Comparison of two randomized policy M/G/1 queues with second optional service, server breakdown and startup

The problem addressed in this paper is to compare the minimum cost of the two randomized control policies in the M/G/1 queueing system with an unreliable server, a second optional service, and general startup times. All arrived customers demand the first required service, and only some of the arrived customers demand a second optional service. The server needs a startup time before providing the first required service until the system becomes empty. After all customers are served in the queue, the server immediately takes a vacation and the system operates the (T, p)-policy or (p, N)-policy. For those two policies, the expected cost functions are established to determine the joint optimal threshold values of (T, p) and (p, N), respectively. In addition, we obtain the explicit closed form of the joint optimal solutions for those two policies. Based on the minimal cost, we show that the optimal (p, N)-policy indeed outperforms the optimal (T, p)-policy. Numerical examples are also presented for illustrative purposes.     

A recursive method for the F-policy G/M/1/K queueing system with an exponential startup time

This paper deals with the optimal control of a finite capacity G/M/1 queueing system combined the F-policy and an exponential startup time before start allowing customers in the system. The F-policy queueing problem investigates the most common issue of controlling arrival to a queueing system. We provide a recursive method, using the supplementary variable technique and treating the supplementary variable as the remaining interarrival time, to develop the steady-state probability distribution of the number of customers in the system. We illustrate a recursive method by presenting three simple examples for exponential, 3-stage Erlang, and deterministic interarrival time distributions, respectively. A cost model is developed to determine the optimal management F-policy at minimum cost. We use an efficient Maple computer program to determine the optimal operating F-policy and some system performance measures. Sensitivity analysis is also studied.     

Controlling arrivals for a queueing system with an unreliable server: Newton-Quasi method

This paper deals with the control policy of a removable and unreliable server for an M/M/1/K queueing system, where the removable server operates an F-policy. The so-called F-policy means that when the number of customers in the system reaches its capacity K (i.e. the system becomes full), the system will not accept any incoming customers until the queue length decreases to a certain threshold value F. At that time, the server initiates an exponential startup time with parameter γ and starts allowing customers entering the system. It is assumed that the server breaks down according to a Poisson process and the repair time has an exponential distribution. A matrix analytical method is applied to derive the steady-state probabilities through which various system performance measures can be obtained. A cost model is constructed to determine the optimal values, say (F^∗, μ^∗, γ^∗), that yield the minimum cost. Finally, we use the two methods, namely, the direct search method and the Newton-Quasi method to find the global minimum (F^∗, μ^∗, γ^∗). Numerical results are also provided under optimal operating conditions.     

Waiting times in queues with relative priorities

This paper determines the mean waiting times for a single server multi-class queueing model with Poisson arrivals and relative priorities. If the server becomes idle, the probability that the next job is from class-i is proportional to the product between the number of class-i jobs present and their priority parameter.     

Least and most colored bases

Consider a matroid M=(E,B), where B denotes the family of bases of M, and assign a color c(e) to every element e∈E (the same color can go to more than one element). The palette of a subset F of E, denoted by c(F), is the image of F under c. Assume also that colors have prices (in the form of a function π(?), where ? is the label of a color), and define the chromatic price as: π(F)=∑_?∈c(F)π(?). We consider the following problem: find a base B∈B such that π(B) is minimum. We show that the greedy algorithm delivers a lnr(M)-approximation of the unknown optimal value, where r(M) is the rank of matroid M. By means of a reduction from SETCOVER, we prove that the lnr(M) ratio cannot be further improved, even in the special case of partition matroids, unless . The results apply to the special case where M is a graphic matroid and where the prices π(?) are restricted to be all equal. This special case was previously known as the minimum label spanning tree (MLST) problem. For the MLST, our results improve over the ln(n-1)+1 ratio achieved by Wan, Chen and Xu in 2002. Inspired by the generality of our results, we study the approximability of coloring problems with different objective function π(F), where F is a common independent set on matroids M₁,…,M_k and, more generally, to independent systems characterized by the k-for-1 property.     

Solution techniques for the Large Set Covering Problem

Given a finite set E and a family F={E₁,…,E_m} of subsets of E such that F covers E, the famous unicost set covering problem (USCP) is to determine the smallest possible subset of F that also covers E. We study in this paper a variant, called the Large Set Covering Problem (LSCP), which differs from the USCP in that E and the subsets E_i are not given in extension because they are very large sets that are possibly infinite. We propose three exact algorithms for solving the LSCP. Two of them determine minimal covers, while the third one produces minimum covers. Heuristic versions of these algorithms are also proposed and analysed. We then give several procedures for the computation of a lower bound on the minimum size of a cover. We finally present algorithms for finding the largest possible subset of F that does not cover E. We also show that a particular case of the LSCP is to determine irreducible infeasible sets in inconsistent constraint satisfaction problems. All concepts presented in the paper are illustrated on the k-colouring problem which is formulated as a constraint satisfaction problem.     

On extension of isometries and approximate isometries between unit spheres

In this paper, we will study the isometric extension problem for L¹-spaces and prove that every surjective isometry from the unit sphere of L¹(μ) onto that of a Banach space E can be extended to a linear surjective isometry from L¹(μ) onto E. Moreover, we introduce the approximate isometric extension problem and show that, if E and F are Banach spaces and E satisfies the property (m) (special cases are L^∞(Γ), C₀(Ω) and L^∞(μ)), then every bijective ?-isometry between the unit spheres of E and F can be extended to a bijective 5?-isometry between their closed unit balls. At last, we will give an example to show that the surjectivity assumption cannot be omitted. Using this, we solve the non-surjective isometric extension problem in the negative.     

Edge-deletable IM-extendable graphs with minimum number of edges

A graph G is induced matching extendable, shortly IM-extendable, if every induced matching of G is included in a perfect matching of G. For a nonnegative integer k, a graph G is called a k-edge-deletable IM-extendable graph, if, for every F⊆E(G) with |F|=k, G−F is IM-extendable. In this paper, we characterize the k-edge-deletable IM-extendable graphs with minimum number of edges. We show that, for a positive integer k, if G is ak-edge-deletable IM-extendable graph on 2n vertices, then |E(G)|≥(k+2)n; furthermore, the equality holds if and only if either G≅K_k+2,k+2, or k=4r−2 for some integer r≥3 and G≅C₅[N_2r], where N_2r is the empty graph on 2r vertices and C₅[N_2r] is the graph obtained from C₅ by replacing each vertex with a graph isomorphic to N_2r.     

Linear-time certifying algorithms for near-graphical sequences

A sequence 〈d₁,d₂,…,d_n〉 of non-negative integers is graphical if it is the degree sequence of some graph, that is, there exists a graph G on n vertices whose ith vertex has degree d_i, for 1≤i≤n. The notion of a graphical sequence has a natural reformulation and generalization in terms of factors of complete graphs.If H=(V,E) is a graph and g and f are integer-valued functions on the vertex set V, then a (g,f)-factor of H is a subgraph G=(V,F) of H whose degree at each vertex v∈V lies in the interval [g(v),f(v)]. Thus, a (0,1)-factor is just a matching of H and a (1, 1)-factor is a perfect matching of H. If H is complete then a (g,f)-factor realizes a degree sequence that is consistent with the sequence of intervals 〈[g(v₁),f(v₁)],[g(v₂),f(v₂)],…,[g(v_n),f(v_n)]〉.Graphical sequences have been extensively studied and admit several elegant characterizations. We are interested in extending these characterizations to non-graphical sequences by introducing a natural measure of “near-graphical”. We do this in the context of minimally deficient (g,f)-factors of complete graphs. Our main result is a simple linear-time greedy algorithm for constructing minimally deficient (g,f)-factors in complete graphs that generalizes the method of Hakimi and Havel (for constructing (f,f)-factors in complete graphs, when possible). It has the added advantage of producing a certificate of minimum deficiency (through a generalization of the Erdös-Gallai characterization of (f,f)-factors in complete graphs) at no additional cost.     

A survey of stratified domination in graphs

A graph G is 2-stratified if its vertex set is partitioned into two nonempty classes (each of which is a stratum or a color class). We color the vertices in one color class red and the other color class blue. Let F be a 2-stratified graph with one fixed blue vertex v specified. We say that F is rooted at v. The F-domination number of a graph G is the minimum number of red vertices of G in a red-blue coloring of the vertices of G such that for every blue vertex v of G, there is a copy of F in G rooted at v. In this paper, we survey recent results on the F-domination number for various 2-stratified graphs F.     

Multiple positive solutions for a critical quasilinear elliptic system

The existence of cat_Ω(Ω) positive solutions for the p-Laplacian system with convex and Sobolev critical nonlinearities is obtained by some standard variational methods, whose key is to construct homotopies between Ω and levels of the functional J_λ,μ, and some analytical techniques.     

A multiply intersecting Erd?s-Ko-Rado theorem — The principal case

Let m(n,k,r,t) be the maximum size of satisfying |F₁∩?∩F_r|≥t for all F₁,…,F_r∈F. We prove that for every p∈(0,1) there is some r₀ such that, for all r>r₀ and all t with 1≤t≤⌊(p^1−r−p)/(1−p)⌋−r, there exists n₀ so that if n>n₀ and p=k/n, then . The upper bound for t is tight for fixed p and r.     

Completing an extension of Tunnell's theorem

We look at a special case of a familiar problem: Given a locally compact group G, a subgroup H and a complex representation π₊ of G how does π₊ decompose on restriction to H. Here G is GL⁺(2,F), where F is a nonarchimedian local field of characteristic not two, K a separable quadratic extension of F, GL⁺(2,F) the subgroup of index 2 in GL(2,F) consisting of those matrices whose determinant is in NK/F(K^∗), π₊ is an irreducible, admissible supercuspidal representation of GL⁺(2,F) and H=K^∗ under an embedding of K^∗ into GL(2,F).     

Chromatic characterization of biclique covers

A biclique B of a simple graph G is the edge-set of a complete bipartite subgraph of G. A biclique cover of G is a collection of bicliques covering the edge-set of G. Given a graph G, we will study the following problem: find the minimum number of bicliques which cover the edge-set of G. This problem will be called the minimum biclique cover problem (MBC). First, we will define the families of independent and dependent sets of the edge-set E(G) of G: F⊆E(G) will be called independent if there exists a biclique B⊆E(G) such that F⊆B, and will be called dependent otherwise. From our study of minimal dependent sets we will derive a 0-1 linear programming formulation of the following problem: find the maximum weighted biclique in a graph. This formulation may have an exponential number of constraints with respect to the number of nodes of G but we will prove that the continuous relaxation of this integer program can be solved in polynomial time. Finally we will also study continuous relaxation methods for the problem (MBC). This research was motivated by an open problem of Fishburn and Hammer.     

A unique decomposition result for HT factors with torsion free core

We prove that II₁ factors M have a unique (up to unitary conjugacy) cross-product type decomposition around “core subfactors” N⊂M satisfying the property HT of [S. Popa, On a class of type II₁ factors with Betti numbers invariants, Ann. of Math. (2) 163 (2006) 809-899] and a certain “torsion freeness” condition. In particular, this shows that isomorphism of factors of the form Lαi(Z²)?Fni, i=1,2, for Fni⊂SL(2,Z) free groups of rank ni and αj=e2πitj, tj∉Q, implies n₁=n₂.     

Twisted first homology groups of the automorphism group of a free group

The automorphism group and outer automorphism group of a free group F_n of rank n act on the abelianized group H of F_n and the dual group H^* of H. The twisted first homology groups of and with coefficients in H and H^* are calculated.     

On symmetric graphs of valency five

A graph X, with a subgroup G of the automorphism group of X, is said to be (G,s)-transitive, for some s≥1, if G is transitive on s-arcs but not on (s+1)-arcs, and s-transitive if it is -transitive. Let X be a connected (G,s)-transitive graph, and G_v the stabilizer of a vertex v∈V(X) in G. If X has valency 5 and G_v is solvable, Weiss [R.M. Weiss, An application of p-factorization methods to symmetric graphs, Math. Proc. Camb. Phil. Soc. 85 (1979) 43-48] proved that s≤3, and in this paper we prove that G_v is isomorphic to the cyclic group Z₅, the dihedral group D₁₀ or the dihedral group D₂₀ for s=1, the Frobenius group F₂₀ or F₂₀×Z₂ for s=2, or F₂₀×Z₄ for s=3. Furthermore, it is shown that for a connected 1-transitive Cayley graph of valency 5 on a non-abelian simple group G, the automorphism group of is the semidirect product , where R(G) is the right regular representation of G and .     

On certain spaces of vector measures of bounded variation

If (Σ,X) is a measurable space and X a Banach space we investigate the X-inheritance of copies of ?_∞ in certain subspaces Δ(Σ,X) of bvca(Σ,X), the Banach space of all X-valued countable additive measures of bounded variation equipped with the variation norm. Among the consequences of our main theorem we get a theorem of J. Mendoza on the X-inheritance of copies of ?_∞ in the Bochner space L₁(μ,X) and other of the author on the X-inheritance of copies of ?_∞ in bvca(Σ,X).     

Dynamic inventory and pricing policy in a capacitated stochastic inventory system with fixed ordering cost

We study a dynamic inventory and pricing optimization problem in a periodic review inventory system with setup cost and finite ordering capacity in each period. We show that the optimal inventory control is characterized by an (s,s^′,p) policy in four regions of the starting inventory level.     

On operator valued sequences of multipliers and R-boundedness

In recent papers (cf. [J.L. Arregui, O. Blasco, (p,q)-Summing sequences, J. Math. Anal. Appl. 274 (2002) 812-827; J.L. Arregui, O. Blasco, (p,q)-Summing sequences of operators, Quaest. Math. 26 (2003) 441-452; S. Aywa, J.H. Fourie, On summing multipliers and applications, J. Math. Anal. Appl. 253 (2001) 166-186; J.H. Fourie, I. Röntgen, Banach space sequences and projective tensor products, J. Math. Anal. Appl. 277 (2) (2003) 629-644]) the concept of (p,q)-summing multiplier was considered in both general and special context. It has been shown that some geometric properties of Banach spaces and some classical theorems can be described using spaces of (p,q)-summing multipliers. The present paper is a continuation of this study, whereby multiplier spaces for some classical Banach spaces are considered. The scope of this research is also broadened, by studying other classes of summing multipliers. Let E(X) and F(Y) be two Banach spaces whose elements are sequences of vectors in X and Y, respectively, and which contain the spaces c₀₀(X) and c₀₀(Y) of all X-valued and Y-valued sequences which are eventually zero, respectively. Generally spoken, a sequence of bounded linear operators (un)⊂L(X,Y) is called a multiplier sequence from E(X) to F(Y) if the linear operator from c₀₀(X) into c₀₀(Y) which maps (xi)∈c₀₀(X) onto (unxn)∈c₀₀(Y) is bounded with respect to the norms on E(X) and F(Y), respectively. Several cases where E(X) and F(Y) are different (classical) spaces of sequences, including, for instance, the spaces Rad(X) of almost unconditionally summable sequences in X, are considered. Several examples, properties and relations among spaces of summing multipliers are discussed. Important concepts like R-bounded, semi-R-bounded and weak-R-bounded from recent papers are also considered in this context.