Computing the partition function for perfect matchings in a hypergraph

Alexander Barvinok*, Alex Samorodnitsky

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

Given non-negative weights wS on the k-subsets S of a km-element set V, we consider the sum of the products wS1 .. wSm over all partitions V = S1 .. Sm into pairwise disjoint k-subsets Si. When the weights wS are positive and within a constant factor of each other, fixed in advance, we present a simple polynomial-time algorithm to approximate the sum within a polynomial in m factor. In the process, we obtain higher-dimensional versions of the van der Waerden and Bregman†"Minc bounds for permanents. We also discuss applications to counting of perfect and nearly perfect matchings in hypergraphs.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)815-835
Number of pages21
JournalCombinatorics Probability and Computing
Volume20
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2011

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Computing the partition function for perfect matchings in a hypergraph'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this