The Traveling Salesman

Problem for Cubic Graphs

Journal of Graph Algorithms and Applications vol.
11, no. 1, pp. 61–81 (2007)
David Eppstein
Adviser: Yue-Li Wang
As presented by Ying-Jhih Chen

1
 Outline
• The TSP for cubic graph
• Special Rule
– Triangle
– 4-cycle
• Example
• Analysis
• Degree Four
• Hamiltonian Cycles
2
 Traveling Salesman Problem
• Given a number of cities and the costs of
traveling from any city to any other city.
• What is the least-cost round-trip route that
visits each city exactly once and then
returns to the starting city?
2
1
4 3
1
1

3
 Cubic
• 3-regular graph.
• E. g.

4
 This Algorithm
• The solution of TSP in a graph of
degree at most three.
• n vertices, in time O(2n/3) ≈
1.260n.

5
Triangle (1/2)

6
Triangle (2/2)

7
4-cycle

8
 Example
Case Case
2 1: 2 2: 2
1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 2 2
2 2 2 2
3 3 3
3 3 1 3
1 1
5 4 5 4 5 4
2 2 2

9
 Case 2 (1/2)

2 3
1 1 1
2 2 2 2
3 3
1 3 3
1
5 4
5
2 6

10
 Case 2 (2/2)
Case 2-1: Case 2-2:
3 3
1 1
2 2 2
2
3 3
3 1 3
1
5 5
6 6

Cost : 21 Cost : 17

11
 Case 1
Case 1-1: Case 1-2:
2
2
1 1 1
2 2 1 1 1
2 2
3
3
1 3
1 3
5 4
2 5 4
2

12
 Case 1-1

2
1 1 1
2 2 2 4
3
1 3
5 4
2

Cost: 16

13
 Case 1-2

2 2
1
1 1 1 1 1 1
2 2 16 2 2
18 3
3 3
1 1
5 4 5 4
2 2

Cost: 17

Solution: 16 ( case 1-1)

14
 Algorithm Review
• TSP ( G, F):
• 1. Repeat the following steps until one of the steps returns or none of them
applies:
– (a)~(h)
– (i) If G contains a triangle xyz, …
– (j) If G contains a cycle of four unforced edges, …
• 2. If G \ F forms a collection of disjoint 4-cycles, perform the following steps.
• (a)~(e)
• 3. Choose an edge yz according to the following cases:
• (a)~(c)
• 4. TSP(G, F ∪ {yz})
• 5. TSP(G \ {yz}, F)
• 6. Return the minimum of the numbers returned by the two recursive calls.
(step 4, 5)

15
 Analysis
• A nonstandard measure of the size of a
graph G: let s(G, F) = |(G)| − |F| − |C|
• C denotes the set of 4-cycles of G that
form connected components of G \ F.
• Clearly, s ≤ n,

16
 Chain (1/2)

s(G1,F1) = s(G, F) - 2

17
 Chain (2/2)

s(G2, F2) = s(G, F) - 5

18
Cycle Length is Six or More
(1/2)

s(G1, F1) = s(G, F) - 3

19
Cycle Length is Six or More
(2/2)

s( G2, F2) = s(G, F) -3

20
 4-cycle (1/3)

s ( G1, F1) = s(G, F) - 3

21
4-cycle (2/3)

22
 4-cycle (3/3)

(G) - 3

s (G2, F2) = s(G, F) - 3

23
 Case

s(G1, F1) = s(G, F) -3 s(G2, F2) = s(G, F) -3

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 Time Complexity
• T(s) ≤ 1 + max{ sO(1), T(s − 1), 2T(s − 3),
T(s − 2) + T(s − 5)}.
• T(s) = O(2s/3).
• s is at most n.
• A bound of O(2n/3)

25
 Degree Four
• Randomly splitting vertices

Let f denote the number of degree four vertices in G.

The algorithm has probability (2/3)f of finding the correct TSP solution.
There are (3/2)f repetitions.
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 Time for Degree Four

• O((3/2)f 2n/3) = O((3/2)n 2n/3) = O((3/2)3n/3

2n/3) = O((27/8)n/3 2n/3) = O((27/4)n/3) ≈
1.890n

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Listing All Hamiltonian Cycles

To find a Hamiltonian cycle of a 400-vertex 3-regular graph, dual to a

triangulated torus model in approximately two seconds on an 800 MHz
PowerPC G4 computer.
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Graphs with Many Hamiltonian
Cycles (1/2)

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Graphs with Many Hamiltonian
Cycles (2/2)

Cubic graph with 2n/3 Hamiltonian cycles. (4n/6 =

2n/3 )
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