All-Pairs Shortest Paths in O(n²) Time with High Probability

We present an all-pairs shortest path algorithm whose running time on a complete directed graph on n vertices whose edge weights are chosen independently and uniformly at random from [0,1] is O(n
²
), in expectation and with high probability. This resolves a long standing open problem. The algorithm is a variant of the dynamic all-pairs shortest paths algorithm of Demetrescu and Italiano. The analysis relies on a proof that the number of locally shortest paths in such randomly weighted graphs is O(n
²
), in expectation and with high probability. We also present a dynamic version of the algorithm that recomputes all shortest paths after a random edge update in O(log
²
n) expected time.