Abstract
We present a unified framework for designing polynomial time approximation schemes (PTASs) for "dense" instances of many script N sign script P sign-hard optimization problems, including maximum cut, graph bisection, graph separation, minimum k-way cut with and without specified terminals, and maximum 3-satisfiability. By dense graphs we mean graphs with minimum degree Ω(n), although our algorithms solve most of these problems so long as the average degree is Ω(n). Denseness for non-graph problems is defined similarly. The unified framework begins with the idea of exhaustive sampling: picking a small random set of vertices, guessing where they go on the optimum solution, and then using their placement to determine the placement of everything else. The approach then develops into a PTAS for approximating certain smooth integer programs, where the objective function and the constraints are "dense" polynomials of constant degree.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 193-210 |
Number of pages | 18 |
Journal | Journal of Computer and System Sciences |
Volume | 58 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 1999 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Theoretical Computer Science
- Computer Networks and Communications
- Computational Theory and Mathematics
- Applied Mathematics