A Simple Linear-Space Data Structure for Constant-Time Range Minimum Query

TL;DR

This paper introduces a simple, practical data structure for range minimum queries that uses linear space and supports constant-time queries, improving usability without sacrificing efficiency.

Contribution

The authors present a new, straightforward data structure for range minimum queries that is easy to implement and practical, matching the best asymptotic bounds of prior solutions.

Findings

Supports range minimum queries in O(1) time

Uses only O(n) space, matching optimal bounds

Simplifies implementation compared to previous methods

Abstract

We revisit the range minimum query problem and present a new O(n)-space data structure that supports queries in O(1) time. Although previous data structures exist whose asymptotic bounds match ours, our goal is to introduce a new solution that is simple, intuitive, and practical without increasing costs for query time or space.