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We give a simple proof of that determining solvability of Shisen-Sho boards is NP-complete. Furthermore, we show that under realistic assumptions, one can compute in logarithmic time if two tiles form a playable pair. We combine an implementation of the algoritm to test playability of pairs with my earlier algorithm to solve Mahjong Solitaire boards with peeking, to obtain an algorithm to solve Shisen-Sho boards. We sample several Shisen-Sho and Mahjong Solitaire layouts for solvability for Shisen-Sho and Mahjong Solitaire.
A bipartite graph $G=(A,B,E)$ is ${cal H}$-convex, for some family of graphs ${cal H}$, if there exists a graph $Hin {cal H}$ with $V(H)=A$ such that the set of neighbours in $A$ of each $bin B$ induces a connected subgraph of $H$. Many $mathsf{NP}$-complete problems, including problems such as Dominating Set, Feedback Vertex Set, Induced Matching and List $k$-Colouring, become polynomial-time solvable for ${mathcal H}$-convex graphs when ${mathcal H}$ is the set of paths. In this case, the class of ${mathcal H}$-convex graphs is known as the class of convex graphs. The underlying reason is that the class of convex graphs has bounded mim-width. We extend the latter result to families of ${mathcal H}$-convex graphs where (i) ${mathcal H}$ is the set of cycles, or (ii) ${mathcal H}$ is the set of trees with bounded maximum degree and a bounded number of vertices of degree at least $3$. As a consequence, we can re-prove and strengthen a large number of results on generalized convex graphs known in the literature. To complement result (ii), we show that the mim-width of ${mathcal H}$-convex graphs is unbounded if ${mathcal H}$ is the set of trees with arbitrarily large maximum degree or an arbitrarily large number of vertices of degree at least $3$. In this way we are able to determine complexity dichotomies for the aforementioned graph problems. Afterwards we perform a more refined width-parameter analysis, which shows even more clearly which width parameters are bounded for classes of ${cal H}$-convex graphs.
}We study (vertex-disjoint) $P_2$-packings in graphs under a parameterized perspective. Starting from a maximal $P_2$-packing $p$ of size $j$ we use extremal arguments for determining how many vertices of $p$ appear in some $P_2$-packing of size $(j+1)$. We basically can reuse $2.5j$ vertices. We also present a kernelization algorithm that gives a kernel of size bounded by $7k$. With these two results we build an algorithm which constructs a $P_2$-packing of size $k$ in time $Oh^*(2.482^{3k})$.
A vertex subset $I$ of a graph $G$ is called a $k$-path vertex cover if every path on $k$ vertices in $G$ contains at least one vertex from $I$. The textsc{$k$-Path Vertex Cover Reconfiguration ($k$-PVCR)} problem asks if one can transform one $k$-path vertex cover into another via a sequence of $k$-path vertex covers where each intermediate member is obtained from its predecessor by applying a given reconfiguration rule exactly once. We investigate the computational complexity of textsc{$k$-PVCR} from the viewpoint of graph classes under the well-known reconfiguration rules: $mathsf{TS}$, $mathsf{TJ}$, and $mathsf{TAR}$. The problem for $k=2$, known as the textsc{Vertex Cover Reconfiguration (VCR)} problem, has been well-studied in the literature. We show that certain known hardness results for textsc{VCR} on different graph classes including planar graphs, bounded bandwidth graphs, chordal graphs, and bipartite graphs, can be extended for textsc{$k$-PVCR}. In particular, we prove a complexity dichotomy for textsc{$k$-PVCR} on general graphs: on those whose maximum degree is $3$ (and even planar), the problem is $mathtt{PSPACE}$-complete, while on those whose maximum degree is $2$ (i.e., paths and cycles), the problem can be solved in polynomial time. Additionally, we also design polynomial-time algorithms for textsc{$k$-PVCR} on trees under each of $mathsf{TJ}$ and $mathsf{TAR}$. Moreover, on paths, cycles, and trees, we describe how one can construct a reconfiguration sequence between two given $k$-path vertex covers in a yes-instance. In particular, on paths, our constructed reconfiguration sequence is shortest.
We show how two techniques from statistical physics can be adapted to solve a variant of the notorious Unique Games problem, potentially opening new avenues towards the Unique Games Conjecture. The variant, which we call Count Unique Games, is a promise problem in which the yes case guarantees a certain number of highly satisfiable assignments to the Unique Games instance. In the standard Unique Games problem, the yes case only guarantees at least one such assignment. We exhibit efficient algorithms for Count Unique Games based on approximating a suitable partition function for the Unique Games instance via (i) a zero-free region and polynomial interpolation, and (ii) the cluster expansion. We also show that a modest improvement to the parameters for which we give results would refute the Unique Games Conjecture.
In this paper we study the family of two-state Totalistic Freezing Cellular Automata (TFCA) defined over the triangular and square grids with von Neumann neighborhoods. We say that a Cellular Automaton is Freezing and Totalistic if the active cells remain unchanged, and the new value of an inactive cell depends only on the sum of its active neighbors. We classify all the Cellular Automata in the class of TFCA, grouping them in five different classes: the Trivial rules, Turing Universal rules,Algebraic rules, Topological rules and Fractal Growing rules. At the same time, we study in this family the Stability problem, consisting in deciding whether an inactive cell becomes active, given an initial configuration.We exploit the properties of the automata in each group to show that: - For Algebraic and Topological Rules the Stability problem is in $text{NC}$. - For Turing Universal rules the Stability problem is $text{P}$-Complete.