Concurrent threads and optimal parallel minimum spanning trees algorithm

  • Authors:
  • Ka Wong Chong;Yijie Han;Tak Wah Lam

  • Affiliations:
  • Department of Computer Science and Information Systems, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China;Computer Science Telecommunications Program, University of Missouri-Kansas City, 5100 Rockhill Road, Kansas City, MO;Department of Computer Science and Information Systems, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

  • Venue:
  • Journal of the ACM (JACM)
  • Year:
  • 2001

Quantified Score

Hi-index 0.02

Visualization

Abstract

This paper resolves a long-standing open problem on whether the concurrent write capability of parallel random access machine (PRAM) is essential for solving fundamental graph problems like connected components and minimum spanning trees in O(logn) time. Specifically, we present a new algorithm to solve these problems in O(logn) time using a linear number of processors on the exclusive-read exclusive-write PRAM. The logarithmic time bound is actually optimal since it is well known that even computing the “OR” of nbit requires &OHgr;(log n time on the exclusive-write PRAM. The efficiency achieved by the new algorithm is based on a new schedule which can exploit a high degree of parallelism.