Faster Algorithms for 1-Mappability of a Sequence

In the k-mappability problem, we are given a string x of length n and integers m and k, and we are asked to count, for each length-m factor y of x, the number of other factors of length m of x that are at Hamming distance at most k from y. We focus here on the version of the problem where k= 1. The fastest known algorithm for k= 1 requires time O(mnlog n/ log log n) and space O(n). We present two new algorithms that require worst-case time O(mn) and O(nlog nlog log n), respectively, and space O(n), thus greatly improving the state of the art. Moreover, we present another algorithm that requires average-case time and space O(n) for integer alphabets of size σ if m = Ω(log _σn). Notably, we show that this algorithm is generalizable for arbitrary k, requiring average-case time O(kn) and space O(n) if m = Ω(k log_σn).