摘要：Given an undirected, unweighted graph G on n nodes, there is an O(n^2*poly log(n))-time algorithm that computes a data structure called distance oracle of size O(n^{5/3}*poly log(n)) answering approximate distance queries in constant time. For nodes at distance d the distance estimate is between d and 2d + 1. This new distance oracle improves upon the oracles of Patrascu and Roditty (FOCS 2010), Abraham and Gavoille (DISC 2011), and Agarwal and Brighten Godfrey (PODC 2013) in terms of preprocessing time, and upon the oracle of Baswana and Sen (SODA 2004) in terms of stretch. The running time analysis is tight (up to logarithmic factors) due to a recent lower bound of Abboud and Bodwin (STOC 2016). Techniques include dominating sets, sampling, balls, and spanners, and the main contribution lies in the way these techniques are combined. Perhaps the most interesting aspect from a technical point of view is the application of a spanner without incurring its constant additive stretch penalty.
