APPROXIMATION ALGORITHMS

VERTEX COVER – MAX CUT

PROBLEMS

SELIM KALAYCI
FIU-SCS
04/13/2005
 Motivation
Some optimization problems are “NP-hard” (by hardness of related
decision problem), there is no poly-time algorithm unless P = NP.
• largest clique
• smallest vertex cover
• largest maximum cut
•...

But: sometimes sub-optimal solutions are kind of OK

• pretty large clique
• pretty small vertex cover
• pretty large maximum cut
•...
if algorithms run in poly time (preferably small exponents).
APPROXIMATION ALGORITHMS

Definition:Approximation algorithm
 An approximation algorithm for a problem is

a polynomial-time algorithm that, when

given input I, outputs an element of FS(I).
Feasible solution set
 A feasible solution is an object of the right

type but not necessarily an optimal one.

FS(I) is the set of feasible solutions for I.
 APPROXIMATION RATIO

Approximation algorithm has approximation

ratio of ρ(n), if for any input of size n, the
outcome O of its solution is within factor ρ(n)
of outcome of optimal solution O*, i.e.

1 ≤ Max (O/O*, O*/O) ≤ ρ(n)

Minimization Maximization
problem problem
 APPROXIMATION RATIO

An algorithm with guaranteed approximation ratio of

ρ(n) is called a ρ(n)-approximation algorithm.
A 1-approximation algorithm is optimal, and the larger
the ratio, the worse the solution.

• For many NP-complete problems, constant-factor

approximations(i.e. computed clique is always at least
half the size of maximum-size clique),
• Sometimes best known approx ratio grows with n,
VERTEX COVER PROBLEM
Problem: Given graph G = (V,E), find smallest V '  V
 E, then u V′ or v V′ or both.
s.t. if (u, v)

Decision problem is NP-complete (3SAT ≤p VC,

Sipser 7.5)

Optimization problem is at least as hard.

 VERTEX COVER ALGORITHM
Here is a trivial 2-approximation algorithm
Input is some graph G = (V,E).

APPROX-VERTEX-COVER
1: C ← Ø ;
2: E′ ← E
3: while E′ ≠ Ø; do
4: let (u, v) be an arbitrary edge of E′
5: C ← C {(u, v)}
6: remove from E′ all edges incident on either u or v
7: end while
 VERTEX COVER EXAMPLE

b c d b c d

a e f g a e f g

Input Graph Optimal result, Size 3

 VECTOR COVER ALGORITHM
EXAMPLE

b c d b c d

a e f g a e f g

Step 1: choose Step 2: choose

edge (c,e) edge (d,g)

b c d b c d

a e f g a e f g

Step 3: choose Result: Size 6

edge (a,b)
 PROOF

Theorem. APPROX-VERTEX-COVER is a poly-time

2-approximation algorithm.

Proof. The running time is trivially bounded by O(V * E)

(at most |E| iterations, each of complexity at most O(V )).

Correctness: C clearly is a vertex cover.

 PROOF cont.
Size of the cover: let A denote set of edges that are picked
({(c, e), (d, g), (a, b)} in example).

1. In order to cover edges in A, any vertex cover, in particular an optimal

cover C*, must include at least one endpoint of each edge in A.

By construction of the algorithm, no two edges in A share an endpoint

(once edge is picked, all edges incident on either endpoint are
removed).

Therefore, no two edges in A are covered by the same vertex in C*, and
|C*| ≥ |A|.
2. When an edge is picked, neither endpoint is already in C, thus
|C| = 2|A|.
Combining (1) and (2) yields
|C| = 2|A| ≤ 2|C*|
q.e.d
 MAX CUT PROBLEM

Given an undirected graph G (V,E):

Separate vertices of G into two disjoint sets
S and T, such that number of cut edges is
maximum. (Maximization Problem)

 Cut edge: An edge between a node in S

and a node in T.
 MAX-CUT ALGORITHM

Another 2-approximation algorithm :

Given G (V,E)
1- S ← Ø and T ← V
2- If moving a single node from S to T, or
from T to S increases the number of cut
edges, make the move. Repeat 2.
3- Output the number of cut edges.
QUESTIONS