We study parallel algorithms for computing the minimum spanning tree of a weighted undirected graph G with n vertices and m edges. We consider an input graph G with m=n p, where p is the number of processors. For this case, we show that simple algorithms with dataindependent communication patterns are efficient, both in theory and in practice. The algorithms are evaluated theoretically using Valiant's BSP model of parallel computation and empirically through implementation results.
Frank K. H. A. Dehne, Silvia Götz