Chapter 17. Fixed-Parameter Tractability

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marko Samer ◽  
Stefan Szeider
Keyword(s):  
Polynomial Time ◽  
Parameterized Complexity ◽  
Complexity Analysis ◽  
Fixed Parameter Tractability ◽  
Graph Representations ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Input Size ◽  
Backdoor Sets ◽  
Fixed Parameter ◽  
Problem Instances

Parameterized complexity is a new theoretical framework that considers, in addition to the overall input size, the effects on computational complexity of a secondary measurement, the parameter. This two-dimensional viewpoint allows a fine-grained complexity analysis that takes structural properties of problem instances into account. The central notion is “fixed-parameter tractability” which refers to solvability in polynomial time for each fixed value of the parameter such that the order of the polynomial time bound is independent of the parameter. This chapter presents main concepts and recent results on the parameterized complexity of the satisfiability problem and it outlines fundamental algorithmic ideas that arise in this context. Among the parameters considered are the size of backdoor sets with respect to various tractable base classes and the treewidth of graph representations of satisfiability instances.

scholarly journals On the Computation of Fully Proportional Representation

2013 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
pp. 475-519 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Betzler ◽  
A. Slinko ◽  
J. Uhlmann
Keyword(s):  
Polynomial Time ◽  
Parameterized Complexity ◽  
Proportional Representation ◽  
Fixed Parameter Tractability ◽  
Np Hard ◽  
Winner Determination ◽  
Negative Results ◽  
Polynomial Time Algorithms ◽  
Fixed Parameter

We investigate two systems of fully proportional representation suggested by Chamberlin Courant and Monroe. Both systems assign a representative to each voter so that the "sum of misrepresentations" is minimized. The winner determination problem for both systems is known to be NP-hard, hence this work aims at investigating whether there are variants of the proposed rules and/or specific electorates for which these problems can be solved efficiently. As a variation of these rules, instead of minimizing the sum of misrepresentations, we considered minimizing the maximal misrepresentation introducing effectively two new rules. In the general case these "minimax" versions of classical rules appeared to be still NP-hard. We investigated the parameterized complexity of winner determination of the two classical and two new rules with respect to several parameters. Here we have a mixture of positive and negative results: e.g., we proved fixed-parameter tractability for the parameter the number of candidates but fixed-parameter intractability for the number of winners. For single-peaked electorates our results are overwhelmingly positive: we provide polynomial-time algorithms for most of the considered problems. The only rule that remains NP-hard for single-peaked electorates is the classical Monroe rule.

scholarly journals Multivariate Investigation of NP-Hard Problems: Boundaries Between Parameterized Tractability and Intractability

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uéverton Souza ◽  
Fábio Protti ◽  
Maise Da Silva ◽  
Dieter Rautenbach
Keyword(s):  
Polynomial Time ◽  
Parameterized Complexity ◽  
Complexity Analysis ◽  
Np Hard ◽  
Fixed Parameter Tractable ◽  
Complementary Approach ◽  
Fixed Parameter ◽  
Hard Problems ◽  
Induced Matchings ◽  
Np Hard Problems

In this thesis we present a multivariate investigation of the complexity of some NP-hard problems, i.e., we first develop a systematic complexity analysis of these problems, defining its subproblems and mapping which one belongs to each side of an “imaginary boundary” between polynomial time solvability and intractability. After that, we analyze which sets of aspects of these problems are sources of their intractability, that is, subsets of aspects for which there exists an algorithm to solve the associated problem, whose non-polynomial time complexity is purely a function of those sets. Thus, we use classical and parameterized complexity in an alternate and complementary approach, to show which subproblems of the given problems are NP-hard and latter to diagnose for which sets of parameters the problems are fixed-parameter tractable, or in FPT. This thesis exhibits a classical and parameterized complexity analysis of different groups of NP-hard problems. The addressed problems are divided into four groups of distinct nature, in the context of data structures, combinatorial games, and graph theory: (I) and/or graph solution and its variants; (II) flooding-filling games; (III) problems on P3-convexity; (IV) problems on induced matchings.

scholarly journals Parameterized Algorithms for Finding a Collective Set of Items

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (02) ◽  
pp. 1838-1845
Author(s):  
Robert Bredereck ◽  
Piotr Faliszewski ◽  
Andrzej Kaczmarczyk ◽  
Dušan Knop ◽  
Rolf Niedermeier
Keyword(s):  
Parameterized Complexity ◽  
Weighted Average ◽  
Fixed Parameter Tractability ◽  
Parameterized Algorithms ◽  
Utility Value ◽  
Average Operator ◽  
Fixed Parameter ◽  
Ordered Weighted Average ◽  
Integer Weight

We extend the work of Skowron et al. (AIJ, 2016) by considering the parameterized complexity of the following problem. We are given a set of items and a set of agents, where each agent assigns an integer utility value to each item. The goal is to find a set of k items that these agents would collectively use. For each such collective set of items, each agent provides a score that can be described using an OWA (ordered weighted average) operator and we seek a set with the highest total score. We focus on the parameterization by the number of agents and we find numerous fixed-parameter tractability results (however, we also find some W[1]-hardness results). It turns out that most of our algorithms even apply to the setting where each agent has an integer weight.

scholarly journals Bribery and Control in Stable Marriage

2021 ◽  
Vol 71 ◽  
pp. 993-1048
Author(s):  
Niclas Boehmer ◽  
Robert Bredereck ◽  
Klaus Heeger ◽  
Rolf Niedermeier
Keyword(s):  
Computational Complexity ◽  
Polynomial Time ◽  
Parameterized Complexity ◽  
Complexity Analysis ◽  
Stable Solution ◽  
Stable Marriage ◽  
Np Hard ◽  
Natural Parameter ◽  
And Control ◽  
Comprehensive Study

We initiate the study of external manipulations in Stable Marriage by considering  several manipulative actions as well as several manipulation goals. For instance, one goal  is to make sure that a given pair of agents is matched in a stable solution, and this may be  achieved by the manipulative action of reordering some agents' preference lists. We present  a comprehensive study of the computational complexity of all problems arising in this way.  We find several polynomial-time solvable cases as well as NP-hard ones. For the NP-hard  cases, focusing on the natural parameter "budget" (that is, the number of manipulative  actions one is allowed to perform), we also conduct a parameterized complexity analysis  and encounter mostly parameterized hardness results. 

scholarly journals Complexity of Abstract Argumentation under a Claim-Centric View

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 2801-2808 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Dvořák ◽  
Stefan Woltran
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Complexity Analysis ◽  
Decision Problems ◽  
Fixed Parameter Tractability ◽  
Abstract Argumentation ◽  
Complexity Results ◽  
Fixed Parameter

Abstract argumentation frameworks have been introduced by Dung as part of an argumentation process, where arguments and conflicts are derived from a given knowledge base. It is solely this relation between arguments that is then used in order to identify acceptable sets of arguments. A final step concerns the acceptance status of particular statements by reviewing the actual contents of the acceptable arguments. Complexity analysis of abstract argumentation so far has neglected this final step and is concerned with argument names instead of their contents, i.e. their claims. As we outline in this paper, this is not only a slight deviation but can lead to different complexity results. We, therefore, give a comprehensive complexity analysis of abstract argumentation under a claim-centric view and analyse the four main decision problems under seven popular semantics. In addition, we also address the complexity of common sub-classes and introduce novel parameterisations – which exploit the nature of claims explicitly – along with fixed-parameter tractability results.

scholarly journals The Parameterized Complexity of Connected Fair Division

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Argyrios Deligkas ◽  
Eduard Eiben ◽  
Robert Ganian ◽  
Thekla Hamm ◽  
Sebastian Ordyniak
Keyword(s):  
Lower Bounds ◽  
Parameterized Complexity ◽  
Fundamental Problem ◽  
Fair Division ◽  
Division Problem ◽  
Additional Parameter ◽  
Fixed Parameter Tractability ◽  
Connected Subgraph ◽  
Fixed Parameter ◽  
New Algorithms

We study the Connected Fair Division problem (CFD), which generalizes the fundamental problem of fairly allocating resources to agents by requiring that the items allocated to each agent form a connected subgraph in a provided item graph G. We expand on previous results by providing a comprehensive complexity-theoretic understanding of CFD based on several new algorithms and lower bounds while taking into account several well-established notions of fairness: proportionality, envy-freeness, EF1 and EFX. In particular, we show that to achieve tractability, one needs to restrict both the agents and the item graph in a meaningful way. We design (XP)-algorithms for the problem parameterized by (1) clique-width of G plus the number of agents and (2) treewidth of G plus the number of agent types, along with corresponding lower bounds. Finally, we show that to achieve fixed-parameter tractability, one needs to not only use a more restrictive parameterization of G, but also include the maximum item valuation as an additional parameter.

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