A probabilistic comparison of the strength of split, triangle, and quadrilateral cuts

We consider mixed integer linear sets defined by two equations involving two integer variables and any number of non-negative continuous variables. We analyze the benefit from adding a non-split inequality on top of the split closure. Applying a probabilistic model, we show that the importance of a type 2 triangle inequality decreases with decreasing lattice width, on average. Our results suggest that this is also true for type 3 triangle and quadrilateral inequalities.     

Two row mixed-integer cuts via lifting

Recently Andersen et al. [1], Borozan and Cornuéjols [6] and Cornuéjols and Margot [9] have characterized the extreme valid inequalities of a mixed integer set consisting of two equations with two free integer variables and non-negative continuous variables. These inequalities are either split cuts or intersection cuts derived using maximal lattice-free convex sets. In order to use these inequalities to obtain cuts from two rows of a general simplex tableau, one approach is to extend the system to include all possible non-negative integer variables (giving the two row mixed-integer infinite-group problem), and to develop lifting functions giving the coefficients of the integer variables in the corresponding inequalities. In this paper, we study the characteristics of these lifting functions. We show that there exists a unique lifting function that yields extreme inequalities when starting from a maximal lattice-free triangle with multiple integer points in the relative interior of one of its sides, or a maximal lattice-free triangle with integral vertices and one integer point in the relative interior of each side. In the other cases (maximal lattice-free triangles with one integer point in the relative interior of each side and non-integral vertices, and maximal lattice-free quadrilaterals), non-unique lifting functions may yield distinct extreme inequalities. For the latter family of triangles, we present sufficient conditions to yield an extreme inequality for the two row mixed-integer infinite-group problem.     

On mixed-integer sets with two integer variables

We show that every facet-defining inequality of the convex hull of a mixed-integer polyhedral set with two integer variables is a crooked cross cut (which we defined in 2010). We extend this result to show that crooked cross cuts give the convex hull of mixed-integer sets with more integer variables if the coefficients of the integer variables form a matrix of rank 2. We also present an alternative characterization of the crooked cross cut closure of mixed-integer sets similar to the one on the equivalence of different definitions of split cuts presented in Cook et al. (1990) [4]. This characterization implies that crooked cross cuts dominate the 2-branch split cuts defined by Li and Richard (2008) [8]. Finally, we extend our results to mixed-integer sets that are defined as the set of points (with some components being integral) inside a closed, bounded and convex set.     

Faces for a linear inequality in 0–1 variables

Given a linear inequality in 0–1 variables we attempt to obtain the faces of the integer hull of 0–1 feasible solutions. For the given inequality we specify how faces of a variety of lower-dimensional inequalities can be raised to give full-dimensional faces. In terms of a set, called a “strong cover”, we obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for any inequality with 0–1 coefficients to be a face, and characterize different forms that the integer hull must take. In general the suggested procedures fail to produce the complete integer hull. Special subclasses of inequalities for which all faces can be generated are demonstrated. These include the “matroidal” and “graphic” inequalities, where a count on the number of such inequalities is obtained, and inequalities where all faces can be derived from lower dimensional faces.     

Strong valid inequalities for orthogonal disjunctions and bilinear covering sets

In this paper, we derive a closed-form characterization of the convex hull of a generic nonlinear set, when this convex hull is completely determined by orthogonal restrictions of the original set. Although the tools used in this construction include disjunctive programming and convex extensions, our characterization does not introduce additional variables. We develop and apply a toolbox of results to check the technical assumptions under which this convexification tool can be employed. We demonstrate its applicability in integer programming by providing an alternate derivation of the split cut for mixed-integer polyhedral sets and finding the convex hull of certain mixed/pure-integer bilinear sets. We then extend the utility of the convexification tool to relaxing nonconvex inequalities, which are not naturally disjunctive, by providing sufficient conditions for establishing the convex extension property over the non-negative orthant. We illustrate the utility of this result by deriving the convex hull of a continuous bilinear covering set over the non-negative orthant. Although we illustrate our results primarily on bilinear covering sets, they also apply to more general polynomial covering sets for which they yield new tight relaxations.     

On the facets of the mixed–integer knapsack polyhedron

We study the mixed–integer knapsack polyhedron, that is, the convex hull of the mixed–integer set defined by an arbitrary linear inequality and the bounds on the variables. We describe facet–defining inequalities of this polyhedron that can be obtained through sequential lifting of inequalities containing a single integer variable. These inequalities strengthen and/or generalize known inequalities for several special cases. We report computational results on using the inequalities as cutting planes for mixed–integer programming.Supported, in part, by NSF grants DMII–0070127 and DMII–0218265.Mathematics Subject Classification (2000): 90C10, 90C11, 90C57     

The triangle closure is a polyhedron

Recently, cutting planes derived from maximal lattice-free convex sets have been studied intensively by the integer programming community. An important question in this research area has been to decide whether the closures associated with certain families of lattice-free sets are polyhedra. For a long time, the only result known was the celebrated theorem of Cook, Kannan and Schrijver who showed that the split closure is a polyhedron. Although some fairly general results were obtained by Andersen et al. (Math Oper Res 35(1):233–256, 2010) and Averkov (Discret Optimiz 9(4):209–215, 2012), some basic questions have remained unresolved. For example, maximal lattice-free triangles are the natural family to study beyond the family of splits and it has been a standing open problem to decide whether the triangle closure is a polyhedron. In this paper, we show that when the number of integer variables $m=2$ the triangle closure is indeed a polyhedron and its number of facets can be bounded by a polynomial in the size of the input data. The techniques of this proof are also used to give a refinement of necessary conditions for valid inequalities being facet-defining due to Cornuéjols and Margot (Math Program 120:429–456, 2009) and obtain polynomial complexity results about the mixed integer hull.     

A polyhedral study for the cubic formulation of the unconstrained traveling tournament problem

We consider the unconstrained traveling tournament problem, a sports timetabling problem that minimizes traveling of teams. Since its introduction about 20 years ago, most research was devoted to modeling and reformulation approaches. In this paper we carry out a polyhedral study for the cubic integer programming formulation by establishing the dimension of the integer hull as well as of faces induced by model inequalities. Moreover, we introduce a new class of inequalities and show that they are facet-defining. Finally, we evaluate the impact of these inequalities on the linear programming bounds.     

Lattice-free sets,multi-branch split disjunctions,and mixed-integer programming

In this paper we study the relationship between valid inequalities for mixed-integer sets, lattice-free sets associated with these inequalities and the multi-branch split cuts introduced by Li and Richard (Discret Optim 5:724–734, 2008). By analyzing $n$ -dimensional lattice-free sets, we prove that for every integer $n$ there exists a positive integer $t$ such that every facet-defining inequality of the convex hull of a mixed-integer polyhedral set with $n$ integer variables is a $t$ -branch split cut. We use this result to give a finite cutting-plane algorithm to solve mixed-integer programs. We also show that the minimum value $t$ , for which all facets of polyhedral mixed-integer sets with $n$ integer variables can be generated as $t$ -branch split cuts, grows exponentially with $n$ . In particular, when $n=3$ , we observe that not all facet-defining inequalities are 6-branch split cuts.     

Intersection cuts for convex mixed integer programs from translated cones

We develop a general framework for linear intersection cuts for convex integer programs with full-dimensional feasible regions by studying integer points of their translated tangent cones, generalizing the idea of Balas (1971). For proper (i.e, full-dimensional, closed, convex, pointed) translated cones with fractional vertices, we show that under certain mild conditions all intersection cuts are indeed valid for the integer hull, and a large class of valid inequalities for the integer hull are intersection cuts, computable via polyhedral approximations. We also give necessary conditions for a class of valid inequalities to be tangent halfspaces of the integer hull of proper translated cones. We also show that valid inequalities for non-pointed regular translated cones can be derived as intersection cuts for associated proper translated cones under some mild assumptions.     

n-step mingling inequalities: new facets for the mixed-integer knapsack set

The n-step mixed integer rounding (MIR) inequalities of Kianfar and Fathi (Math Program 120(2):313–346, 2009) are valid inequalities for the mixed-integer knapsack set that are derived by using periodic n-step MIR functions and define facets for group problems. The mingling and 2-step mingling inequalities of Atamtürk and Günlük (Math Program 123(2):315–338, 2010) are also derived based on MIR and they incorporate upper bounds on the integer variables. It has been shown that these inequalities are facet-defining for the mixed integer knapsack set under certain conditions and generalize several well-known valid inequalities. In this paper, we introduce new classes of valid inequalities for the mixed-integer knapsack set with bounded integer variables, which we call n-step mingling inequalities (for positive integer n). These inequalities incorporate upper bounds on integer variables into n-step MIR and, therefore, unify the concepts of n-step MIR and mingling in a single class of inequalities. Furthermore, we show that for each n, the n-step mingling inequality defines a facet for the mixed integer knapsack set under certain conditions. For n?=?2, we extend the results of Atamtürk and Günlük on facet-defining properties of 2-step mingling inequalities. For n ≥ 3, we present new facets for the mixed integer knapsack set. As a special case we also derive conditions under which the n-step MIR inequalities define facets for the mixed integer knapsack set. In addition, we show that n-step mingling can be used to generate new valid inequalities and facets based on covers and packs defined for mixed integer knapsack sets.     

Intersection cuts for single row corner relaxations

We consider the problem of generating inequalities that are valid for one-row relaxations of a simplex tableau, with the integrality constraints preserved for one or more non-basic variables. These relaxations are interesting because they can be used to generate cutting planes for general mixed-integer problems. We first consider the case of a single non-basic integer variable. This relaxation is related to a simple knapsack set with two integer variables and two continuous variables. We study its facial structure by rewriting it as a constrained two-row model, and prove that all its facets arise from a finite number of maximal \(\left( \mathbb {Z}\times \mathbb {Z}_+\right) \)-free splits and wedges. The resulting cuts generalize both MIR and 2-step MIR inequalities. Then, we describe an algorithm for enumerating all the maximal \(\left( \mathbb {Z}\times \mathbb {Z}_+\right) \)-free sets corresponding to facet-defining inequalities, and we provide an upper bound on the split rank of those inequalities. Finally, we run computational experiments to compare the strength of wedge cuts against MIR cuts. In our computations, we use the so-called trivial fill-in function to exploit the integrality of more non-basic variables. To that end, we present a practical algorithm for computing the coefficients of this lifting function.     

A polyhedral approach to the alldifferent system

This paper examines the facial structure of the convex hull of integer vectors satisfying a system of alldifferent predicates, also called an alldifferent system. The underlying analysis is based on a property, called inclusion, pertinent to such a system. For the alldifferent systems for which this property holds, we present two families of facet-defining inequalities, establish that they completely describe the convex hull and show that they can be separated in polynomial time. Consequently, the inclusion property characterises a group of alldifferent systems for which the linear optimization problem (i.e. the problem of optimizing a linear function over that system) can be solved in polynomial time. Furthermore, we establish that, for systems with three predicates, the inclusion property is also a necessary condition for the convex hull to be described by those two families of inequalities. For the alldifferent systems that do not possess that property, we establish another family of facet-defining inequalities and an accompanied polynomial-time separation algorithm. All the separation algorithms are incorporated within a cutting-plane scheme and computational experience on a set of randomly generated instances is reported. In concluding, we show that the pertinence of the inclusion property can be decided in polynomial time.     

A complete characterization of disjunctive conic cuts for mixed integer second order cone optimization

We study the convex hull of the intersection of a disjunctive set defined by parallel hyperplanes and the feasible set of a mixed integer second order cone optimization (MISOCO) problem. We extend our prior work on disjunctive conic cuts (DCCs), which has thus far been restricted to the case in which the intersection of the hyperplanes and the feasible set is bounded. Using a similar technique, we show that one can extend our previous results to the case in which that intersection is unbounded. We provide a complete characterization in closed form of the conic inequalities required to describe the convex hull when the hyperplanes defining the disjunction are parallel.     

Strengthening lattice-free cuts using non-negativity

In recent years there has been growing interest in generating valid inequalities for mixed-integer programs using sets with two or more constraints. In particular, Andersen et al. (2007) [2] and Borozan and Cornuéjols (2009) [3] have studied sets defined by equations that contain exactly one integer variable per row. The integer variables are not restricted in sign. Cutting planes based on this approach have already been computationally studied by Espinoza (2008) [8] for general mixed-integer problems, and there is ongoing computational research in this area.In this paper, we extend the model studied in the earlier papers and require the integer variables to be non-negative. We extend the results in [2] and [3] to our case, and show that cuts generated by their approach can be strengthened by using the non-negativity of the integer variables. In particular, it is possible to obtain cuts which have negative coefficients for some variables.     

Mingling: mixed-integer rounding with bounds

Mixed-integer rounding (MIR) is a simple, yet powerful procedure for generating valid inequalities for mixed-integer programs. When used as cutting planes, MIR inequalities are very effective for mixed-integer programming problems with unbounded integer variables. For problems with bounded integer variables, however, cutting planes based on lifting techniques appear to be more effective. This is not surprising as lifting techniques make explicit use of the bounds on variables, whereas the MIR procedure does not. In this paper we describe a simple procedure, which we call mingling, for incorporating variable bound information into MIR. By explicitly using the variable bounds, the mingling procedure leads to strong inequalities for mixed-integer sets with bounded variables. We show that facets of mixed-integer knapsack sets derived earlier by superadditive lifting techniques can be obtained by the mingling procedure. In particular, the mingling inequalities developed in this paper subsume the continuous cover and reverse continuous cover inequalities of Marchand and Wolsey (Math Program 85:15–33, 1999) as well as the continuous integer knapsack cover and pack inequalities of Atamtürk (Math Program 98:145–175, 2003; Ann Oper Res 139:21–38, 2005). In addition, mingling inequalities give a generalization of the two-step MIR inequalities of Dash and Günlük (Math Program 105:29–53, 2006) under some conditions.