Finding the N Best Vertices in an Infinite Weighted Hypergraph

• We propose an algorithm for computing the N best vertices in a weighted acyclic hypergraph over a nice semiring. A semiring is nice if it is finitely-generated, idempotent, and has 1 as its minimal element. We then apply the algorithm to the problem of computing the N best trees with respect to a weighted tree automaton, and complement theoretical correctness and complexity arguments with experimental data. The algorithm has several practical applications in natural language processing, for example, to derive the N most likely parse trees with respect to a probabilistic context-free grammar. 

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Data- och informationsvetenskap -- Datavetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Computer and Information Sciences -- Computer Sciences (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Hypergraph

N-best problem

Idempotent semiring

Computer Science

datalogi

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)