On Algorithmic Meta-Theorems for Solution Discovery: Tractability and Barriers

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Autori principali: Bousquet, Nicolas, Mouawad, Amer E., Maaz, Stephanie, Nishimura, Naomi, Siebertz, Sebastian
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Bousquet, Nicolas
Mouawad, Amer E.
Maaz, Stephanie
Nishimura, Naomi
Siebertz, Sebastian
author_facet Bousquet, Nicolas
Mouawad, Amer E.
Maaz, Stephanie
Nishimura, Naomi
Siebertz, Sebastian
contents Solution discovery asks whether a given (infeasible) starting configuration to a problem can be transformed into a feasible solution using a limited number of transformation steps. This paper investigates meta-theorems for solution discovery for graph problems definable in monadic second-order logic (MSO$_1$ and MSO$_2$) and first-order logic (FO) where the transformation step is to slide a token to an adjacent vertex, focusing on parameterized complexity and structural graph parameters that do not involve the transformation budget $b$. We present both positive and negative results. On the algorithmic side, we prove that MSO$_2$-Discovery is in XP when parameterized by treewidth and that MSO$_1$-Discovery is fixed-parameter tractable when parameterized by neighborhood diversity. On the hardness side, we establish that FO-Discovery is W[1]-hard when parameterized by modulator to stars, modulator to paths, as well as twin cover, numbers. Additionally, we prove that MSO$_1$-Discovery is W[1]-hard when parameterized by bandwidth. These results complement the straightforward observation that solution discovery for the studied problems is fixed-parameter tractable when the budget $b$ is included in the parameter (in particular, parameterized by cliquewidth$+b$, where the cliquewidth of a graph is at most any of the studied parameters), and provide a near-complete (fixed-parameter tractability) meta-theorems investigation for solution discovery problems for MSO- and FO-definable graph problems and structural parameters larger than cliquewidth.
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publishDate 2025
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spellingShingle On Algorithmic Meta-Theorems for Solution Discovery: Tractability and Barriers
Bousquet, Nicolas
Mouawad, Amer E.
Maaz, Stephanie
Nishimura, Naomi
Siebertz, Sebastian
Data Structures and Algorithms
Solution discovery asks whether a given (infeasible) starting configuration to a problem can be transformed into a feasible solution using a limited number of transformation steps. This paper investigates meta-theorems for solution discovery for graph problems definable in monadic second-order logic (MSO$_1$ and MSO$_2$) and first-order logic (FO) where the transformation step is to slide a token to an adjacent vertex, focusing on parameterized complexity and structural graph parameters that do not involve the transformation budget $b$. We present both positive and negative results. On the algorithmic side, we prove that MSO$_2$-Discovery is in XP when parameterized by treewidth and that MSO$_1$-Discovery is fixed-parameter tractable when parameterized by neighborhood diversity. On the hardness side, we establish that FO-Discovery is W[1]-hard when parameterized by modulator to stars, modulator to paths, as well as twin cover, numbers. Additionally, we prove that MSO$_1$-Discovery is W[1]-hard when parameterized by bandwidth. These results complement the straightforward observation that solution discovery for the studied problems is fixed-parameter tractable when the budget $b$ is included in the parameter (in particular, parameterized by cliquewidth$+b$, where the cliquewidth of a graph is at most any of the studied parameters), and provide a near-complete (fixed-parameter tractability) meta-theorems investigation for solution discovery problems for MSO- and FO-definable graph problems and structural parameters larger than cliquewidth.
title On Algorithmic Meta-Theorems for Solution Discovery: Tractability and Barriers
topic Data Structures and Algorithms
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.17344