Inaccurate linear equation system with a restricted-rank error matrix

It is well-known that the solution set of an interval linear equation system is a union of convex polyhedra the number of which increases, in general, exponentially with the problem size. As a consequence, the problem of finding the interval hull of the solution set is NP-hard as J. Rohn and V. Kreinovich proved in [13]. The purpose of this paper is to show that the solution set analysis can be simplified substantially provided the rank of the error matrix is restricted even if the assumption of interval character of data errors is replaced by a more general one. Especially, in the case of a rank-one error matrix we have to look into at most two convex subsets. Besides, a dual approach to describing the solution set is discussed. The original version of this approach was suggested in [7].