3-Dimensional Matching with at Most $2n$ Hyperedges

Question

In 3 dimensional matching, we are given a set $M\subseteq X\times Y\times Z$ where $|X|=|Y|=|Z|=n$. A matching in $M$ is a subset $T⊆M$ such that no elements in $T$ agree in any coordinate. The goal is to find a matching in $M$ of size $n$.

If we assume that $n\leq|M|=m<2n$, can we solve 3DM in polynomial-time?

I know that in a 2-bounded instance of 3DM, 3DM can be solved in polynomial-time. The 2-bounded instance is when no element appears in more than two triples in $M$. For $m<2n$, we do not necessarily have a 2-bounded instance.

Further, in a 3-bounded instance of 3DM, 3DM is NP-hard. The 3-bounded instance is when no element appears in more than three triples in $M$, that is $m\leq3n$.

Answer 1

The restriction $m < 2n$ does not help to solve the problem in polynomial time. Note that any 3-dimensional matching instance can be polynomially reduced into an instance with $m < 2n$ by adding $m$ elements to the sets $X$, $Y$ and $Z$ and $m$ hyperedges to connect these new elements. The resulting instance has $n' = n + m$ and $m' = 2m$, so $m' < 2n'$ assuming $n>0$. Also, this reduction can be generalized for any constant $c > 1$ to show that 3-dimensional matching is NP-complete with the restriction that $m < cn$.

For solving the problem faster I suggest to find some other restrictions in the instances you have. For example in graphs, the natural parameter to express sparseness would be degeneracy.