Journal d'informatique et de biologie des systèmes

A Method to Select the Edges in the Minimum Hamiltonian Cycle

Abstract

Yong Wang

To find the minimum Hamiltonian cycle is the objective of traveling salesman problem (TSP) whereas it has been proven to be NP-complete. To select the right edges in the minimum Hamiltonian cycle, the frequency graph is computed with a set of optimal i-vertex paths. The number of optimal i-vertex paths is formulated according to i. In these frequency graphs, the frequencies of the edges in the minimum Hamiltonian cycle are generally bigger than the average frequency and those of most of the other edges. Before i ≤ n/2+1 for even number n and i ≤ (n ± 1)/2+1 for odd number n, the frequencies of the edges in the minimum Hamiltonian cycle increase faster than the average frequency does according to i. The frequencies on the edges and their change can be taken as the heuristic information to select the edges in the minimum Hamiltonian cycle. Two simple examples are given to show the change of the frequencies of the edges in the minimum Hamiltonian cycle. The results show that they are different from those of the other edges according to i. The results can be used as the basis to design algorithms for TSP