%0 Journal Article
%T Constant-Factor Approximation for TSP with Disks
%A Adrian Dumitrescu
%A Csaba D. T¨®th
%J Computer Science
%D 2015
%I arXiv
%X We revisit the traveling salesman problem with neighborhoods (TSPN) and present the first constant-ratio approximation for disks in the plane: Given a set of $n$ disks in the plane, a TSP tour whose length is at most $O(1)$ times the optimal with high probability can be computed in time that is polynomial in $n$. Our result is the first constant-ratio approximation for a class of planar convex bodies of arbitrary size and arbitrary intersections. In order to achieve a $O(1)$-approximation, we reduce the traveling salesman problem with disks, up to constant factors, to a minimum weight hitting set problem in a geometric hypergraph. The connection between TSPN and hitting sets in geometric hypergraphs, established here, is likely to have future applications.
%U http://arxiv.org/abs/1506.07903v2