Tighter bounds for weighted and unweighted shortest cycle approximation
Pith reviewed 2026-07-02 04:39 UTC · model grok-4.3
The pith
For every k≥2, weighted graphs admit a (2k/3)-approximation to girth in Õ(m + n^{1+2/k}) time.
A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.
Core claim
The central claim is that the (2k/3)-approximation algorithms and their running times for unweighted graphs extend directly to the weighted case, yielding the first such trade-off that holds for all k ≥ 2 in weighted graphs with non-negative weights.
What carries the argument
Lifting of the unweighted girth approximation techniques to handle non-negative real edge weights without increasing the asymptotic time or worsening the approximation ratio.
Load-bearing premise
The algorithmic techniques developed for unweighted graphs can be lifted to the weighted setting while preserving both the (2k/3) approximation ratio and the stated time bound for every k≥2.
What would settle it
A family of weighted graphs on which every (2k/3)-approximation algorithm for girth requires super-Õ(n^{1+2/k}) time for some fixed k≥2 would falsify the main result.
Figures
read the original abstract
We study the problem of approximating the length of a shortest cycle in a given graph, known as the girth of the graph. The state-of-the-art approximation algorithms for unweighted graphs by Kadria et al. [SODA'22] and Roditty and Trabelsi [arXiv'25] achieve the following trade-off: for every integer $k\geq 2$, there is an $\tilde{O}(n^{1+2/k})$ time algorithm that achieves a $(2k/3)$-approximation for the girth in unweighted $n$-node graphs. The first result of this paper is to achieve the same trade-off for $m$-edge, $n$-node graphs with non-negative real edge weights: a $2k/3$-approximation algorithm running in $\tilde{O}(m+n^{1+2/k})$ time. The dependence on $m$ is unavoidable in weighted graphs. Our result improves on the work of Kadria et al.~[SODA'23] and Ducoffe [ICALP'19 and SIDMA'21], who were only able to achieve such a trade-off for some values of $k$. We also prove new fine-grained lower bounds for girth approximation and related problems in unweighted graphs.
Editorial analysis
A structured set of objections, weighed in public.
Referee Report
Summary. The manuscript extends the (2k/3)-approximation for girth from unweighted graphs to m-edge n-node weighted graphs with non-negative real edge weights, achieving the same Õ(m + n^{1+2/k}) time bound for every integer k ≥ 2. This improves on prior partial results (Kadria et al. SODA'23; Ducoffe ICALP'19/SIDMA'21) that obtained the trade-off only for selected k. The paper also establishes new fine-grained lower bounds for girth approximation and related problems in the unweighted setting.
Significance. If the lifting of the unweighted techniques succeeds without degrading the ratio or introducing extra factors in the weighted case, the result completes the known approximation-time trade-off for weighted girth and removes the previous restriction to selected k. The lower bounds add to the fine-grained complexity landscape. The explicit handling of real weights and the unavoidable m-term are correctly identified as necessary.
minor comments (2)
- [Abstract] Abstract: the lower-bound contribution is mentioned only in passing; a one-sentence characterization of the new lower bounds (e.g., which problems and which exponents) would make the abstract self-contained.
- The dependence on m is stated to be unavoidable, but no explicit reduction or citation is given in the provided abstract; a pointer to the relevant section or prior reference would strengthen the claim.
Simulated Author's Rebuttal
We thank the referee for their positive assessment of our manuscript and for recommending minor revision. The referee's summary correctly reflects our main results: extending the (2k/3)-approximation for girth to weighted graphs with non-negative real weights in Õ(m + n^{1+2/k}) time for all k ≥ 2, improving on prior partial results, along with new fine-grained lower bounds in the unweighted setting. No major comments were raised in the report.
Circularity Check
No significant circularity detected
full rationale
The paper's central claim is a new algorithmic construction that lifts the (2k/3)-approximation and Õ(m + n^{1+2/k}) time bound from unweighted graphs (cited from prior work) to weighted graphs with non-negative real weights. The abstract presents this extension as the contribution, improving on earlier partial results for only some k. No equations, definitions, or steps in the provided text reduce a claimed prediction or ratio to a fitted parameter or self-referential input by construction. Self-citations to overlapping-author prior work support only the unweighted base case and are not load-bearing for the weighted lifting, which is described as an independent algorithmic advance. The result is therefore self-contained against external benchmarks.
Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger
axioms (1)
- domain assumption Graphs are undirected with non-negative real edge weights.
Reference graph
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