Minimum Spanning Tree

(MST)

Ajit Kumar Behera

 Minimum Spanning Trees
Let G = (V, E) be a connected undirected graph, where each
edge (u, v)  E, and we have a weight w(u, v) on each edge
(u, v)  E
• Spanning Tree
– A tree T (i.e., connected, acyclic graph) which contains
all the vertices of the graph
• Minimum Spanning Tree
– Spanning tree with the minimum sum of weights
8 7
b c d
4 9
2
a 11 i 4 14 e
7 6
8 10
g g 2
f
1
2
 Applications of MST
– Find the least expensive way to connect a set of
cities, terminals, computers, etc.

3
 Minimum Spanning Trees
• A connected, undirected graph: G = (V,E)

• A weight w(u, v) on each edge (u, v)  E

Find T  E such that: b

8
c
7
d
4 9
1. T connects all vertices 2
a 11 i 4 14 e
2. w(T) = Σ(u,v)T w(u, v) is 8
7 6
10
h g 2
f
1
minimized

4
Properties of Minimum Spanning Trees

• Minimum spanning tree is not unique

• MST has no cycles :

– We can take out an edge of a cycle, and still have
the vertices connected while reducing the cost

• No. of edges in a MST:

– |V| - 1

5
 Growing a MST – Generic Approach

• Grow a set A of edges (initially empty)

• Incrementally add edges to A such 8 7

b c d
that they would belong 4 9
2
11
to a MST a i 4 14 e
7 6
8 10
h g 2
f
1
Idea: Add only “safe” edges
– An edge (u, v) is safe for A if and only if
A  {(u, v)} is also a subset of some MST

6
 Generic MST algorithm
1. A ← 
2. while A does not form a spanning tree
3. do find an edge (u, v) that is safe for A
4. A ← A  {(u, v)} b
8
c
7
d
4 9
2
5. return A 11 14
a i 4 e
7 6
8 10
h g 2
f
1
• How do we find safe edges?

7
 Finding Safe Edges
8 7 V-S
Let’s look at edge (h, g)
b c d
• 4 9
2
11
– Is it safe for A initially? a i 4 14 e
7 6
8 10
• Later on: S h
1
g 2
f

– Let S  V be any set of vertices that includes h but not

g (so that g is in V - S)
– In any MST, there has to be one edge (at least) that
connects S with V - S
– Why not choose the edge with minimum weight (h,g)?

8
 Definitions
8 7
b c d
4 9
2
• A cut (S, V - S) S a 11 i 4 14 e S
7 6
is a partition of vertices V- S  8 10
 V- S
h g 2
f
1
into disjoint sets S and V - S
• An edge crosses the cut
(S, V - S) if one endpoint is in S
and the other in V – S

9
 Definitions (cont’d)
• A cut respects a set A
8 7
b c d
4 9
2
of edges  no edge S a 11 i 4 14 e S
in A crosses the cut
7 6
V- S  8 10
 V- S
h g 2
f
1
• An edge is a light edge
crossing a cut  its weight is minimum over all
edges crossing the cut
– Note that for a given cut, there can be > 1 light
edges crossing it

10
 Theorem
• Let A be a subset of some MST (i.e., T), (S, V - S) be a
cut that respects A, and (u, v) be a light edge crossing
(S, V-S). Then (u, v) is safe for A .

v
V-S

11
 MST
Two greedy algorithms that implement generic
approach:
– Kruskal’s algorithm
• Running time = O(E lg V)

– Prim’s algorithm
• Running time = O(E lg V)

12
 Prim’s Algorithm
• The edges in set A always form a single tree
• Starts from an arbitrary “root”: VA = {a}
• At each step:
8 7
b c d
– Find a light edge crossing (VA, V - VA) 4 9
2
– Add this edge to A a 11 i 4 14 e
7 6
– Repeat until the tree spans all vertices 8 10
h g 2
f
1

13
 How to Find Light Edges Quickly?
Use a priority queue Q: 8 7
b c d
• Contains vertices not yet 4 9
2
included in the tree, i.e., (V – VA) a 11 i 4 14 e
7 6
– VA = {a}, Q = {b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i} 8 10
h g f
• We associate a key with each vertex v: 1 2

key[v] = minimum weight of any edge (u, v) where u  VA

Key[a]=min(w 1,w2) w1

w2
a

14
 How to Find Light Edges Quickly?
(cont.)
• After adding a new node to VA we update the weights of all
the nodes adjacent to it
e.g., after adding a to the tree, key[b]=4 and key[h]=8
• Key of v is  if v is not adjacent to any vertices in VA

8 7
b c d
4 9
2
a 11 i 4 14 e
7 6
8 10
h g 2
f
1

15
How to Find Light Edges Quickly?
(cont.)

16
 Example
  
b
8
c
7
d 0  
4 9
 2  Q = {a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i}
a 11 i 4 14 e VA = 
7 6
8 10 Extract-MIN(Q)  a
h g 2
f
1
  

4
  
8 7 key [b] = 4  [b] = a
b c d
4 9 key [h] = 8  [h] = a
 2 
a 11 i 4 14 e
8
7 6
10 4 8
h g 2
f Q = {b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i} VA = {a}
1
8  
Extract-MIN(Q)  b
17
 Example
4 
8  key [c] = 8  [c] = b
8 7
b c d
9
key [h] = 8  [h] = a - unchanged
4
 2 
8 8
a 11 i 4 14 e
7 6 Q = {c, d, e, f, g, h, i} VA = {a, b}
8 10
h g f Extract-MIN(Q)  c
1 2
8  
key [d] = 7  [d] = c
4 8 
7
8 7 key [f] = 4  [f] = c
b c d
4 2 2

9

key [i] = 2  [i] = c
a 11 i 4 14 e
8
7 6
10 7 4 8 2
h g 2
f Q = {d, e, f, g, h, i} VA = {a, b, c}
1
8  
4
Extract-MIN(Q)  i 18
 Example
4 8 7 key [h] = 7  [h] = i
8
b c
7
d key [g] = 6  [g] = i
4 9
2 2  7 46 8
a 11 i 4 14 e
Q = {d, e, f, g, h} VA = {a, b, c, i}
7 6
Extract-MIN(Q)  f
8 10
h g 2
f
1
87 
6 4
4 8 7 key [g] = 2  [g] = f
b
8
c
7
d key [d] = 7  [d] = c unchanged
9
4
2 2 10 key [e] = 10  [e] = f
a 11 i 14 e
4 7 10 2 8
7 6
8 10 Q = {d, e, g, h} VA = {a, b, c, i, f}
h g f
1
6
2
4
Extract-MIN(Q)  g
7 2 19
 Example
4 8 7 key [h] = 1  [h] = g
8 7
b c d 7 10 1
4 9
2 2 10 Q = {d, e, h} VA = {a, b, c, i, f, g}
a 11 i 14 e
7 6
4
Extract-MIN(Q)  h
8 10
h g 2
f
1
7
1 2 4 7 10
4 8 7
8 7
Q = {d, e} VA = {a, b, c, i, f, g, h}
b c d
4 9 Extract-MIN(Q)  d
2 2 10
a 11 i 4 14 e
7 6
8 10
h g 2
f
1
1 2 4
20
 Example

4 8 7
8 7
b c d
9 9
key [e] = 9  [e] = f
4
2 2 10
9
a 11 i 4 14 e
7 6 Q = {e} VA = {a, b, c, i, f, g, h, d}
8 10
h g f Extract-MIN(Q)  e
1 2
1 2 4 Q =  VA = {a, b, c, i, f, g, h, d, e}

21
 PRIM(V, E, w, r)
1. Q← 
Total time: O(VlgV + ElgV) = O(ElgV)
2. for each u  V
3. do key[u] ← ∞ O(V) if Q is implemented
as a min-heap
4. π[u] ← NIL
5. INSERT(Q, u)
6. DECREASE-KEY(Q, r, 0) ► key[r] ← 0 O(lgV)

7. while Q   Executed |V| times

Min-heap
operations:
8. do u ← EXTRACT-MIN(Q) Takes O(lgV) O(VlgV)
9. for each v  Adj[u] Executed O(E) times total
10. do if v  Q and w(u, v) < key[v] Constant O(ElgV)

11. then π[v] ← u Takes O(lgV)

12. DECREASE-KEY(Q, v, w(u, v))

22
 Prim’s Algorithm
• Prim’s algorithm is a “greedy” algorithm
– Greedy algorithms find solutions based on a sequence
of choices which are “locally” optimal at each step.

• Nevertheless, Prim’s greedy strategy produces a

globally optimum solution!
– See proof for generic approach (i.e., slides 12-15)

23
 A different instance of the
generic approach
S
(instance 1)

(instance 2)
u

tree1
v
V-S

• A is a forest containing connected u

components
– Initially, each component is a single
vertex v
tree2
• Any safe edge merges two of
these components into one
– Each component is a tree 24
 Kruskal’s Algorithm
• How is it different from Prim’s algorithm?
– Prim’s algorithm grows one
tree all the time
– Kruskal’s algorithm grows tree1

multiple trees (i.e., a forest)

at the same time.
u
– Trees are merged together
using safe edges
v
– Since an MST has exactly |V| - 1 tree2
edges, after |V| - 1 merges,
we would have only one component
25
 Kruskal’s Algorithm
8 7
• Start with each vertex being its b c d
4 9
own component 2
a 11 i 14 e
• Repeatedly merge two 7 6
4
8 10
components into one by
h g 2
f
1
choosing the light edge that
connects them We would add
edge (c, f)
• Which components to consider
at each iteration?
– Scan the set of edges in
monotonically increasing order by
weight

26
 Example
1. Add (h, g) {g, h}, {a}, {b}, {c}, {d}, {e}, {f}, {i}
8 7
b c d 2. Add (c, i) {g, h}, {c, i}, {a}, {b}, {d}, {e}, {f}
4 9
2 3. Add (g, f) {g, h, f}, {c, i}, {a}, {b}, {d}, {e}
a 11 i 4 14 e 4. Add (a, b) {g, h, f}, {c, i}, {a, b}, {d}, {e}
7 6 5. Add (c, f) {g, h, f, c, i}, {a, b}, {d}, {e}
8 10
h
1
g 2
f 6. Ignore (i, g) {g, h, f, c, i}, {a, b}, {d}, {e}
7. Add (c, d) {g, h, f, c, i, d}, {a, b}, {e}
1: (h, g) 8: (a, h), (b, c) 8. Ignore (i, h) {g, h, f, c, i, d}, {a, b}, {e}
2: (c, i), (g, f) 9: (d, e) 9. Add (a, h) {g, h, f, c, i, d, a, b}, {e}
4: (a, b), (c, f) 10: (e, f) 10. Ignore (b, c) {g, h, f, c, i, d, a, b}, {e}
6: (i, g) 11: (b, h) 11. Add (d, e) {g, h, f, c, i, d, a, b, e}
7: (c, d), (i, h) 14: (d, f) 12. Ignore (e, f) {g, h, f, c, i, d, a, b, e}
{a}, {b}, {c}, {d}, {e}, {f}, {g}, {h}, {i} 13. Ignore (b, h) {g, h, f, c, i, d, a, b, e}
14. Ignore (d, f) {g, h, f, c, i, d, a, b, e}
27
 Implementation of Kruskal’s Algorithm

8
• Uses a disjoint-set data
7
b c d
4 9
2
structure to determine a 11 i 4 14 e
7 6
whether an edge 8 10
h g 2
f
connects vertices in 1
We would add
different components edge (c, f)

28
 Operations on Disjoint Data Sets
• MAKE-SET(u) – creates a new set whose only
member is u
• FIND-SET(u) – returns a representative element
from the set that contains u
– Any of the elements of the set that has a particular
property
– E.g.: Su = {r, s, t, u}, the property is that the element be
the first one alphabetically
FIND-SET(u) = r FIND-SET(s) = r
– FIND-SET has to return the same value for a given set
29
 Operations on Disjoint Data Sets
• UNION(u, v) – unites the dynamic sets that
contain u and v, say Su and Sv
– E.g.: Su = {r, s, t, u}, Sv = {v, x, y}

UNION (u, v) = {r, s, t, u, v, x, y}

• Running time for FIND-SET and UNION

depends on implementation.

• Can be shown to be α(n)=O(lgn) where α() is a

very slowly growing function (see Chapter 21)
30
 KRUSKAL(V, E, w)
1. A← 
2. for each vertex v  V
O(V)
3. do MAKE-SET(v)
4. sort E into non-decreasing order by w O(ElgE)
5. for each (u, v) taken from the sorted list O(E)
6. do if FIND-SET(u)  FIND-SET(v)
7. then A ← A  {(u, v)} O(lgV)
8. UNION(u, v)
9. return A
Running time: O(V+ElgE+ElgV)=O(ElgE) – dependent on
the implementation of the disjoint-set data structure
31
 KRUSKAL(V, E, w) (cont.)
1. A← 
2. for each vertex v  V
O(V)
3. do MAKE-SET(v)
4. sort E into non-decreasing order by w O(ElgE)
5. for each (u, v) taken from the sorted list O(E)
6. do if FIND-SET(u)  FIND-SET(v)
7. then A ← A  {(u, v)} O(lgV)
8. UNION(u, v)
9. return A
- Running time: O(V+ElgE+ElgV)=O(ElgE) O(ElgV)
- Since E=O(V2), we have lgE=O(2lgV)=O(lgV) 32
 Kruskal’s Algorithm
• Kruskal’s algorithm is a “greedy” algorithm
• Kruskal’s greedy strategy produces a globally
optimum solution
S
• Proof for generic approach
x
applies to Kruskal’s
u y
algorithm too

v
V-S

33