Abstract
Given a graph G = (V, E), a set R \(R \subseteq V\) V, and a length function on the edges, a Steiner tree is a connected subgraph of G that spans all vertices in R. (It might use vertices in V \ R as well.) The Steiner tree problem in graphs is to find a shortest Steiner tree, i.e., a Steiner tree whose total edge length is minimum. This problem is well known to be NP-hard [19] and therefore we cannot expect to find polynomial time algorithms for solving it exactly. This motivates the search for good approximation algorithms for the Steiner tree problem in graphs, i. e., algorithms that have polynomial running time and return solutions that are not far from an optimum solution.
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Gröpl, C., Hougardy, S., Nierhoff, T., Prömel, H.J. (2001). Approximation Algorithms for the Steiner Tree Problem in Graphs. In: Cheng, X.Z., Du, DZ. (eds) Steiner Trees in Industry. Combinatorial Optimization, vol 11. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0255-1_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0255-1_7
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