Planar Graph Perfect Matching is in NC

Is perfect matching in NC? That is to say, is there a deterministic fast parallel algorithm for it? This has been an outstanding open question in theoretical computer science for over three decades, ever since the discovery of RNC matching algorithms. Within this question, the case of planar graphs has remained an enigma: On the one hand, counting the number of perfect matchings is far harder than finding one (the former is #P-complete and the latter is in P), and on the other, for planar graphs, counting has long been known to be in NC whereas finding one has resisted a solution. In this paper, we give an NC algorithm for finding a perfect matching in a planar graph. Our algorithm uses the above-stated fact about counting matchings in a crucial way. Several new ideas are needed, such as finding a point in the interior of the minimum weight face of the perfect matching polytope and finding a balanced odd tight set in NC.