A simple PTAS for Weighted Matroid Matching on

Strongly Base Orderable Matroids

José A. Soto

Department of Mathematics
M.I.T.

2011

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 1

Matroids.

6 B ⊆ 2V is the basis system of a matroid if

∅=
Every B ∈ B has the same size.
basis exchange property: For all A, B ∈ B distinct
there are a ∈ A \ B, b ∈ B \ A s.t. A − a + b ∈ B.

A\B B\A
a b

A∩B

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 2

Matroids.

6 B ⊆ 2V is the basis system of a matroid if

∅=
Every B ∈ B has the same size.
basis exchange property: For all A, B ∈ B distinct
there are a ∈ A \ B, b ∈ B \ A s.t. A − a + b ∈ B.

A\B B\A
a b

A∩B

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 2

Matroids.

6 B ⊆ 2V is the basis system of a matroid if

∅=
Every B ∈ B has the same size.
basis exchange property: For all A, B ∈ B distinct
there are a ∈ A \ B, b ∈ B \ A s.t. A − a + b ∈ B.

A\B B\A
a b

A∩B

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 2

Matroids.

6 B ⊆ 2V is the basis system of a matroid if

∅=
Every B ∈ B has the same size.
basis exchange property: For all A, B ∈ B distinct
there are a ∈ A \ B, b ∈ B \ A s.t. A − a + b ∈ B.

A\B B\A Independent sets I.

a b Independent Sets = Basis subset.

A∩B

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 2

Matroids.

6 B ⊆ 2V is the basis system of a matroid if

∅=
Every B ∈ B has the same size.
basis exchange property: For all A, B ∈ B distinct
there are a ∈ A \ B, b ∈ B \ A s.t. A − a + b ∈ B.

A\B B\A Independent sets I.

a b Independent Sets = Basis subset.

Examples of matroid bases

(Free) Only V .
(Uniform) Sets of size k .
(Graphic) Spanning forests.
A∩B (Linear) Vector space bases.

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 2

Strongly Base Orderable (SBO) Matroids.

6 B ⊆ 2V is the basis system of a SBO matroid

∅=
Every B ∈ B has the same size.
(SBO) basis exchange property: For all A, B ∈ B distinct
∃ bijection π : A \ B → B \ A s.t. ∀X ⊆ A, A \ X ∪ π(X ) ∈ B.

A\B B\A

A∩B

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 3

Strongly Base Orderable (SBO) Matroids.

6 B ⊆ 2V is the basis system of a SBO matroid

∅=
Every B ∈ B has the same size.
(SBO) basis exchange property: For all A, B ∈ B distinct
∃ bijection π : A \ B → B \ A s.t. ∀X ⊆ A, A \ X ∪ π(X ) ∈ B.

A\B B\A

A∩B

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 3

Strongly Base Orderable (SBO) Matroids.

6 B ⊆ 2V is the basis system of a SBO matroid

∅=
Every B ∈ B has the same size.
(SBO) basis exchange property: For all A, B ∈ B distinct
∃ bijection π : A \ B → B \ A s.t. ∀X ⊆ A, A \ X ∪ π(X ) ∈ B.

A\B B\A

A∩B

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 3

Strongly Base Orderable (SBO) Matroids.

6 B ⊆ 2V is the basis system of a SBO matroid

∅=
Every B ∈ B has the same size.
(SBO) basis exchange property: For all A, B ∈ B distinct
∃ bijection π : A \ B → B \ A s.t. ∀X ⊆ A, A \ X ∪ π(X ) ∈ B.

A\B B\A Examples of SBO matroid bases

(Uniform) Sets of size k .
(Gammoid)

Maximum sets of clients

connected to servers
by edge-disjoint paths.

A∩B

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 3

Weighted Matroid Matching Problem

Problem
Weighted graph G = (V , E), w : E → R+ .
Matroid M = (V , I).
A matching M ⊆ E is feasible for M if V (M) is independent.
Goal: Find a maximum weight feasible matching.

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 4

Weighted Matroid Matching Problem

Problem
Weighted graph G = (V , E), w : E → R+ .
Matroid M = (V , I).
A matching M ⊆ E is feasible for M if V (M) is independent.
Goal: Find a maximum weight feasible matching.

Weighted Matching Weighted Matroid

Free matroid. Intersection
M1 ⊕ M2

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 4

Complexity of WMM

Not in oracle coNP even for unweighted case.

NP-hard even for unweighted case.
Special subproblems in P:
Weighted matching / Weighted Matroid Intersection.
(Lovász 1981) Unweighted case in P for linear matroids.
(Tong et al. 1982) Weighted case in P for gammoids.
(Camerini et al. 1992, Narayanan et al. 1994)
Pseudopolynomial for weighted case in linear matroids.

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 5

Approximation algorithms

Unweighted
Greedy gives 2-approximation.

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 6

Approximation algorithms

Unweighted
Greedy gives 2-approximation.
(Fujito 1993) 3/2-approximation using local search.

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 6

Approximation algorithms

Unweighted
Greedy gives 2-approximation.
(Fujito 1993) 3/2-approximation using local search.
(Lee et al. 2010) PTAS using local search.

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 6

Approximation algorithms

Unweighted
Greedy gives 2-approximation.
(Fujito 1993) 3/2-approximation using local search.
(Lee et al. 2010) PTAS using local search.

Weighted
Greedy gives 2-approximation.

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 6

Approximation algorithms

Unweighted
Greedy gives 2-approximation.
(Fujito 1993) 3/2-approximation using local search.
(Lee et al. 2010) PTAS using local search.

Weighted
Greedy gives 2-approximation.
(S. 2011) PTAS for SBO-matroids.

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 6

WMM on SBO-matroids

Hardness
Still outside oracle coNP and NP-hard.

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 7

WMM on SBO-matroids

Hardness
Still outside oracle coNP and NP-hard.

Simplification:
G = matching.

G, M

G0 , M0

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 7

WMM on SBO-matroids

Hardness
Still outside oracle coNP and NP-hard.

Simplification:
G = matching. Weighted Parity on SBO-matroids
Find maximum weight set of pairs
feasible for a SBO-matroid M.
G, M

G0 , M0

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 7

WMM on SBO-matroids

Hardness
Still outside oracle coNP and NP-hard.

Simplification:
G = matching. Weighted Parity on SBO-matroids
Find maximum weight paired basis of
a SBO-matroid M. (with dummy pairs)
G, M

G0 , M0

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 7

Local moves

t-swap: For a current paired basis A

Swap at most t pairs to obtain paired basis B.
Gain: w(B) − w(A). High gain: w(B) − w(A) ≥ w(A)/n2 .

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 8

Local moves

t-swap: For a current paired basis A

Swap at most t pairs to obtain paired basis B.
Gain: w(B) − w(A). High gain: w(B) − w(A) ≥ w(A)/n2 .

Algorithm: For constant 1 ≤ t ≤ n,

Start with greedy solution.
Do t-swaps with high gain until local optimum is found.

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 8

Local moves

t-swap: For a current paired basis A

Swap at most t pairs to obtain paired basis B.
Gain: w(B) − w(A). High gain: w(B) − w(A) ≥ w(A)/n2 .

Algorithm: For constant 1 ≤ t ≤ n,

Start with greedy solution.
Do t-swaps with high gain until local optimum is found.
At most O(log(1+1/n2 ) 1/2) = O(n2 ) moves suffice.
Can find an t-local optimum in polynomial time (O(n2t+2 ))

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 8

Main result for WMM on SBO-matroids.
Theorem
If paired basis A is a t-local optimum and B = OPT then
 
2
w(B) ≤ 1 + w(A).
t −1

PTAS: To get (1 + ε)-approx set t = 1 + 2/ε.

Running time nO(1/ε) .

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 9

Main result for WMM on SBO-matroids.
Theorem
If paired basis A is a t-local optimum and B = OPT then
 
2
w(B) ≤ 1 + w(A).
t −1

Auxiliar construction A\B B\A

A∩B
José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 9
Main result for WMM on SBO-matroids.
Theorem
If paired basis A is a t-local optimum and B = OPT then
 
2
w(B) ≤ 1 + w(A).
t −1

Auxiliar construction A\B B\A

Matroid with dummy
pairs is still SBO...

A∩B
José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 9
Main result for WMM on SBO-matroids.
Theorem
If paired basis A is a t-local optimum and B = OPT then
 
2
w(B) ≤ 1 + w(A).
t −1

Auxiliar construction A\B B\A A\B B\A

Matroid with dummy
pairs is still SBO...
(multi)graph H of
degrees 0 and 2.
H: Union of
cycles.

A∩B A∩B
José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 9
Main result for WMM on SBO-matroids.
Theorem
If paired basis A is a t-local optimum and B = OPT then
 
2
w(B) ≤ 1 + w(A).
t −1

Auxiliar construction A\B B\A A\B B\A

Matroid with dummy
pairs is still SBO...
(multi)graph H of
degrees 0 and 2.
~ Union of directed
H:
cycles.

A∩B A∩B
José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 9
Proof of w(B) ≤ (1 + 2/(t − 1)) w(A).

For a pair p of A,

Hp : Reachable from p using

p
≤ 2(t − 1) edges.

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 10

Proof of w(B) ≤ (1 + 2/(t − 1)) w(A).

For a pair p of A,

Hp : Reachable from p using

p
≤ 2(t − 1) edges.

swap(p): Swap Hp ∩ A by
Hp ∩ B (plus perhaps one
dummy pair).

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 10

Proof of w(B) ≤ (1 + 2/(t − 1)) w(A).

For a pair p of A,

Hp : Reachable from p using

p
≤ 2(t − 1) edges.

swap(p): Swap Hp ∩ A by
Hp ∩ B (plus perhaps one
dummy pair).

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 10

Proof of w(B) ≤ (1 + 2/(t − 1)) w(A).

For a pair p of A,

Hp : Reachable from p using

p
≤ 2(t − 1) edges.

swap(p): Swap Hp ∩ A by
Hp ∩ B (plus perhaps one
dummy pair).

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 10

Proof of w(B) ≤ (1 + 2/(t − 1)) w(A).

For a pair p of A,

Hp : Reachable from p using

p
≤ 2(t − 1) edges.

swap(p): Swap Hp ∩ A by
Hp ∩ B (plus perhaps one
dummy pair).

Since we swap at most t pairs

w(A)/n2 > Gain(swap(p)) = w(Hp ∩ B) − w(Hp ∩ A).

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 10

Proof of w(B) ≤ (1 + 2/(t − 1)) w(A). (cont.)

p X w(A) X
2
> w(Hp ∩ B) − w(Hp ∩ A)
n
p∈Along p∈Along

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 11

Proof of w(B) ≤ (1 + 2/(t − 1)) w(A). (cont.)

X w(A) X
2
> w(Hp ∩ B) − w(Hp ∩ A)
p
n
p∈Along p∈Along

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 11

Proof of w(B) ≤ (1 + 2/(t − 1)) w(A). (cont.)

X w(A) X
2
> w(Hp ∩ B) − w(Hp ∩ A)
n
p∈Along p∈Along

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 11

Proof of w(B) ≤ (1 + 2/(t − 1)) w(A). (cont.)

X w(A) X
2
> w(Hp ∩ B) − w(Hp ∩ A)
n
p∈Along p∈Along

= (t − 1) w(Blong ) − t w(Along ).

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 11

Proof of w(B) ≤ (1 + 2/(t − 1)) w(A). (cont.)

X w(A) X
2
> w(Hp ∩ B) − w(Hp ∩ A)
n
p∈Along p∈Along

= (t − 1) w(Blong ) − t w(Along ).

X w(A) X
> w(Hp ∩ B) − w(Hp ∩ A)
p
n2
p∈Arest p∈Arest

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 11

Proof of w(B) ≤ (1 + 2/(t − 1)) w(A). (cont.)

X w(A) X
2
> w(Hp ∩ B) − w(Hp ∩ A)
n
p∈Along p∈Along

= (t − 1) w(Blong ) − t w(Along ).

X w(A) X
> w(Hp ∩ B) − w(Hp ∩ A)
n2
p∈Arest p∈Arest
p

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 11

Proof of w(B) ≤ (1 + 2/(t − 1)) w(A). (cont.)

X w(A) X
2
> w(Hp ∩ B) − w(Hp ∩ A)
n
p∈Along p∈Along

= (t − 1) w(Blong ) − t w(Along ).

X w(A) X
> w(Hp ∩ B) − w(Hp ∩ A)
n2
p∈Arest p∈Arest
p = w(Brest ) − w(Arest ).

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 11

Proof of w(B) ≤ (1 + 2/(t − 1)) w(A). (cont.)

X w(A) X
2
> w(Hp ∩ B) − w(Hp ∩ A)
n
p∈Along p∈Along

= (t − 1) w(Blong ) − t w(Along ).

X w(A) X
> w(Hp ∩ B) − w(Hp ∩ A)
n2
p∈Arest p∈Arest
p = w(Brest ) − w(Arest ).

(t − 1) w(B) − t w(A) ≤ (t − 1) w(Blong ) − t w(Along )
+ t (w(Brest ) − w(Arest ))
w(A)

< |Along | + t|Arest | ≤ w(A).
n2

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 11

Summary

Conclusions
First PTAS for Weighted Matroid Matching on Strongly Orderable
Matroids.

Open Problems
Can we get a PTAS for general matroids?
Can we get a FPTAS for this class?

José A. Soto - M.I.T. WMM on Strongly Base Orderable Matroids 2011 12