🚀Day 9. Articulation Point - II 🧠

💡 Problem Description:

The problem can be found at the following link: Question Link

Given an undirected graph with V vertices and E edges, the graph is provided as a 2D array edges[][] where each element edges[i] = [u, v] indicates an undirected edge between vertices u and v. Your task is to return all the articulation points (or cut vertices) in the graph.

An articulation point is a vertex whose removal (along with all its connected edges) increases the number of connected components in the graph.

Note: The graph may be disconnected, i.e., it may consist of more than one connected component. If no such point exists, return {-1}.

Note: Sorry for the delayed upload; my Final Semester exams are underway. Best of luck with your coding journey!

🔍 Example Walkthrough:

Input:

V = 5
edges = [[0, 1], [1, 4], [4, 3], [4, 2], [2, 3]]

Output:

[1, 4]

Explanation:

Removing vertex 1 or 4 disconnects the graph. For instance, if vertex 1 is removed, the part of the graph connected to 1 becomes isolated from the rest of the components.

Example 2:

Input:

V = 4
edges = [[0, 1], [0, 2]]

Output:

[0]

Explanation:

Removing vertex 0 will increase the number of disconnected components from 1 to 3.

Constraints

• 1 ≤ V, E ≤ 10⁴

🎯 My Approach:

Optimized DFS Using Tarjan’s Algorithm

Algorithm Steps:

1. Convert the edge list to an adjacency list: Build an adjacency list from the given edges to represent the graph.

2. Use Tarjan’s DFS-based algorithm: During the DFS traversal, maintain two arrays:

   • disc[u]: The discovery time of vertex u.

   • low[u]: The lowest discovery time reachable from u (including back-edges).

3. Identify Articulation Points:

   • For a non-root vertex u, if there is a child v such that low[v] >= disc[u], then u is an articulation point.

   • For the root vertex of the DFS, if it has more than one child, then it is an articulation point.

4. Handle Disconnected Graphs: Since the graph can be disconnected, run the DFS for every unvisited vertex.

🕒 Time and Auxiliary Space Complexity

• Expected Time Complexity: O(V + E), as every vertex and edge is visited only once in the DFS traversal.

• Expected Auxiliary Space Complexity: O(V + E), primarily for the recursion stack, the adjacency list, and the additional arrays used for tracking discovery times and low values.

📝 Solution Code

Code (C++)

class Solution {
public:
    vector<int> articulationPoints(int V, vector<vector<int>>& edges) {
        vector<vector<int>> adj(V);
        for (auto& e : edges) adj[e[0]].push_back(e[1]), adj[e[1]].push_back(e[0]);
        vector<int> disc(V, -1), low(V), res;
        vector<bool> ap(V), vis(V);
        int time = 0;

        function<void(int, int)> dfs = [&](int u, int p) {
            vis[u] = true;
            disc[u] = low[u] = time++;
            int children = 0;
            for (int v : adj[u]) {
                if (v == p) continue;
                if (!vis[v]) {
                    dfs(v, u);
                    low[u] = min(low[u], low[v]);
                    if (p != -1 && low[v] >= disc[u]) ap[u] = true;
                    ++children;
                } else {
                    low[u] = min(low[u], disc[v]);
                }
            }
            if (p == -1 && children > 1) ap[u] = true;
        };

        for (int i = 0; i < V; ++i)
            if (!vis[i]) dfs(i, -1);
        for (int i = 0; i < V; ++i)
            if (ap[i]) res.push_back(i);
        return res.empty() ? vector<int>{-1} : res;
    }
};

⚡ Alternative Approaches

📊 2️⃣ Biconnected Components (Using Modified Tarjan’s Algorithm)

This approach builds upon Tarjan’s algorithm by identifying biconnected components. The vertices that appear in more than one biconnected component are articulation points.

Algorithm Steps:

1. Perform DFS to compute discovery times (disc[u]) and low values (low[u]).

2. Maintain a stack of edges as part of the DFS to capture biconnected components.

3. For each vertex u, if a child v satisfies low[v] >= disc[u], then u is an articulation point.

4. Optionally, you can pop edges from the stack to report each biconnected component.

C++ Code:

class Solution {
public:
    void dfs(int u, int parent, vector<vector<int>>& adj, vector<int>& disc, vector<int>& low,
             vector<bool>& visited, stack<int>& st, vector<bool>& ap, int& time) {
        visited[u] = true;
        disc[u] = low[u] = ++time;
        int children = 0;
        for (int v : adj[u]) {
            if (!visited[v]) {
                children++;
                st.push(u); // Optionally use the stack to collect edges (for biconnected components)
                dfs(v, u, adj, disc, low, visited, st, ap, time);
                low[u] = min(low[u], low[v]);
                // Check articulation condition
                if ((parent != -1 && low[v] >= disc[u]) || (parent == -1 && children > 1))
                    ap[u] = true;
            } else if (v != parent) {
                low[u] = min(low[u], disc[v]);
            }
        }
    }

    vector<int> articulationPoints(int V, vector<vector<int>>& edges) {
        vector<vector<int>> adj(V);
        for (auto &e : edges) {
            adj[e[0]].push_back(e[1]);
            adj[e[1]].push_back(e[0]);
        }
        vector<int> disc(V, -1), low(V, -1);
        vector<bool> visited(V, false), ap(V, false);
        stack<int> st; // optional: stores edges (u, v) for biconnected component analysis
        int time = 0;
        for (int i = 0; i < V; i++)
            if (!visited[i])
                dfs(i, -1, adj, disc, low, visited, st, ap, time);

        vector<int> res;
        for (int i = 0; i < V; i++)
            if (ap[i])
                res.push_back(i);
        return res.empty() ? vector<int>{-1} : res;
    }
};

📝 Complexity Analysis:

• Time Complexity: O(V + E)

• Space Complexity: O(V + E) (includes the recursion stack and the edge stack)

✅ Why Use This Approach?

• Comprehensive Analysis: It not only finds articulation points but also helps in identifying biconnected components.

• Applications: Particularly useful when the structure of biconnected components is needed, as in network reliability studies.

🆚 Comparison of Approaches

Approach	⏱️ Time Complexity	🗂️ Space Complexity	✅ Pros	⚠️ Cons
Tarjan’s Algorithm	🟢 O(V + E)	🟢 O(V + E)	Optimal, widely used, and efficient	Recursive (may hit limits for very deep graphs)
Biconnected Components (Modified Tarjan’s)	🟢 O(V + E)	🟡 O(V + E)	Provides extra insight into the structure of the graph	Slightly more complex to implement

✅ Best Choice?

• For efficient and optimal detection of articulation points, Tarjan’s algorithm is the best choice.

• The biconnected components approach is useful when additional component structure is required.

Code (Java)

class Solution {
    static ArrayList<Integer> articulationPoints(int V, int[][] edges) {
        ArrayList<Integer>[] adj = new ArrayList[V];
        for (int i = 0; i < V; i++) adj[i] = new ArrayList<>();
        for (int[] e : edges) {
            adj[e[0]].add(e[1]);
            adj[e[1]].add(e[0]);
        }
        int[] disc = new int[V], low = new int[V];
        boolean[] vis = new boolean[V], ap = new boolean[V];
        int[] time = {0};
        for (int i = 0; i < V; i++)
            if (!vis[i]) dfs(i, -1, adj, disc, low, vis, ap, time);
        ArrayList<Integer> res = new ArrayList<>();
        for (int i = 0; i < V; i++)
            if (ap[i]) res.add(i);
        if (res.isEmpty()) res.add(-1);
        return res;
    }

    static void dfs(int u, int p, ArrayList<Integer>[] adj, int[] disc, int[] low, boolean[] vis, boolean[] ap, int[] time) {
        vis[u] = true;
        disc[u] = low[u] = ++time[0];
        int children = 0;
        for (int v : adj[u]) {
            if (!vis[v]) {
                children++;
                dfs(v, u, adj, disc, low, vis, ap, time);
                low[u] = Math.min(low[u], low[v]);
                if (p != -1 && low[v] >= disc[u]) ap[u] = true;
            } else if (v != p)
                low[u] = Math.min(low[u], disc[v]);
        }
        if (p == -1 && children > 1) ap[u] = true;
    }
}

Code (Python)

class Solution:
    def articulationPoints(self, V, edges):
        adj = [[] for _ in range(V)]
        for u, v in edges:
            adj[u].append(v)
            adj[v].append(u)
        disc = [-1] * V
        low = [-1] * V
        vis = [False] * V
        ap = [False] * V
        time = [0]

        def dfs(u, p):
            vis[u] = True
            disc[u] = low[u] = time[0] = time[0] + 1
            children = 0
            for v in adj[u]:
                if not vis[v]:
                    children += 1
                    dfs(v, u)
                    low[u] = min(low[u], low[v])
                    if p != -1 and low[v] >= disc[u]:
                        ap[u] = True
                elif v != p:
                    low[u] = min(low[u], disc[v])
            if p == -1 and children > 1:
                ap[u] = True

        for i in range(V):
            if not vis[i]:
                dfs(i, -1)
        res = [i for i, val in enumerate(ap) if val]
        return res if res else [-1]

🎯 Contribution and Support:

For discussions, questions, or doubts related to this solution, feel free to connect on LinkedIn: Any Questions. Let’s make this learning journey more collaborative!

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