Scheduling of unit-length jobs with bipartite incompatibility graphs on four uniform machines

In the paper we consider the problem of scheduling n identical jobs on 4 uniform machines with speeds s1 ≥ s2 ≥ s3 ≥ s4, respectively. Our aim is to find a schedule with a minimum possible length. We assume that jobs are subject to some kind of mutual exclusion constraints modeled by a bipartite incompatibility graph of degree Δ, where two incompatible jobs cannot be processed on the same machine. We show that the general problem is NP-hard even if s1 = s2 = s3. If, however, Δ ≤ 4 and s1 ≥ 12s2, s2 = s3 = s4, then the problem can be solved to optimality in time O(n1.5). The same algorithm returns a solution of value at most 2 times optimal provided that s1 ≥ 2s2. Finally, we study the case s1 ≥ s2 ≥ s3 = s4 and give a 32/15-approximation algorithm running also in O(n1.5) time.

Equitable and semi-equitable coloring of cubic graphs and its application in batch scheduling

In the paper we consider the problems of equitable and semi-equitable coloring of vertices of cubic graphs. We show that in contrast to the equitable coloring, which is easy, the problem of semi-equitable coloring is NP-complete within a broad spectrum of graph parameters. This affects the complexity of batch scheduling of unit-length jobs with cubic incompatibility graph on three uniform processors to minimize the makespan.