---
_id: '7950'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: "The input to the token swapping problem is a graph with vertices v1, v2,
. . . , vn, and n tokens with labels 1,2, . . . , n, one on each vertex. The
goal is to get token i to vertex vi for all i= 1, . . . , n using a minimum number
of swaps, where a swap exchanges the tokens on the endpoints of an edge.Token
swapping on a tree, also known as “sorting with a transposition tree,” is not
known to be in P nor NP-complete. We present some partial results:\r\n1. An
optimum swap sequence may need to perform a swap on a leaf vertex that has the
correct token (a “happy leaf”), disproving a conjecture of Vaughan.\r\n2. Any
algorithm that fixes happy leaves—as all known approximation algorithms for the
problem do—has approximation factor at least 4/3. Furthermore, the two best-known
2-approximation algorithms have approximation factor exactly 2.\r\n3. A generalized
problem—weighted coloured token swapping—is NP-complete on trees, but solvable
in polynomial time on paths and stars. In this version, tokens and vertices
\ have colours, and colours have weights. The goal is to get every
token to a vertex of the same colour, and the cost of a swap is the sum of the
weights of the two tokens involved."
article_number: '1903.06981'
article_processing_charge: No
arxiv: 1
author:
- first_name: Ahmad
full_name: Biniaz, Ahmad
last_name: Biniaz
- first_name: Kshitij
full_name: Jain, Kshitij
last_name: Jain
- first_name: Anna
full_name: Lubiw, Anna
last_name: Lubiw
- first_name: Zuzana
full_name: Masárová, Zuzana
id: 45CFE238-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Masárová
orcid: 0000-0002-6660-1322
- first_name: Tillmann
full_name: Miltzow, Tillmann
last_name: Miltzow
- first_name: Debajyoti
full_name: Mondal, Debajyoti
last_name: Mondal
- first_name: Anurag Murty
full_name: Naredla, Anurag Murty
last_name: Naredla
- first_name: Josef
full_name: Tkadlec, Josef
id: 3F24CCC8-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Tkadlec
orcid: 0000-0002-1097-9684
- first_name: Alexi
full_name: Turcotte, Alexi
last_name: Turcotte
citation:
ama: Biniaz A, Jain K, Lubiw A, et al. Token swapping on trees. arXiv. doi:10.48550/arXiv.1903.06981
apa: Biniaz, A., Jain, K., Lubiw, A., Masárová, Z., Miltzow, T., Mondal, D., … Turcotte,
A. (n.d.). Token swapping on trees. arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.1903.06981
chicago: Biniaz, Ahmad, Kshitij Jain, Anna Lubiw, Zuzana Masárová, Tillmann Miltzow,
Debajyoti Mondal, Anurag Murty Naredla, Josef Tkadlec, and Alexi Turcotte. “Token
Swapping on Trees.” ArXiv, n.d. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.1903.06981.
ieee: A. Biniaz et al., “Token swapping on trees,” arXiv. .
ista: Biniaz A, Jain K, Lubiw A, Masárová Z, Miltzow T, Mondal D, Naredla AM, Tkadlec
J, Turcotte A. Token swapping on trees. arXiv, 1903.06981.
mla: Biniaz, Ahmad, et al. “Token Swapping on Trees.” ArXiv, 1903.06981,
doi:10.48550/arXiv.1903.06981.
short: A. Biniaz, K. Jain, A. Lubiw, Z. Masárová, T. Miltzow, D. Mondal, A.M. Naredla,
J. Tkadlec, A. Turcotte, ArXiv (n.d.).
date_created: 2020-06-08T12:25:25Z
date_published: 2019-03-16T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-04-08T07:23:00Z
day: '16'
department:
- _id: HeEd
- _id: UlWa
- _id: KrCh
doi: 10.48550/arXiv.1903.06981
external_id:
arxiv:
- '1903.06981'
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
url: https://arxiv.org/abs/1903.06981
month: '03'
oa: 1
oa_version: Preprint
publication: arXiv
publication_status: draft
related_material:
record:
- id: '12833'
relation: later_version
status: public
- id: '7944'
relation: dissertation_contains
status: public
status: public
title: Token swapping on trees
type: preprint
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
year: '2019'
...