On the length of simplex paths: The assignment case

This paper reports on an experimental study of the distribution of the length of simplex paths for the Optimal Assignment Problem. We study the distribution of the pivot counts for a version of the simplex method that with essentially equal probabilities introduces any variable with negative reduced cost into the basis. In this situation the distribution of the pivot counts turns out to be normally distributed and independent of the actual cost coefficients, provided these are sufficiently spread out. Further, the mean and standard deviation grow only moderately with the size of the problem, namely asd ^1.8, andd ^1.5 respectively for ad×d problem, implying in particular that the pivot counts concentrate around the mean with growingd. The usual simplex method on the other hand gives a growth ofd ^1.6. Hence a large part of the favourable polynomial growth experienced on practical problems may be attributed to the fact that the simplex paths are rather short on the average, at least for assignment problems.     

The time path of the marginal cost of oil: The turning point and the subsequent upward drift

The gradual exhaustion of existing deposits of a depletable non-renewable resource such as oil tends to shift the supply price curve of the resource upwards, increasing its marginal cost. Advances in technologies for exploration and production act as a brake on such upward shifts. Thus, there is a tug-of-war between the gradual exhaustion of existing deposits and technological progress. Using a recently developed constrained least-squares regression technique, we demonstrate that technological progress was the dominant force of the two during the first part of this century, causing a secular drop in marginal costs, but that this situation eventually was reversed, and that the gradual exhaustion of deposits gained the upper hand, causing marginal costs to increase. The turning point occurred around 1971–72. We also discuss the forecasting of the possible current upward drift of marginal costs.     

A recursive linear programming analysis of the future of the pulp and paper industry in the United States: Changes in supplies and demands,and the effects of recycling

The impacts of increased paper recycling on the U.S. pulp and paper sector are investigated, using the North American Pulp And Paper (NAPAP) model. This dynamic spatial equilibrium model forecasts the amount of pulp, paper and paperboard exchanged in a multi-region market, and the corresponding prices. The core of the model is a recursive price-endogenous linear programming system that simulates the behavior of a competitive industry. The model has been used to make forecasts of key variables describing the sector from 1986 to 2012, demand for paper would have the greatest impact on the amount of wood used. But the minimum recycled content policies envisaged currently would have no more effect than what will come about due to unregulated market forces.     

线性互补问题的阻尼牛顿法的有限终止性

在（２）中，Ｈａｒｋｅｒ和Ｐａｎｇ提出了如下一个公开问题，对于线性互补问题的阻尼牛顿算法，当它收敛时，算法是否能在有限步内终止？本文对此问题给出一个肯定回答，而且进一步给出一个新的求解一般线性互补问题的有限终止算法，这个算法避免了阻尼牛顿算法可能不收敛的情形。     

An infeasible-interior-point predictor-corrector algorithm for theP *-geometric LCP

AP _*-geometric linear complementarity problem (P _*GP) as a generalization of the monotone geometric linear complementarity problem is introduced. In particular, it contains the monotone standard linear complementarity problem and the horizontal linear complementarity problem. Linear and quadratic programming problems can be expressed in a “natural” way (i.e., without any change of variables) asP _*GP. It is shown that the algorithm of Mizunoet al. [6] can be extended to solve theP _*GP. The extended algorithm is globally convergent and its computational complexity depends on the quality of the starting points. The algorithm is quadratically convergent for problems having a strictly complementary solution. The work of F. A. Potra was supported in part by NSF Grant DMS 9305760     

Some recent and new results on the maximum entropy distribution

This letter concerns the maximum entropy (ME) distribution proposed by Theil and Laitinen (1980); it summarizes some of the results obtained with this distribution and its explores the conditioning of the ME covariance matrix as the number of variables increases.     

Finding an interior point in the optimal face of linear programs

We study the problem of finding a point in the relative interior of the optimal face of a linear program. We prove that in the worst case such a point can be obtained in O(n ³ L) arithmetic operations. This complexity is the same as the complexity for solving a linear program. We also show how to find such a point in practice. We report and discuss computational results obtained for the linear programming problems in the NETLIB test set.Research supported in part by NSF Grant CCR-8810107, CCR-9019469 and a grant from GTE Laboratories.Research supported in part by NSF Grant DDM-8922636 and NSF Coop. Agr. No. CCR-8809615 through Rice University.     

A relaxed version of Karmarkar's method

A relaxed version of Karmarkar's method is developed. This method is proved to have the same polynomial time complexity as Karmarkar's method and its efficient implementation using inexact projections is discussed. Computational results obtained using a preliminary implementation of the method are presented which indicate that the method is practicable.This research was supported in part by NSF Grants CDR 84-21402 and DMS-85-12277 and ONR Contract N00014-87-K-0214.     

A linear hyperbolic system and an optimal control problem

We prove a theorem of existence, uniqueness, and continuous dependence for a linear hyperbolic system with Darboux-type conditions under assumptions on the coefficients, which are in a sense the most general possible. Moreover, an application of this result to an optimal control problem is given.     

Extension of linear free energy relationships to multiple ionizations

The linear additivity of free energies of ionization of substituted acids relative to the unsubstituted parent acid is described in terms of the Hammett relationship and as the weighted sums of microscopic free energies for benzenetricarboxylic acids.