Parallel algorithms for priority queue operations

Abstract

This paper presents parallel algorithms for priority queue operations on a p-processor EREW-PRAM. The algorithms are based on a new data structure, the Min-path Heap (MH), which is obtained as an extension of the traditional binary-heap organization. Using an MH, it is shown that insertion of a new item or deletion of the smallest item from a priority queue of nelements can be performed in(formula presented) parallel time, while construction of an MH from a set of n items takes (formula presented) time. The given algorithms for insertion and deletion achieve the best possible running time for any number of processors p, with p (formula presented), while the MH construction algorithm employs up to (formula presented) processors optimally.