Let G = (V; E) be an undirected weighted graph with jV j = n and jEj = m. Let k 1 be an integer. We show that G = (V; E) can be preprocessed in O(kmn ) expected time, constructing a data structure of size O(kn ), such that any subsequent distance query can be answered, approximately, in O(k) time. The approximate distance returned is of stretch at most 2k \Gamma 1, i.e., the quotient obtained by dividing the estimated distance by the actual distance lies between 1 and 2k \Gamma 1. We show that a 1963 girth conjecture of Erdos, implies ) space is needed in the worst case for any real stretch strictly smaller than 2k + 1. The space requirement of our algorithm is, therefore, essentially optimal.

We present two new algorithms for solving the All Pairs Shortest Paths (APSP) problem for weighted directed graphs. Both algorithms use fast matrix multiplication algorithms. The first algorithm solves...

We survey recent and not so recent results related to the computation of exact and approximate distances, and corresponding shortest, or almost shortest, paths in graphs. We consider many different settings and models and try to identify some remaining open problems.

In the first part of the paper, we reexamine the all-pairs shortest paths (APSP) problem and present a new algorithm with running time O(n 3 log 3 log n / log 2 n), which improves all known algorithms for general real-weighted dense graphs. In the second part of the paper, we use fast matrix multiplication to obtain truly subcubic APSP algorithms for a large class of “geometrically weighted ” graphs, where the weight of an edge is a function of the coordinates of its vertices. For example, for graphs embedded in Euclidean space of a constant dimension d, we obtain a time bound near O(n 3−(3−ω)/(2d+4)), where ω < 2.376; in two dimensions, this is O(n 2.922). Our framework greatly extends the previously considered case of small-integer-weighted graphs, and incidentally also yields the first truly subcubic result (near O(n 3−(3−ω)/4) = O(n 2.844) time) for APSP in real-vertex-weighted graphs, as well as an improved result (near O(n (3+ω)/2) = O(n 2.688) time) for the all-pairs lightest shortest path problem for small-integer-weighted graphs. 1

Let G = (V; E) be a weighted undirected graph. A path between u; v 2 V is said to be of stretch t if its length is at most t times the distance between u and v in the graph. We consider the problem of finding small-stretch paths between all pairs of vertices in the graph G. It is easy to see that finding paths of stretch less than 2 between all pairs of vertices in an undirected graph with n vertices is at least as hard as the Boolean multiplication of two n \Theta n matrices. We describe three algorithms for finding small-stretch paths between all pairs of vertices in a weighted graph with n vertices and m edges. The first algorithm, STRETCH 2 , runs in ~ O(n 3=2 m 1=2 ) time and finds stretch 2 paths. The second algorithm, STRETCH 7=3 , runs in ~ O(n 7=3 ) time and finds stretch 7/3 paths. Finally, the third algorithm, STRETCH 3 , runs in ~ O(n 2 ) and finds stretch 3 paths. Our algorithms are simpler, more efficient and more accurate than the previously best algorithms ...

Let A and B two n n matrices over a ring R (e.g., the reals or the integers) each containing at most m non-zero elements. We present a new algorithm that multiplies A and B using O(m ) algebraic operations (i.e., multiplications, additions and subtractions) over R. The naive matrix multiplication algorithm, on the other hand, may need to perform #(mn) operations to accomplish the same task. For , the new algorithm performs an almost optimal number of only n operations. For m the new algorithm is also faster than the best known matrix multiplication algorithm for dense matrices which uses O(n ) algebraic operations. The new algorithm is obtained using a surprisingly straightforward combination of a simple combinatorial idea and existing fast rectangular matrix multiplication algorithms. We also obtain improved algorithms for the multiplication of more than two sparse matrices.

We present the first fully dynamic algorithm for maintaining all pairs shortest paths in directed graphs with real-valued edge weights. Given a dynamic directed graph G such that each edge can assume at most S di#erent real values, we show how to support updates in O(n amortized time and queries in optimal worst-case time. No previous fully dynamic algorithm was known for this problem. In the special case where edge weights can only be increased, we give a randomized algorithm with one-sided error which supports updates faster in O(S We also show how to obtain query/update trade-o#s for this problem, by introducing two new families of algorithms. Algorithms in the first family achieve an update bound of O(n/k), and improve over the best known update bounds for k in the . Algorithms in the second family achieve an update bound of ), and are competitive with the best known update bounds (first family included) for k in the range (n/S) # Work partially supported by the IST Programme of the EU under contract n. IST-199914. 186 (ALCOM-FT) and by CNR, the Italian National Research Council, under contract n. 01.00690.CT26. Portions of this work have been presented at the 42nd Annual Symp. on Foundations of Computer Science (FOCS 2001) [8] and at the 29th International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP'02) [9].

We describe an O(n³ / log n)

We present a new all-pairs shortest path algorithm that works with real-weighted graphs in the traditional comparison-addition model. It runs in O(mn+n time, improving on the long-standing bound of O(mn + n log n) derived from an implementation of Dijkstra's algorithm with Fibonacci heaps. Here m and n are the number of edges and vertices, respectively.

We present an undirected all-pairs shortest paths (APSP) algorithm which runs on a pointer machine in time O(mnot(m, n)) while making O(ran log a(m, n)) compar-isons and additions, where m and n are the number of edges and vertices, respectively, and a(ra, n) is Tarjan's inverse-Ackermann function. This improves upon all previous com-parison & addition-based APSP algorithms when the graph is sparse, i.e., when m = o(n log n). At the heart of our APSP algorithm is a new single-source shortest paths algorithm which runs in time O(ma(m,n) + nloglogr) on a pointer machine, where r is the ratio of the maximum-to-minimum edge length. So long as r < 2 '~°(a) this algorithm is faster than any implemen-tation of Dijkstra's classical algorithm in the comparison-addition model. For directed graphs we give an O(ra + nlogr)-time comparison & addition-based SSSP algorithm on a pointer machine. Similar algorithms assuming integer weights or the RAM model were given earlier.