Privacy-preserving linear programming

We propose a privacy-preserving formulation of a linear program whose constraint matrix is partitioned into groups of columns where each group of columns and its corresponding cost coefficient vector are owned by a distinct entity. Each entity is unwilling to share or make public its column group or cost coefficient vector. By employing a random matrix transformation we construct a linear program based on the privately held data without revealing that data or making it public. The privacy-preserving transformed linear program has the same minimum value as the original linear program. Component groups of the solution of the transformed problem can be decoded and made public only by the original group that owns the corresponding columns of the constraint matrix and can be combined to give an exact solution vector of the original linear program.     

Privacy-preserving vertically partitioned linear program with nonnegativity constraints

We propose a simple privacy-preserving reformulation of a linear program with inequality constraints and nonnegativity constraints. By employing two random matrix transformation we construct a secure linear program based on the privately held data without revealing that data. The secure linear program has the same minimum value as the original linear program. Component groups of the solution of the transformed problem can be decoded and made public only by the original group that owns the corresponding columns of the constraint matrix and can be combined to give an exact solution vector of the original linear program.     

非同类机极小化最大完工时间的保密排序问题

提出并研究了一类非同类机的极小化最大完工时间的保密排序问题Rm||Cmax.该问题的模型参数分为若干组,每个组都由一个不愿意共享或公开自己数据的单位所拥有.基于随机矩阵变换构造了一个不泄露私有数据且与原问题等价的安全规划模型,求解该安全模型可以获得问题的最优解,而且各单位的隐私数据仍然保持不被泄露.     

The expected number of extreme points of a random linear program

There has been increasing attention recently on average case algorithmic performance measures since worst case measures can be qualitatively quite different. An important characteristic of a linear program, relating to Simplex Method performance, is the number of vertices of the feasible region. We show 2 ⁿ to be an upper bound on the mean number of extreme points of a randomly generated feasible region with arbitrary probability distributions on the constraint matrix and right hand side vector. The only assumption made is that inequality directions are chosen independently in accordance with a series of independent fair coin tosses.We would like to thank the Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics in Rio de Janeiro for supporting the authors' collaboration that led to this paper.     

模糊线性系统的扰动分析

使用谱范数分析了模糊线性系统在三种情形下的扰动: (1)右端模糊向量有扰动, 系数矩阵不变; (2)系数矩阵有扰动,右端模糊向量不变; (3)系数矩阵和右端模糊向量都有扰动,并通过数值实例验证给出的扰动界的估计.     

Right preconditioned MINRES for singular systems†

We consider solving large sparse symmetric singular linear systems. We first introduce an algorithm for right preconditioned minimum residual (MINRES) and prove that its iterates converge to the preconditioner weighted least squares solution without breakdown for an arbitrary right‐hand‐side vector and an arbitrary initial vector even if the linear system is singular and inconsistent. For the special case when the system is consistent, we prove that the iterates converge to a min‐norm solution with respect to the preconditioner if the initial vector is in the range space of the right preconditioned coefficient matrix. Furthermore, we propose a right preconditioned MINRES using symmetric successive over‐relaxation (SSOR) with Eisenstat's trick. Some numerical experiments on semidefinite systems in electromagnetic analysis and so forth indicate that the method is efficient and robust. Finally, we show that the residual norm can be further reduced by restarting the iterations.     

Sensitivity analysis of mixed integer programs: An application to environmental policy making

We consider a class of mixed integer programs in which the concave objective function and the constraint matrix are held fixed while some of the right hand side (RHS) coefficients are varied. An efficient iterative algorithm is developed for performing the above sensitivity analysis. A practical application of this class of programs is encountered in environmental policy making and accordingly it is used in illustrating the operation of the algorithm.     

A completely positive representation of 0–1 linear programs with joint probabilistic constraints

In this paper, we study 0–1 linear programs with joint probabilistic constraints. The constraint matrix vector rows are assumed to be independent, and the coefficients to be normally distributed. Our main results show that this non-convex problem can be approximated by a convex completely positive problem. Moreover, we show that the optimal values of the latter converge to the optimal values of the original problem. Examples randomly generated highlight the efficiency of our approach.     

Towards a strongly polynomial algorithm for strictly convex quadratic programs: An extension of Tardos' algorithm

In a recent paper Tardos described a polynomial algorithm for solving linear programming problems in which the number of arithmetic steps depends only on the size of the numbers in the constraint matrix and is independent of the size of the numbers in the right hand side and the cost coefficients. In this paper we extend Tardos' results and present a polynomial algorithm for solving strictly convex quadratic programming problems in which the number of arithmetic steps is independent of the size of the numbers in the right hand side and the linear cost coefficients.This research was partially supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Grant 5-83998.     

Computing the integer programming gap

We determine the maximal gap between the optimal values of an integer program and its linear programming relaxation, where the matrix and cost function are fixed but the right hand side is unspecified. Our formula involves irreducible decomposition of monomial ideals. The gap can be computed in polynomial time when the dimension is fixed. Partially supported by the National Science Foundation (DMS-0200729).     

A polynomial algorithm for integer programming covering problems satisfying the integer round-up property

LetA be a non-negative matrix with integer entries and no zero column. The integer round-up property holds forA if for every integral vectorw the optimum objective value of the generalized covering problem min{1y: yA w, y 0 integer} is obtained by rounding up to the nearest integer the optimum objective value of the corresponding linear program. A polynomial time algorithm is presented that does the following: given any generalized covering problem with constraint matrixA and right hand side vectorw, the algorithm either finds an optimum solution vector for the covering problem or else it reveals that matrixA does not have the integer round-up property.     

用罚函数求解线性双层规划的全局优化方法

用罚函数法将线性双层规划转化为带罚函数子项的双线性规划问题，由于其全局最优解可在约束域的极点上找到，利用对偶理论给出了一种求解该双线性规划的方法，并证明当罚因子大于某一正数时，双线性规划的解就是原线性双层规划的全局最优解。     

Fractional knapsack problems

The fractional knapsack problem to obtain an integer solution that maximizes a linear fractional objective function under the constraint of one linear inequality is considered. A modification of the Dinkelbach's algorithm [3] is proposed to exploit the fact that good feasible solutions are easily obtained for both the fractional knapsack problem and the ordinary knapsack problem. An upper bound of the number of iterations is derived. In particular it is clarified how optimal solutions depend on the right hand side of the constraint; a fractional knapsack problem reduces to an ordinary knapsack problem if the right hand side exceeds a certain bound.     

Global optimization of polynomial-expressed nonlinear optimal control problems with semidefinite programming relaxation

In this paper, we propose a new deterministic global optimization method for solving nonlinear optimal control problems in which the constraint conditions of differential equations and the performance index are expressed as polynomials of the state and control functions. The nonlinear optimal control problem is transformed into a relaxed optimal control problem with linear constraint conditions of differential equations, a linear performance index, and a matrix inequality condition with semidefinite programming relaxation. In the process of introducing the relaxed optimal control problem, we discuss the duality theory of optimal control problems, polynomial expression of the approximated value function, and sum-of-squares representation of a non-negative polynomial. By solving the relaxed optimal control problem, we can obtain the approximated global optimal solutions of the control and state functions based on the degree of relaxation. Finally, the proposed global optimization method is explained, and its efficacy is proved using an example of its application.     

Solution to fuzzy system of linear equations with crisp coefficients

This paper presents a new and simple method to solve fuzzy real system of linear equations by solving two n × n crisp systems of linear equations. In an original system, the coefficient matrix is considered as real crisp, whereas an unknown variable vector and right hand side vector are considered as fuzzy. The general system is initially solved by adding and subtracting the left and right bounds of the vectors respectively. Then obtained solutions are used to get a final solution of the original system. The proposed method is used to solve five example problems. The results obtained are also compared with the known solutions and found to be in good agreement with them.     

The solution of linear systems by using the Sherman–Morrison formula

We consider the problem of solving the linear system Ax = b, where A is the coefficient matrix, b is the known right hand side vector and x is the solution vector to be determined. Let us suppose that A is a nonsingular square matrix, so that the linear system Ax = b is uniquely solvable.

The well known Sherman–Morrison formula, that gives the inverse of a rank-one perturbation of a matrix from the knowledge of the unperturbed inverse matrix, is used to compute the numerical solution of arbitrary linear systems, in fact it can be repetitively applied to invert an arbitrary matrix. We describe some interesting properties of the method proposed.

Finally we show some numerical results obtained with the method proposed.     

Two-stage stochastic problems with correlated normal variables: computational experiences

Two-stage models are frequently used when making decisions under the influence of randomness. The case of normally distributed right hand side vector – with independent or correlated components – is treated here. The expected recourse function is computed by an enhanced Monte Carlo integration technique. Successive regression approximation technique is used for computing the optimal solution of the problem. Computational issues of the algorithm are discussed, improvements are proposed and numerical results are presented for random right hand side and a random matrix in the second stage problems.     

A Parametric Quadratic Program to Solve A Class of Bicriteria Decision Problems

This paper presents an extension of Beale's Quadratic Programming Algorithm to perform parametric analysis on the right hand side element of a single constraint. Specific examples are given to illustrate the utilization of the method for a class of bi-criteria decision problems, where one of the criteria can be formulated as a quadratic function, such as risk, sum of squared deviations or a utility function, and the other one is usually a linear cost or return function which can be treated as a parametric constraint.     

The balanced linear programming problem

The Balanced Linear Programming Problem (BLPP) arises in situations which require equitable distribution of a scarce resource. The BLPP can be transformed to the standard form of the linear programming problem by introducing 2∥N∥ + 2 additional variables and 2∥N∥ additional constraints. This transformation is not desirable from the computational point of view for larger values of ∥N∥ as it increases the problem size substantially. It is also undesirable from a theoretical perspective as it might affect the special structure of the constraint matrix. In this paper, we develop an algorithm for the BLPP which does not require problem enlargement. The algorithm is based on the relationship between the BLPP and the minimax linear programming problem, and solving the latter problem parametrically. Our algorithm, in essence, performs steps that are similar to those performed in the parametric simplex method with parametric right hand side. We then adapt our algorithm for the network flow problem and this specialized algorithm can be applied on the network directly without maintaining the simplex tableau.     

Inverse Problems of Submodular Functions on Digraphs

In this paper, we study the inverse problem of submodular functions on digraphs. Given a feasible solution x* for a linear program generated by a submodular function defined on digraphs, we try to modify the coefficient vector c of the objective function, optimally and within bounds, such that x* becomes an optimal solution of the linear program. It is shown that the problem can be formulated as a combinatorial linear program and can be transformed further into a minimum cost circulation problem. Hence, it can be solved in strongly polynomial time. We also give a necessary and sufficient condition for the feasibility of the problem. Finally, we extend the discussion to the version of the inverse problem with multiple feasible solutions.