@phdthesis{6681, abstract = {The first part of the thesis considers the computational aspects of the homotopy groups πd(X) of a topological space X. It is well known that there is no algorithm to decide whether the fundamental group π1(X) of a given finite simplicial complex X is trivial. On the other hand, there are several algorithms that, given a finite simplicial complex X that is simply connected (i.e., with π1(X) trivial), compute the higher homotopy group πd(X) for any given d ≥ 2. However, these algorithms come with a caveat: They compute the isomorphism type of πd(X), d ≥ 2 as an abstract finitely generated abelian group given by generators and relations, but they work with very implicit representations of the elements of πd(X). We present an algorithm that, given a simply connected space X, computes πd(X) and represents its elements as simplicial maps from suitable triangulations of the d-sphere Sd to X. For fixed d, the algorithm runs in time exponential in size(X), the number of simplices of X. Moreover, we prove that this is optimal: For every fixed d ≥ 2, we construct a family of simply connected spaces X such that for any simplicial map representing a generator of πd(X), the size of the triangulation of S d on which the map is defined, is exponential in size(X). In the second part of the thesis, we prove that the following question is algorithmically undecidable for d < ⌊3(k+1)/2⌋, k ≥ 5 and (k, d) ̸= (5, 7), which covers essentially everything outside the meta-stable range: Given a finite simplicial complex K of dimension k, decide whether there exists a piecewise-linear (i.e., linear on an arbitrarily fine subdivision of K) embedding f : K ↪→ Rd of K into a d-dimensional Euclidean space.}, author = {Zhechev, Stephan Y}, issn = {2663-337X}, pages = {104}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{Algorithmic aspects of homotopy theory and embeddability}}, doi = {10.15479/AT:ISTA:6681}, year = {2019}, } @article{6982, abstract = {We present an efficient algorithm for a problem in the interface between clustering and graph embeddings. An embedding ϕ : G → M of a graph G into a 2-manifold M maps the vertices in V(G) to distinct points and the edges in E(G) to interior-disjoint Jordan arcs between the corresponding vertices. In applications in clustering, cartography, and visualization, nearby vertices and edges are often bundled to the same point or overlapping arcs due to data compression or low resolution. This raises the computational problem of deciding whether a given map ϕ : G → M comes from an embedding. A map ϕ : G → M is a weak embedding if it can be perturbed into an embedding ψ ϵ : G → M with ‖ ϕ − ψ ϵ ‖ < ϵ for every ϵ > 0, where ‖.‖ is the unform norm. A polynomial-time algorithm for recognizing weak embeddings has recently been found by Fulek and Kynčl. It reduces the problem to solving a system of linear equations over Z2. It runs in O(n2ω)≤ O(n4.75) time, where ω ∈ [2,2.373) is the matrix multiplication exponent and n is the number of vertices and edges of G. We improve the running time to O(n log n). Our algorithm is also conceptually simpler: We perform a sequence of local operations that gradually “untangles” the image ϕ(G) into an embedding ψ(G) or reports that ϕ is not a weak embedding. It combines local constraints on the orientation of subgraphs directly, thereby eliminating the need for solving large systems of linear equations. }, author = {Akitaya, Hugo and Fulek, Radoslav and Tóth, Csaba}, journal = {ACM Transactions on Algorithms}, number = {4}, publisher = {ACM}, title = {{Recognizing weak embeddings of graphs}}, doi = {10.1145/3344549}, volume = {15}, year = {2019}, } @article{7034, abstract = {We find a graph of genus 5 and its drawing on the orientable surface of genus 4 with every pair of independent edges crossing an even number of times. This shows that the strong Hanani–Tutte theorem cannot be extended to the orientable surface of genus 4. As a base step in the construction we use a counterexample to an extension of the unified Hanani–Tutte theorem on the torus.}, author = {Fulek, Radoslav and Kynčl, Jan}, issn = {1439-6912}, journal = {Combinatorica}, number = {6}, pages = {1267--1279}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Counterexample to an extension of the Hanani-Tutte theorem on the surface of genus 4}}, doi = {10.1007/s00493-019-3905-7}, volume = {39}, year = {2019}, } @article{7093, abstract = {In graph theory, as well as in 3-manifold topology, there exist several width-type parameters to describe how "simple" or "thin" a given graph or 3-manifold is. These parameters, such as pathwidth or treewidth for graphs, or the concept of thin position for 3-manifolds, play an important role when studying algorithmic problems; in particular, there is a variety of problems in computational 3-manifold topology - some of them known to be computationally hard in general - that become solvable in polynomial time as soon as the dual graph of the input triangulation has bounded treewidth. In view of these algorithmic results, it is natural to ask whether every 3-manifold admits a triangulation of bounded treewidth. We show that this is not the case, i.e., that there exists an infinite family of closed 3-manifolds not admitting triangulations of bounded pathwidth or treewidth (the latter implies the former, but we present two separate proofs). We derive these results from work of Agol, of Scharlemann and Thompson, and of Scharlemann, Schultens and Saito by exhibiting explicit connections between the topology of a 3-manifold M on the one hand and width-type parameters of the dual graphs of triangulations of M on the other hand, answering a question that had been raised repeatedly by researchers in computational 3-manifold topology. In particular, we show that if a closed, orientable, irreducible, non-Haken 3-manifold M has a triangulation of treewidth (resp. pathwidth) k then the Heegaard genus of M is at most 18(k+1) (resp. 4(3k+1)).}, author = {Huszár, Kristóf and Spreer, Jonathan and Wagner, Uli}, issn = {1920-180X}, journal = {Journal of Computational Geometry}, number = {2}, pages = {70–98}, publisher = {Computational Geometry Laborartoy}, title = {{On the treewidth of triangulated 3-manifolds}}, doi = {10.20382/JOGC.V10I2A5}, volume = {10}, year = {2019}, } @article{7108, abstract = {We prove that for every d ≥ 2, deciding if a pure, d-dimensional, simplicial complex is shellable is NP-hard, hence NP-complete. This resolves a question raised, e.g., by Danaraj and Klee in 1978. Our reduction also yields that for every d ≥ 2 and k ≥ 0, deciding if a pure, d-dimensional, simplicial complex is k-decomposable is NP-hard. For d ≥ 3, both problems remain NP-hard when restricted to contractible pure d-dimensional complexes. Another simple corollary of our result is that it is NP-hard to decide whether a given poset is CL-shellable.}, author = {Goaoc, Xavier and Patak, Pavel and Patakova, Zuzana and Tancer, Martin and Wagner, Uli}, issn = {0004-5411}, journal = {Journal of the ACM}, number = {3}, publisher = {ACM}, title = {{Shellability is NP-complete}}, doi = {10.1145/3314024}, volume = {66}, year = {2019}, } @inproceedings{7230, abstract = {Simple drawings of graphs are those in which each pair of edges share at most one point, either a common endpoint or a proper crossing. In this paper we study the problem of extending a simple drawing D(G) of a graph G by inserting a set of edges from the complement of G into D(G) such that the result is a simple drawing. In the context of rectilinear drawings, the problem is trivial. For pseudolinear drawings, the existence of such an extension follows from Levi’s enlargement lemma. In contrast, we prove that deciding if a given set of edges can be inserted into a simple drawing is NP-complete. Moreover, we show that the maximization version of the problem is APX-hard. We also present a polynomial-time algorithm for deciding whether one edge uv can be inserted into D(G) when {u,v} is a dominating set for the graph G.}, author = {Arroyo Guevara, Alan M and Derka, Martin and Parada, Irene}, booktitle = {27th International Symposium on Graph Drawing and Network Visualization}, isbn = {978-3-0303-5801-3}, issn = {1611-3349}, location = {Prague, Czech Republic}, pages = {230--243}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Extending simple drawings}}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-030-35802-0_18}, volume = {11904}, year = {2019}, } @inproceedings{7401, abstract = {The genus g(G) of a graph G is the minimum g such that G has an embedding on the orientable surface M_g of genus g. A drawing of a graph on a surface is independently even if every pair of nonadjacent edges in the drawing crosses an even number of times. The Z_2-genus of a graph G, denoted by g_0(G), is the minimum g such that G has an independently even drawing on M_g. By a result of Battle, Harary, Kodama and Youngs from 1962, the graph genus is additive over 2-connected blocks. In 2013, Schaefer and Stefankovic proved that the Z_2-genus of a graph is additive over 2-connected blocks as well, and asked whether this result can be extended to so-called 2-amalgamations, as an analogue of results by Decker, Glover, Huneke, and Stahl for the genus. We give the following partial answer. If G=G_1 cup G_2, G_1 and G_2 intersect in two vertices u and v, and G-u-v has k connected components (among which we count the edge uv if present), then |g_0(G)-(g_0(G_1)+g_0(G_2))|<=k+1. For complete bipartite graphs K_{m,n}, with n >= m >= 3, we prove that g_0(K_{m,n})/g(K_{m,n})=1-O(1/n). Similar results are proved also for the Euler Z_2-genus. We express the Z_2-genus of a graph using the minimum rank of partial symmetric matrices over Z_2; a problem that might be of independent interest. }, author = {Fulek, Radoslav and Kyncl, Jan}, booktitle = {35th International Symposium on Computational Geometry (SoCG 2019)}, isbn = {978-3-95977-104-7}, issn = {1868-8969}, location = {Portland, OR, United States}, publisher = {Schloss Dagstuhl - Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik}, title = {{Z_2-Genus of graphs and minimum rank of partial symmetric matrices}}, doi = {10.4230/LIPICS.SOCG.2019.39}, volume = {129}, year = {2019}, } @inproceedings{285, abstract = {In graph theory, as well as in 3-manifold topology, there exist several width-type parameters to describe how "simple" or "thin" a given graph or 3-manifold is. These parameters, such as pathwidth or treewidth for graphs, or the concept of thin position for 3-manifolds, play an important role when studying algorithmic problems; in particular, there is a variety of problems in computational 3-manifold topology - some of them known to be computationally hard in general - that become solvable in polynomial time as soon as the dual graph of the input triangulation has bounded treewidth. In view of these algorithmic results, it is natural to ask whether every 3-manifold admits a triangulation of bounded treewidth. We show that this is not the case, i.e., that there exists an infinite family of closed 3-manifolds not admitting triangulations of bounded pathwidth or treewidth (the latter implies the former, but we present two separate proofs). We derive these results from work of Agol and of Scharlemann and Thompson, by exhibiting explicit connections between the topology of a 3-manifold M on the one hand and width-type parameters of the dual graphs of triangulations of M on the other hand, answering a question that had been raised repeatedly by researchers in computational 3-manifold topology. In particular, we show that if a closed, orientable, irreducible, non-Haken 3-manifold M has a triangulation of treewidth (resp. pathwidth) k then the Heegaard genus of M is at most 48(k+1) (resp. 4(3k+1)).}, author = {Huszár, Kristóf and Spreer, Jonathan and Wagner, Uli}, issn = {1868-8969}, location = {Budapest, Hungary}, publisher = {Schloss Dagstuhl - Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik}, title = {{On the treewidth of triangulated 3-manifolds}}, doi = {10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2018.46}, volume = {99}, year = {2018}, } @inproceedings{185, abstract = {We resolve in the affirmative conjectures of A. Skopenkov and Repovš (1998), and M. Skopenkov (2003) generalizing the classical Hanani-Tutte theorem to the setting of approximating maps of graphs on 2-dimensional surfaces by embeddings. Our proof of this result is constructive and almost immediately implies an efficient algorithm for testing whether a given piecewise linear map of a graph in a surface is approximable by an embedding. More precisely, an instance of this problem consists of (i) a graph G whose vertices are partitioned into clusters and whose inter-cluster edges are partitioned into bundles, and (ii) a region R of a 2-dimensional compact surface M given as the union of a set of pairwise disjoint discs corresponding to the clusters and a set of pairwise disjoint "pipes" corresponding to the bundles, connecting certain pairs of these discs. We are to decide whether G can be embedded inside M so that the vertices in every cluster are drawn in the corresponding disc, the edges in every bundle pass only through its corresponding pipe, and every edge crosses the boundary of each disc at most once.}, author = {Fulek, Radoslav and Kynčl, Jan}, isbn = {978-3-95977-066-8}, location = {Budapest, Hungary}, publisher = {Schloss Dagstuhl - Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik}, title = {{Hanani-Tutte for approximating maps of graphs}}, doi = {10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2018.39}, volume = {99}, year = {2018}, } @inproceedings{186, abstract = {A drawing of a graph on a surface is independently even if every pair of nonadjacent edges in the drawing crosses an even number of times. The ℤ2-genus of a graph G is the minimum g such that G has an independently even drawing on the orientable surface of genus g. An unpublished result by Robertson and Seymour implies that for every t, every graph of sufficiently large genus contains as a minor a projective t × t grid or one of the following so-called t-Kuratowski graphs: K3, t, or t copies of K5 or K3,3 sharing at most 2 common vertices. We show that the ℤ2-genus of graphs in these families is unbounded in t; in fact, equal to their genus. Together, this implies that the genus of a graph is bounded from above by a function of its ℤ2-genus, solving a problem posed by Schaefer and Štefankovič, and giving an approximate version of the Hanani-Tutte theorem on orientable surfaces.}, author = {Fulek, Radoslav and Kynčl, Jan}, location = {Budapest, Hungary}, pages = {40.1 -- 40.14}, publisher = {Schloss Dagstuhl - Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik}, title = {{The ℤ2-Genus of Kuratowski minors}}, doi = {10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2018.40}, volume = {99}, year = {2018}, } @inproceedings{5791, abstract = {Due to data compression or low resolution, nearby vertices and edges of a graph drawing may be bundled to a common node or arc. We model such a “compromised” drawing by a piecewise linear map φ:G → ℝ. We wish to perturb φ by an arbitrarily small ε>0 into a proper drawing (in which the vertices are distinct points, any two edges intersect in finitely many points, and no three edges have a common interior point) that minimizes the number of crossings. An ε-perturbation, for every ε>0, is given by a piecewise linear map (Formula Presented), where with ||·|| is the uniform norm (i.e., sup norm). We present a polynomial-time solution for this optimization problem when G is a cycle and the map φ has no spurs (i.e., no two adjacent edges are mapped to overlapping arcs). We also show that the problem becomes NP-complete (i) when G is an arbitrary graph and φ has no spurs, and (ii) when φ may have spurs and G is a cycle or a union of disjoint paths.}, author = {Fulek, Radoslav and Tóth, Csaba D.}, isbn = {9783030044138}, location = {Barcelona, Spain}, pages = {229--241}, publisher = {Springer}, title = {{Crossing minimization in perturbed drawings}}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-030-04414-5_16}, volume = {11282 }, year = {2018}, } @article{5960, abstract = {In this paper we present a reliable method to verify the existence of loops along the uncertain trajectory of a robot, based on proprioceptive measurements only, within a bounded-error context. The loop closure detection is one of the key points in simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) methods, especially in homogeneous environments with difficult scenes recognitions. The proposed approach is generic and could be coupled with conventional SLAM algorithms to reliably reduce their computing burden, thus improving the localization and mapping processes in the most challenging environments such as unexplored underwater extents. To prove that a robot performed a loop whatever the uncertainties in its evolution, we employ the notion of topological degree that originates in the field of differential topology. We show that a verification tool based on the topological degree is an optimal method for proving robot loops. This is demonstrated both on datasets from real missions involving autonomous underwater vehicles and by a mathematical discussion.}, author = {Rohou, Simon and Franek, Peter and Aubry, Clément and Jaulin, Luc}, issn = {1741-3176}, journal = {The International Journal of Robotics Research}, number = {12}, pages = {1500--1516}, publisher = {SAGE Publications}, title = {{Proving the existence of loops in robot trajectories}}, doi = {10.1177/0278364918808367}, volume = {37}, year = {2018}, } @article{6355, abstract = {We prove that any cyclic quadrilateral can be inscribed in any closed convex C1-curve. The smoothness condition is not required if the quadrilateral is a rectangle.}, author = {Akopyan, Arseniy and Avvakumov, Sergey}, issn = {2050-5094}, journal = {Forum of Mathematics, Sigma}, publisher = {Cambridge University Press}, title = {{Any cyclic quadrilateral can be inscribed in any closed convex smooth curve}}, doi = {10.1017/fms.2018.7}, volume = {6}, year = {2018}, } @inproceedings{184, abstract = {We prove that for every d ≥ 2, deciding if a pure, d-dimensional, simplicial complex is shellable is NP-hard, hence NP-complete. This resolves a question raised, e.g., by Danaraj and Klee in 1978. Our reduction also yields that for every d ≥ 2 and k ≥ 0, deciding if a pure, d-dimensional, simplicial complex is k-decomposable is NP-hard. For d ≥ 3, both problems remain NP-hard when restricted to contractible pure d-dimensional complexes.}, author = {Goaoc, Xavier and Paták, Pavel and Patakova, Zuzana and Tancer, Martin and Wagner, Uli}, location = {Budapest, Hungary}, pages = {41:1 -- 41:16}, publisher = {Schloss Dagstuhl - Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik}, title = {{Shellability is NP-complete}}, doi = {10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2018.41}, volume = {99}, year = {2018}, } @inproceedings{309, abstract = {We present an efficient algorithm for a problem in the interface between clustering and graph embeddings. An embedding ' : G ! M of a graph G into a 2manifold M maps the vertices in V (G) to distinct points and the edges in E(G) to interior-disjoint Jordan arcs between the corresponding vertices. In applications in clustering, cartography, and visualization, nearby vertices and edges are often bundled to a common node or arc, due to data compression or low resolution. This raises the computational problem of deciding whether a given map ' : G ! M comes from an embedding. A map ' : G ! M is a weak embedding if it can be perturbed into an embedding ψ: G ! M with k' "k < " for every " > 0. A polynomial-time algorithm for recognizing weak embeddings was recently found by Fulek and Kyncl [14], which reduces to solving a system of linear equations over Z2. It runs in O(n2!) O(n4:75) time, where 2:373 is the matrix multiplication exponent and n is the number of vertices and edges of G. We improve the running time to O(n log n). Our algorithm is also conceptually simpler than [14]: We perform a sequence of local operations that gradually "untangles" the image '(G) into an embedding (G), or reports that ' is not a weak embedding. It generalizes a recent technique developed for the case that G is a cycle and the embedding is a simple polygon [1], and combines local constraints on the orientation of subgraphs directly, thereby eliminating the need for solving large systems of linear equations.}, author = {Akitaya, Hugo and Fulek, Radoslav and Tóth, Csaba}, location = {New Orleans, LA, USA}, pages = {274 -- 292}, publisher = {ACM}, title = {{Recognizing weak embeddings of graphs}}, doi = {10.1137/1.9781611975031.20}, year = {2018}, } @article{425, abstract = {We show that the following algorithmic problem is decidable: given a 2-dimensional simplicial complex, can it be embedded (topologically, or equivalently, piecewise linearly) in R3? By a known reduction, it suffices to decide the embeddability of a given triangulated 3-manifold X into the 3-sphere S3. The main step, which allows us to simplify X and recurse, is in proving that if X can be embedded in S3, then there is also an embedding in which X has a short meridian, that is, an essential curve in the boundary of X bounding a disk in S3 \ X with length bounded by a computable function of the number of tetrahedra of X.}, author = {Matoušek, Jiří and Sedgwick, Eric and Tancer, Martin and Wagner, Uli}, journal = {Journal of the ACM}, number = {1}, publisher = {ACM}, title = {{Embeddability in the 3-Sphere is decidable}}, doi = {10.1145/3078632}, volume = {65}, year = {2018}, } @inproceedings{433, abstract = {A thrackle is a graph drawn in the plane so that every pair of its edges meet exactly once: either at a common end vertex or in a proper crossing. We prove that any thrackle of n vertices has at most 1.3984n edges. Quasi-thrackles are defined similarly, except that every pair of edges that do not share a vertex are allowed to cross an odd number of times. It is also shown that the maximum number of edges of a quasi-thrackle on n vertices is 3/2(n-1), and that this bound is best possible for infinitely many values of n.}, author = {Fulek, Radoslav and Pach, János}, location = {Boston, MA, United States}, pages = {160 -- 166}, publisher = {Springer}, title = {{Thrackles: An improved upper bound}}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-73915-1_14}, volume = {10692}, year = {2018}, } @article{6774, abstract = {A central problem of algebraic topology is to understand the homotopy groups 𝜋𝑑(𝑋) of a topological space X. For the computational version of the problem, it is well known that there is no algorithm to decide whether the fundamental group 𝜋1(𝑋) of a given finite simplicial complex X is trivial. On the other hand, there are several algorithms that, given a finite simplicial complex X that is simply connected (i.e., with 𝜋1(𝑋) trivial), compute the higher homotopy group 𝜋𝑑(𝑋) for any given 𝑑≥2 . However, these algorithms come with a caveat: They compute the isomorphism type of 𝜋𝑑(𝑋) , 𝑑≥2 as an abstract finitely generated abelian group given by generators and relations, but they work with very implicit representations of the elements of 𝜋𝑑(𝑋) . Converting elements of this abstract group into explicit geometric maps from the d-dimensional sphere 𝑆𝑑 to X has been one of the main unsolved problems in the emerging field of computational homotopy theory. Here we present an algorithm that, given a simply connected space X, computes 𝜋𝑑(𝑋) and represents its elements as simplicial maps from a suitable triangulation of the d-sphere 𝑆𝑑 to X. For fixed d, the algorithm runs in time exponential in size(𝑋) , the number of simplices of X. Moreover, we prove that this is optimal: For every fixed 𝑑≥2 , we construct a family of simply connected spaces X such that for any simplicial map representing a generator of 𝜋𝑑(𝑋) , the size of the triangulation of 𝑆𝑑 on which the map is defined, is exponential in size(𝑋) .}, author = {Filakovský, Marek and Franek, Peter and Wagner, Uli and Zhechev, Stephan Y}, issn = {2367-1734}, journal = {Journal of Applied and Computational Topology}, number = {3-4}, pages = {177--231}, publisher = {Springer}, title = {{Computing simplicial representatives of homotopy group elements}}, doi = {10.1007/s41468-018-0021-5}, volume = {2}, year = {2018}, } @article{742, abstract = {We give a detailed and easily accessible proof of Gromov’s Topological Overlap Theorem. Let X be a finite simplicial complex or, more generally, a finite polyhedral cell complex of dimension d. Informally, the theorem states that if X has sufficiently strong higher-dimensional expansion properties (which generalize edge expansion of graphs and are defined in terms of cellular cochains of X) then X has the following topological overlap property: for every continuous map (Formula presented.) there exists a point (Formula presented.) that is contained in the images of a positive fraction (Formula presented.) of the d-cells of X. More generally, the conclusion holds if (Formula presented.) is replaced by any d-dimensional piecewise-linear manifold M, with a constant (Formula presented.) that depends only on d and on the expansion properties of X, but not on M.}, author = {Dotterrer, Dominic and Kaufman, Tali and Wagner, Uli}, journal = {Geometriae Dedicata}, number = {1}, pages = {307–317}, publisher = {Springer}, title = {{On expansion and topological overlap}}, doi = {10.1007/s10711-017-0291-4}, volume = {195}, year = {2018}, } @article{1113, abstract = {A drawing of a graph G is radial if the vertices of G are placed on concentric circles C 1 , . . . , C k with common center c , and edges are drawn radially : every edge intersects every circle centered at c at most once. G is radial planar if it has a radial embedding, that is, a crossing-free radial drawing. If the vertices of G are ordered or partitioned into ordered levels (as they are for leveled graphs), we require that the assignment of vertices to circles corresponds to the given ordering or leveling. We show that a graph G is radial planar if G has a radial drawing in which every two edges cross an even number of times; the radial embedding has the same leveling as the radial drawing. In other words, we establish the weak variant of the Hanani-Tutte theorem for radial planarity. This generalizes a result by Pach and Toth.}, author = {Fulek, Radoslav and Pelsmajer, Michael and Schaefer, Marcus}, journal = {Journal of Graph Algorithms and Applications}, number = {1}, pages = {135 -- 154}, publisher = {Brown University}, title = {{Hanani-Tutte for radial planarity}}, doi = {10.7155/jgaa.00408}, volume = {21}, year = {2017}, }