An Efficient Polynomial Time Approximation Scheme for Minimizing the Total Weighted Completion Time on Uniformly Related Machines

We study a classic scheduling problem on uniformly related machines for which we show an efficient polynomial time approximation scheme (EPTAS), where an EPTAS is a fast and practical approximation scheme. For a desired approximation ratio of 1 + ε for ε > 0, the running time of an EPTAS is a function of ε multiplied by a polynomial function of the input length. New methods and techniques are essential in developing such improved approximation schemes, and their design is a primary goal of this research agenda. We present an EPTAS for the scheduling problem of a set of jobs on uniformly related machines so as to minimize the total weighted completion time. The problem is NP-hard in the strong sense, and therefore an EPTAS is the best possible approximation scheme for the problem, unless P=NP. Prior to our work, only a PTAS was known for the problem, while an EPTAS was known only for the special case of identical machines.