We study the problem of finding a shortest path between two vertices in a directed graph. This is an important problem with many applications, including that of computing driving directions. We allow preprocessing the graph using a linear amount of extra space to store auxiliary information, and using this information to answer shortest path queries quickly. Our approach uses A ∗ search in combination with a new graph-theoretic lower-bounding technique based on landmarks and the triangle inequality. We also develop new bidirectional variants of A ∗ search and investigate several variants of the new algorithms to find those that are most efficient in practice. Our algorithms compute optimal shortest paths and work on any directed graph. We give experimental results showing that the most efficient of our new algorithms outperforms previous algorithms, in particular A ∗ search with Euclidean bounds, by a wide margin on road networks. We also experiment with several synthetic graph families.

We study the point-to-point shortest path problem in a setting where preprocessing is allowed. We improve the reach-based approach of Gutman [16] in several ways. In particular, we introduce a bidirectional version of the algorithm that uses implicit lower bounds and we add shortcut arcs which reduce vertex reaches. Our modifications greatly reduce both preprocessing and query times. The resulting algorithm is as fast as the best previous method, due to Sanders and Schultes [27]. However, our algorithm is simpler and combines in a natural way with A∗ search, which yields significantly better query times.

In this paper, we consider Dijkstra's algorithm for the single source single target shortest paths problem in large sparse graphs. The goal is to reduce the response time for online queries by using precomputed information. For the result of the preprocessing, we admit at most linear space. We assume that a layout of the graph is given. From this layout, in the preprocessing, we determine for each edge a geometric object containing all nodes that can be reached on a shortest path starting with that edge. Based on these geometric objects, the search space for online computation can be reduced significantly. We present an extensive experimental study comparing the impact of different types of objects. The test data we use are traffic networks, the typical field of application for this scenario.

We review shortest path algorithms based on the multi-level bucket data structure [6] and discuss the interplay between theory and engineering choices that leads to e#cient implementations. Our experimental results suggest that the caliber heuristic [17] and adaptive parameter selection give an e#cient algorithm, both on typical and on hard inputs, for a wide range of arc lengths.

Smoothed analysis combines elements over worst-case and average case analysis. For an instance x the smoothed complexity is the average complexity of an instance obtained from x by a perturbation. The smoothed complexity of a problem is the worst smoothed complexity of any instance. Spielman and Teng introduced this notion for continuous problems. We apply the concept to combinatorial problems and study the smoothed complexity of three classical discrete problems: quicksort, left-to-right maxima counting, and shortest paths. This opens a vast eld of nice analyses (using for example generating functions in the discrete case) which should lead to a better understanding of complexity landscapes of algorithms.

Computing a shortest path from one node to another in a directed graph is a very common task in practice. This problem is classically solved by Dijkstra's algorithm. Many techniques are known to speed up this algorithm heuristically, while optimality of the solution can still be guaranteed. In most studies, such techniques are considered individually.

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.

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We evaluate the practical eciency of a new shortest path algorithm for undirected graphs which was developed by the rst two authors. This algorithm works on the fundamental comparison-addition model.

Abstract. We present a new scheme for computing shortest paths on real-weighted undirected graphs in the fundamental comparison-addition model. In an efficient preprocessing phase our algorithm creates a linear-size structure that facilitates single-source shortest path computations in O(m log α) time, where α = α(m, n) is the very slowly growing inverse-Ackermann function, m the number of edges, and n the number of vertices. As special cases our algorithm implies new bounds on both the all-pairs and single-source shortest paths problems. We solve the all-pairs problem in O(mnlog α(m, n)) time and, if the ratio between the maximum and minimum edge lengths is bounded by n (log n)O(1) , we can solve the single-source problem in O(m + nlog log n) time. Both these results are theoretical improvements over Dijkstra’s algorithm, which was the previous best for real weighted undirected graphs. Our algorithm takes the hierarchy-based approach invented by Thorup. Key words. single-source shortest paths, all-pairs shortest paths, undirected graphs, Dijkstra’s