Approximability of the Multiple Stack TSP

Abstract

STSP seeks a pair of pickup and delivery tours in two distinct networks, where the two tours are related by LIFO contraints. We address here the problem approximability. We notably establish that asymmetric MaxSTSP and MinSTSP12 are APX, and propose a heuristic that yields to a 1/2, 3/4 and 3/2 standard approximation for respectively Max2STSP, Max2STSP12 and Min2STSP12.