Homework #30 sample solution:
9-10
edges?
Problem: Dense Subgraph
Input: A graph G, and integers k and y.
Output: Does G contain a subgraph with exactly k vertices and at least y
To prove Dense Subgraph is NP-complete, we show that Dense Subgraph is in
NP and is NP-hard by reducing CLIQUE problem to Dense Subgraph.
Dense Subgraph is NP: the polynomial time verifier will take (G, k, y) and H = (V’, E’)
as certificate and check if H is a subgraph of G, |V’| = k, |E’| >= y.
Dense Subgraph is NP-hard: We reduce the known NP-complete problem CLIQUE to
it.
Problem: CLIQUE
Input: A undirected graph G = (V, E) and integer k.
Output: Is there a clique of G containing exactly k vertices?
Reduction: For an instance (G, k) of CLIQUE, where G=(V, E), we construct
an instance of Dense Subgraph (G, k, k(k-1)/2) in constant time.
Claim: G has a clique of size k iff G has a subgraph of k vertices and k(k-1)/2 edges.
Proof of the claim: If there exists a clique of k vertices, that clique is a subgraph of k
nodes and k(k-1)/2 edges. If we have a subgraph of k nodes and k(k-1)/2 edges, that
subgraph must be a clique.
9-13
Problem: Hitting Set
Input: A collection C of subsets of a set S, positive integer k.
Output: Does S contain a subset S' such that S¢ £ k and each subset
in C contains at least one element from S'?
To prove hitting set is NP-complete, we will show that Hitting Set is in NP and
is NP-hard by reducing the Vertex Cover problem to Hitting Set.
Hitting Set is in NP: The polynomial time verifier will take (S, C, k) and H as
certificate. The algorithm will check if (a) |H| = k; (b) H is a subset of S; (c) for every
set X of C, X and H have at least one common element. The time complexity is
O(|S|2|C|).
Hitting Set is NP-hard because we can reduce the known NP-complete problem,
Vertex Cover, to Hitting Set.
Problem: vertex cover
Input: A graph G = (V, E) and an integer k <= |V|.
Output: Is there a subset S of at most k vertices such that every edge in E has
at least one vertex in S?
Reduction: Given a graph G = (V,E) and a number k, we define the instance (S, C, k)
of Hitting Set as follows: k = k, S = V and C = { {u, v} | (u, v) in E }. The construction of
(S, C, k) takes linear time.
Claim: G has a vertex cover of size k iff (V, C, k) has a hitting set of size k.
Proof of the claim:
(Only if part): If G has a vertex cover X of size k, then X is also a hitting set for (V, C, k)
because for each edge (u, v) of E, either u or v is in X. So for each set {u, v} of C, {u, v}
has at least one element in X. Thus X is a hitting set.
(If part): If X is a hitting set of (S, C, k), then X is also a vertex cover of G because for
each set {u, v} of C, u or v is in X, so the edge {u, v} is covered by X.