The Min Cut Linear Arrangement problem asks, for a given graph
G and a positive integer
k, if there exists a linear arrangement of
G's vertices so that any line separating consecutive vertices in the layout cuts at most
k of the edges. A variation of this problem insists that the arrangement be made on a (fixed-degree) tree instead of a line. We show that (1) this problem is
NP-complete even when
G is planar; (2) it is easily solved when
G is a tree; and (3) there is a simple characterization for all graphs with cost 2 or less. Our main result is a linear-time algorithm to embed an outerplanar graph
G into a spanning tree with cost at most maxdegree(
G) + 1. This result is important because it extends to an approximation algorithm for the standard Min Cut Linear Arrangement Problem on outerplanar graphs.
Supported in part by NSF Grant CCR-8710730.