On orientations maximizing total arc-connectivity

Abstract: For a given digraph $D$ and distinct $u,v \in V(D)$, we denote by $\lambda_D(u,v)$ the local arc-connectivity from $u$ to $v$. Further, we define the total arc-connectivity $tac(D)$ of $D$ to be $$\sum_{{u,v}\subseteq V(D)}\lambda_D(u,v)+\lambda_D(v,u)$$. We show that, given a graph $G$ and an integer $k$, it is NP-complete to decide whether $G$ has an orientation $\vec{G}$ satisfying $tac(\vec{G})\geq k$. This answers a question of Pekec. On the positive side, we show that the corresponding maximization problem admits a $\frac{2}{3}$-approximation algorithm.