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arXiv · 2004.02437

A historical note on the 3/2-approximation algorithm for the metric traveling salesman problem

René van Bevern·Viktoriia A. Slugina
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Abstract

One of the most fundamental results in combinatorial optimization is the polynomial-time 3/2-approximation algorithm for the metric traveling salesman problem. It was presented by Christofides in 1976 and is well known as "the Christofides algorithm". Recently, some authors started calling it "Christofides-Serdyukov algorithm", pointing out that it was published independently in the USSR in 1978. We provide some historic background on Serdyukov's findings and a translation of his article from Russian into English.

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René van Bevern, Viktoriia A. Slugina. 2020-04-06. A historical note on the 3/2-approximation algorithm for the metric traveling salesman problem. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hm.2020.04.003

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