Deterministic Single Exponential Time Algorithms for Co-Path Packing and Co-Path Set Parameterized by Treewidth

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Liu, Yuxi, Tian, Kangyi, Xiao, Mingyu
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866916028086222848
author Liu, Yuxi
Tian, Kangyi
Xiao, Mingyu
author_facet Liu, Yuxi
Tian, Kangyi
Xiao, Mingyu
contents The \textsc{Co-Path Packing} (resp., \textsc{Co-Path Set}) problem asks whether a given graph can be edited to a collection of induced paths by deleting at most $k$ vertices (resp., $k$ edges). Both are fundamental problems with significant applications in bioinformatics and have been extensively studied within the framework of exact and parameterized algorithms. Currently, the state-of-the-art approach utilizes the randomized ``Cut \& Count'' technique, which solves \textsc{Co-Path Set} in $O^*(4^{\mathbf{tw}})$ time and \textsc{Co-Path Packing} in $O^*(5^{\mathbf{pw}})$ time, where $\mathbf{tw}$ is treewidth and $\mathbf{pw}$ is pathwidth. However, as there is no known method to derandomize the ``Cut \& Count'' technique, the existence of deterministic single exponential time algorithms for these problems parameterized by treewidth has remained an open question. In this paper, we resolve this gap by providing deterministic single exponential time algorithms for both problems when parameterized by treewidth.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_19870
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Deterministic Single Exponential Time Algorithms for Co-Path Packing and Co-Path Set Parameterized by Treewidth
Liu, Yuxi
Tian, Kangyi
Xiao, Mingyu
Data Structures and Algorithms
The \textsc{Co-Path Packing} (resp., \textsc{Co-Path Set}) problem asks whether a given graph can be edited to a collection of induced paths by deleting at most $k$ vertices (resp., $k$ edges). Both are fundamental problems with significant applications in bioinformatics and have been extensively studied within the framework of exact and parameterized algorithms. Currently, the state-of-the-art approach utilizes the randomized ``Cut \& Count'' technique, which solves \textsc{Co-Path Set} in $O^*(4^{\mathbf{tw}})$ time and \textsc{Co-Path Packing} in $O^*(5^{\mathbf{pw}})$ time, where $\mathbf{tw}$ is treewidth and $\mathbf{pw}$ is pathwidth. However, as there is no known method to derandomize the ``Cut \& Count'' technique, the existence of deterministic single exponential time algorithms for these problems parameterized by treewidth has remained an open question. In this paper, we resolve this gap by providing deterministic single exponential time algorithms for both problems when parameterized by treewidth.
title Deterministic Single Exponential Time Algorithms for Co-Path Packing and Co-Path Set Parameterized by Treewidth
topic Data Structures and Algorithms
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.19870