Spanning tree manipulation and the travelling salesman problem

Abstract

The reasonable assumption is made that the majority of lines appearing in a minimal spanning tree for any network also appear in an optimal solution to the corresponding travelling salesman problem. A technique is described of manipulating the tree, by means of deletions and additions of lines, into a chain and hence obtain a feasible solution. An extension is considered with regard to the minimal wiring problem. © 1968 The British Computer Society.