines.
Cite as

Leah Epstein and Asaf Levin. An Efficient Polynomial Time Approximation Scheme for Minimizing the Total Weighted Completion Time on Uniformly Related Machines. In 19th International Symposium on Algorithms and Data Structures (WADS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 349, pp. 25:1-25:21, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{epstein_et_al:LIPIcs.WADS.2025.25,
  author =	{Epstein, Leah and Levin, Asaf},
  title =	{{An Efficient Polynomial Time Approximation Scheme for Minimizing the Total Weighted Completion Time on Uniformly Related Machines}},
  booktitle =	{19th International Symposium on Algorithms and Data Structures (WADS 2025)},
  pages =	{25:1--25:21},
  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.2025.25},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-242564},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.WADS.2025.25},
  annote =	{Keywords: Scheduling algorithms, Approximation schemes, Min-sum objective}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.WADS.2025.31
Repairing Schedules by Removing Waiting Times: A Parameterized Complexity Analysis

Authors: Niels Grüttemeier and Klaus Heeger

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

Abstract
We consider the problem of repairing production schedules in a job-shop setting by reducing pre-planned waiting times. Herein, a schedule of all jobs is given. To compensate unforeseen disturbances, this schedule contains waiting times between the execution of two consecutive tasks of a job. Further, we assume that the schedule temporarily overloads some machines, e.g. due to reduced machine capacities because of worker sickness or (partially) broken machines. We study the problem of removing as few waiting times as possible in order to eliminate the machine overloads. After formalizing this problem, we perform an extensive analysis of its parameterized complexity with respect to several natural parameters, resulting in a detailed picture of the problem’s complexity.
Cite as

Niels Grüttemeier and Klaus Heeger. Repairing Schedules by Removing Waiting Times: A Parameterized Complexity Analysis. In 19th International Symposium on Algorithms and Data Structures (WADS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 349, pp. 31:1-31:14, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{gruttemeier_et_al:LIPIcs.WADS.2025.31,
  author =	{Gr\"{u}ttemeier, Niels and Heeger, Klaus},
  title =	{{Repairing Schedules by Removing Waiting Times: A Parameterized Complexity Analysis}},
  booktitle =	{19th International Symposium on Algorithms and Data Structures (WADS 2025)},
  pages =	{31:1--31:14},
  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.2025.31},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-242624},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.WADS.2025.31},
  annote =	{Keywords: Job shop, parallel machines, reactive scheduling}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.44
An EPTAS for Minimizing the Total Weighted Completion Time of Jobs with Release Dates on Uniformly Related Machines

Authors: Leah Epstein and Asaf Levin

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

Abstract
Scheduling of independent jobs with release dates so as to minimize the total weighted completion time is a well-known scheduling problem. Here, we study it for the classic machine environment of uniformly related machines. An efficient polynomial time approximation scheme (an EPTAS) is a family of (1+ε)-approximation algorithms where the running time is bounded by a polynomial in the input size times a function of ε > 0. For problems that are NP-hard in the strong sense, as it is the case for the problem studied here, an EPTAS is the best possible approximation scheme. We design an EPTAS for the problem by employing known techniques and introducing a large collection of new methods.
Cite as

Leah Epstein and Asaf Levin. An EPTAS for Minimizing the Total Weighted Completion Time of Jobs with Release Dates on Uniformly Related Machines. In 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 345, pp. 44:1-44:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{epstein_et_al:LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.44,
  author =	{Epstein, Leah and Levin, Asaf},
  title =	{{An EPTAS for Minimizing the Total Weighted Completion Time of Jobs with Release Dates on Uniformly Related Machines}},
  booktitle =	{50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)},
  pages =	{44:1--44:18},
  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.2025.44},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-241515},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.44},
  annote =	{Keywords: Scheduling algorithms, Approximation schemes, Min-sum objectives}
}
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