Permutation Pattern Matching (or PPM) is a decision problem whose input is a pair of permutations $π$ and $τ$, represented as sequences of integers, and the task is to determine whether $τ$ contains a subsequence order-isomorphic to $π$. Bose, Buss and Lubiw proved that PPM is NP-complete on general inputs.
We show that PPM is NP-complete even when $π$ has no decreasing subsequence of length 3 and $τ$ has no decreasing subsequence of length 4. This provides the first known example of PPM being hard when one or both of $π$ and $σ$ are restricted to a proper hereditary class of permutations.
This hardness result is tight in the sense that PPM is known to be polynomial when both $π$ and $τ$ avoid a decreasing subsequence of length 3, as well as when $π$ avoids a decreasing subsequence of length 2. The result is also tight in another sense: we will show that for any hereditary proper subclass C of the class of permutations avoiding a decreasing sequence of length 3, there is a polynomial algorithm solving PPM instances where $π$ is from C and $τ$ is arbitrary.
We also obtain analogous hardness and tractability results for the class of so-called skew-merged patterns.
From these results, we deduce a complexity dichotomy for the PPM problem restricted to $π$ belonging to $Av(ρ)$, where $Av(ρ)$ denotes the class of permutations avoiding a permutation $ρ$. Specifically, we show that the problem is polynomial when $ρ$ is in the set {1, 12, 21, 132, 213, 231, 312}, and it is NP-complete for any other $ρ$.
We study the complexity of the decision problem known as Permutation Pattern Matching, or PPM. The input of PPM consists of a pair of permutations $τ$ (the `text') and $π$ (the `pattern'), and the goal is to decide whether $τ$ contains $π$ as a subpermutation. On general inputs, PPM is known to be NP-complete by a result of Bose, Buss and Lubiw. In this paper, we focus on restricted instances of PPM where the text is assumed to avoid a fixed (small) pattern $σ$; this restriction is known as Av($σ$)-PPM. It has been previously shown that Av($σ$)-PPM is polynomial for any $σ$ of size at most 3, …
A {\it clutter} (or {\it antichain} or {\it Sperner family}) $L$ is a pair $(V,E)$, where $V$ is a finite set and $E$ is a family of subsets of $V$ none of which is a subset of another. Usually, the elements of $V$ are called {\it vertices} of $L$, and the elements of $E$ are called {\it edges} of $L$. A subset $s_e$ of an edge $e$ of a clutter is called {\it recognizing} for $e$, if $s_e$ is not a subset of another edge. The {\it hardness} of an edge $e$ of a clutter is the ratio of the size of $e\textrm{'s}$ smallest recognizing subset to the size of $e$. The hardness of a clutter is the max…
We consider the following matching-based routing problem. Initially, each vertex $v$ of a connected graph $G$ is occupied by a pebble which has a unique destination $π(v)$. In each round the pebbles across the edges of a selected matching in $G$ are swapped, and the goal is to route each pebble to its destination vertex in as few rounds as possible. We show that if $G$ is a sufficiently strong $d$-regular spectral expander then any permutation $π$ can be achieved in $O(\log n)$ rounds. This is optimal for constant $d$ and resolves a problem of Alon, Chung, and Graham [SIAM J. Discrete Math., 7…
In this paper we provide a unified combinatorial approach to establish a connection between Stirling permutations, cycle structures of permutations and perfect matchings. The main tool of our investigations is MY-sequences. In particular, we discover that the Eulerian polynomials have a simple combinatorial interpretation in terms of some statistics on MY-sequences.
If $G(M)$ denotes the subgraph of a graph $G$ induced by the set of vertices that are covered by some matching $M$ in $G$, then $M$ is an induced or a uniquely restricted matching if $G(M)$ is $1$-regular or if $M$ is the unique perfect matching of $G(M)$, respectively. Let $ν_s(G)$ and $ν_{ur}(G)$ denote the maximum cardinality of an induced and a uniquely restricted matching in $G$. Golumbic, Hirst, and Lewenstein (Uniquely restricted matchings, Algorithmica 31 (2001) 139-154) posed the problem to characterize the graphs $G$ with $ν_{ur}(G) = ν_{s}(G)$. We prove that the corresponding decisi…
Given permutations $σ\in S_k$ and $π\in S_n$ with $k<n$, the \emph{pattern matching} problem is to decide whether $π$ matches $σ$ as an order-isomorphic subsequence. We give a linear-time algorithm in case both $π$ and $σ$ avoid the two size-$3$ permutations $213$ and $231$. For the special case where only $σ$ avoids $213$ and $231$, we present a $O(max(kn^2,n^2\log(\log(n)))$ time algorithm. We extend our research to bivincular patterns that avoid $213$ and $231$ and present a $O(kn^4)$ time algorithm. Finally we look at the related problem of the longest subsequence which avoids $213$ and $2…
Graph product is a fundamental tool with rich applications in both graph theory and theoretical computer science. It is usually studied in the form $f(G*H)$ where $G$ and $H$ are graphs, * is a graph product and $f$ is a graph property. For example, if $f$ is the independence number and * is the disjunctive product, then the product is known to be multiplicative: $f(G*H)=f(G)f(H)$. In this paper, we study graph products in the following non-standard form: $f((G\oplus H)*J)$ where $G$, $H$ and $J$ are graphs, $\oplus$ and * are two different graph products and $f$ is a graph property. We show t…
We prove that the Mahonian-Stirling pairs of permutation statistics $(\sor, \cyc)$ and $(\inv, \mathrm{rlmin})$ are equidistributed on the set of permutations that correspond to arrangements of $n$ non-atacking rooks on a Ferrers board with $n$ rows and $n$ columns. The proofs are combinatorial and use bijections between matchings and Dyck paths and a new statistic, sorting index for matchings, that we define. We also prove a refinement of this equidistribution result which describes the minimal elements in the permutation cycles and the right-to-left minimum letters. Moreover, we define a sor…
In this paper, we first present combinatorial proofs of a kind of expansions of the Eulerian polynomials of types A and B, and then we introduce Stirling permutations of the second kind. In particular, we count Stirling permutations of the second kind by their cycle ascent plateaus, fixed points and cycles.
We show that the bistatistic of right nestings and right crossings in matchings without left nestings is equidistributed with the number of occurrences of two certain patterns in permutations, and furthermore that this equidistribution holds when refined to positions of these statistics in matchings and permutations. For this distribution we obtain a non-commutative generating function which specializes to Zagier's generating function for the Fishburn numbers after abelianization. As a special case we obtain proofs of two conjectures of Claesson and Linusson. Finally, we conjecture that our re…
We show that there exist linear-time algorithms that compute the strong chromatic index and a maximum induced matching of tree-cographs when the decomposition tree is a part of the input. We also show that there exist efficient algorithms for the strong chromatic index of (bipartite) permutation graphs and of chordal bipartite graphs.
The NP-complete Permutation Pattern Matching problem asks whether a permutation P (the pattern) can be matched into a permutation T (the text). A matching is an order-preserving embedding of P into T. In the Generalized Permutation Pattern Matching problem one can additionally enforce that certain adjacent elements in the pattern must be mapped to adjacent elements in the text. This paper studies the parameterized complexity of this more general problem. We show W[1]-completeness with respect to the length of the pattern P. Under standard complexity theoretic assumptions this implies that no f…
We present a simple bijective proof of the fact that matchings of [2n] with N nestings are equinumerous to partially directed self avoiding walks confined to the symmetric wedge defined by y=+-x, with n east steps and N north steps. A very similar construction connects permutations with N nestings and PDSAWs remaining below the x-axis, again with N north steps. Furthermore, both bijections transport several combinatorially meaningful parameters.
The NP-complete Permutation Pattern Matching problem asks whether a $k$-permutation $P$ is contained in a $n$-permutation $T$ as a pattern. This is the case if there exists an order-preserving embedding of $P$ into $T$. In this paper, we present a fixed-parameter algorithm solving this problem with a worst-case runtime of $\mathcal{O}(1.79^{\mathsf{run}(T)}\cdot n\cdot k)$, where $\mathsf{run}(T)$ denotes the number of alternating runs of $T$. This algorithm is particularly well-suited for instances where $T$ has few runs, i.e., few ups and downs. Moreover, since $\mathsf{run}(T)<n$, this can …
We find Stieltjes-type and Jacobi-type continued fractions for some "master polynomials" that enumerate permutations, set partitions or perfect matchings with a large (sometimes infinite) number of simultaneous statistics. Our results contain many previously obtained identities as special cases, providing a common refinement of all of them.
Eulerian-type polynomials over matchings and matching permutations
School of Mathematics and Statistics, Shandong University of Technology（山东理工大学数学与统计学院）；Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Strathclyde（斯特拉斯克莱德大学数学与统计系）；Department of Mathematics, National Kaohsiung Normal University（国立高雄师范大学数学系）；College of Mathematics and Physics, Wenzhou University（温州大学数理学院）
Let $G$ be a graph $G$ whose largest independent set has size $m$. A permutation $π$ of $\{1, \ldots, m\}$ is an {\em independent set permutation} of $G$ if $$ a_{π(1)}(G) \leq a_{π(2)}(G) \leq \cdots \leq a_{π(m)}(G) $$ where $a_k(G)$ is the number of independent sets of size $k$ in $G$. In 1987 Alavi, Malde, Schwenk and Erdős proved that every permutation of $\{1, \ldots, m\}$ is an independent set permutation of some graph with $α(G)=m$, i.e. with largest independent set having size $m$. They raised the question of determining, for each $m$, the smallest number $f(m)$ such that every permut…
Permutation Pattern Matching (PPM) is the problem of deciding for a given pair of permutations P and T whether the pattern P is contained in the text T. Bose, Buss and Lubiw showed that PPM is NP-complete. In view of this result, it is natural to ask how the situation changes when we restrict the pattern P to a fixed permutation class C; this is known as the C-Pattern PPM problem. Grid classes are special kind of permutation classes, consisting of permutations admitting a grid-like decomposition into simpler building blocks. Of particular interest are the so-called monotone grid classes, in wh…
The (combinatorial) diameter of a polytope $P \subseteq \mathbb R^d$ is the maximum value of a shortest path between a pair of vertices on the 1-skeleton of $P$, that is the graph where the nodes are given by the $0$-dimensional faces of $P$, and the edges are given the 1-dimensional faces of $P$. The diameter of a polytope has been studied from many different perspectives, including a computational complexity point of view. In particular, [Frieze and Teng, 1994] showed that computing the diameter of a polytope is (weakly) NP-hard. In this paper, we show that the problem of computing the diame…
Discrete Morse theory has emerged as a powerful tool for a wide range of problems, including the computation of (persistent) homology. In this context, discrete Morse theory is used to reduce the problem of computing a topological invariant of an input simplicial complex to computing the same topological invariant of a (significantly smaller) collapsed cell or chain complex. Consequently, devising methods for obtaining gradient vector fields on complexes to reduce the size of the problem instance has become an emerging theme over the last decade. While computing the optimal gradient vector fie…
We study (asymmetric) $U$-statistics based on a stationary sequence of $m$-dependent variables; moreover, we consider constrained $U$-statistics, where the defining multiple sum only includes terms satisfying some restrictions on the gaps between indices. Results include a law of large numbers and a central limit theorem. Special attention is paid to degenerate cases where, after the standard normalization, the asymptotic variance vanishes; in these cases non-normal limits occur after a different normalization. The results are motivated by applications to pattern matching in random strings and…
In the last years, different types of patterns in permutations have been studied: vincular, bivincular and mesh patterns, just to name a few. Every type of permutation pattern naturally defines a corresponding computational problem: Given a pattern P and a permutation T (the text), is P contained in T? In this paper we draw a map of the computational landscape of permutation pattern matching with different types of patterns. We provide a classical complexity analysis and investigate the impact of the pattern length on the computational hardness. Furthermore, we highlight several directions in …
Using Henriques' and Kamnitzer's cactus groups, Schützenberger's promotion and evacuation operators on standard Young tableaux can be generalised in a very natural way to operators acting on highest weight words in tensor products of crystals. For the crystals corresponding to the vector representations of the symplectic groups, we show that Sundaram's map to perfect matchings intertwines promotion and rotation of the associated chord diagrams, and evacuation and reversal. We also exhibit a map with similar features for the crystals corresponding to the adjoint representations of the general l…
Using the correspondence between a cycle up-down permutation and a pair of matchings, we give a combinatorial proof of the enumeration of alternating permutations according to the given peak set.
The zero forcing number is a graph invariant introduced to study the minimum rank of the graph. In 2008, Aazami proved the NP-hardness of computing the zero forcing number of a simple undirected graph. We complete this NP-hardness result by showing that the non-equivalent problem of computing the zero forcing number of a directed graph allowing loops is also NP-hard. The rest of the paper is devoted to the strong controllability of a networked system. This kind of controllability takes into account only the structure of the interconnection graph, but not the interconnection strengths along the…
In this note we show that pattern matching in permutations is polynomial time reducible to pattern matching in set partitions. In particular, pattern matching in set partitions is NP-Complete.
A permutation is said to be a square if it can be obtained by shuffling two order-isomorphic patterns. The definition is intended to be the natural counterpart to the ordinary shuffle of words and languages. In this paper, we tackle the problem of recognizing square permutations from both the point of view of algebra and algorithms. On the one hand, we present some algebraic and combinatorial properties of the shuffle product of permutations. We follow an unusual line consisting in defining the shuffle of permutations by means of an unshuffling operator, known as a coproduct. This strategy all…
Erdős-Ko-Rado-type problem for hypergraph matchings
School of Mathematics and Statistics, Beijing Jiaotong University（北京交通大学数学与统计学院）；Hebei Provincial Key Laboratory of Mathematical Theory and Analysis for Network and Data Science, Beijing Jiaotong University（北京交通大学网络与数据科学数学理论与分析河北省重点实验室）；School of Mathematics and Statistics, Ningbo University（宁波大学数学与统计学院）；Institute of Mathematics and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Xidian University（西安电子科技大学数学与交叉科学研究院）
A permutation is said to be a square if it can be obtained by shuffling two order-isomorphic patterns. The definition is intended to be the natural counterpart to the ordinary shuffle of words and languages. In this paper, we tackle the problem of recognizing square permutations from both the point of view of algebra and algorithms. On the one hand, we present some algebraic and combinatorial properties of the shuffle product of permutations. We follow an unusual line consisting in defining the shuffle of permutations by means of an unshuffling operator, known as a coproduct. This strategy all…
Extending the notion of pattern avoidance in permutations, we study matchings and set partitions whose arc diagram representation avoids a given configuration of three arcs. These configurations, which generalize 3-crossings and 3-nestings, have an interpretation, in the case of matchings, in terms of patterns in full rook placements on Ferrers boards. We enumerate 312-avoiding matchings and partitions, obtaining algebraic generating functions, in contrast with the known D-finite generating functions for the 321-avoiding (i.e., 3-noncrossing) case. Our approach also provides a more direct proo…
We study aspects of the enumeration of permutation classes, sets of permutations closed downwards under the subpermutation order. First, we consider monotone grid classes of permutations. We present procedures for calculating the generating function of any class whose matrix has dimensions $m \times 1$ for some $m$, and of acyclic and unicyclic classes of gridded permutations. We show that almost all large permutations in a grid class have the same shape, and determine this limit shape. We prove that the growth rate of a grid class is given by the square of the spectral radius of an associated…
The number of even 321-avoiding permutations of length n is equal to the number of odd ones if n is even, and exceeds it by the (n-1)/2th Catalan number otherwise. We present an involution that proves a refinement of this sign-balance property respecting the length of the longest increasing subsequence of the permutation. In addition, this yields a combinatorial proof of a recent analogous result of Adin and Roichman dealing with the last descent. In particular, we answer the question how to obtain the sign of a 321-avoiding permutation from the pair of tableaux resulting from the Robinson-Sch…
This paper analyzes the performance of sequential importance sampling algorithms for estimating the number of perfect matchings in bipartite graphs. Precise bounds on the number of samples required to yield an accurate estimate are derived. In doing so, moments of permutation statistics are computed using generating functions and nonstandard limit theorems are derived by expressing perfect matchings as a time-inhomogeneous Markov chain.
We survey the theory of increasing and decreasing subsequences of permutations. Enumeration problems in this area are closely related to the RSK algorithm. The asymptotic behavior of the expected value of the length is(w) of the longest increasing subsequence of a permutation w of 1,2,...,n was obtained by Vershik-Kerov and (almost) by Logan-Shepp. The entire limiting distribution of is(w) was then determined by Baik, Deift, and Johansson. These techniques can be applied to other classes of permutations, such as involutions, and are related to the distribution of eigenvalues of elements of the…
In this paper we address the graph matching problem. Following the recent works of \cite{zaslavskiy2009path,Vestner2017} we analyze and generalize the idea of concave relaxations. We introduce the concepts of conditionally concave and probably conditionally concave energies on polytopes and show that they encapsulate many instances of the graph matching problem, including matching Euclidean graphs and graphs on surfaces. We further prove that local minima of probably conditionally concave energies on general matching polytopes (e.g., doubly stochastic) are with high probability extreme points …
