Competitive Analysis for the On-line Truck Transportation Problem

In this paper, the on-line k-truck transportation problem (k-OLTTP) whose objects are to be transported between the vertices of a given graph on which there are k mobile trucks to be scheduled is proposed. It is motivated by the research concerning on-line k-truck problem and on-line transportation problem. The goal is to minimize the makespan which is consumed to complete some on-line request sequence. Some preliminary knowledge is introduced and the model of k-OLTTP is established firstly. Two versions of a special case of k-OLTTP, namely 1-OLTTP, have been studied and some results are obtained. For the first version, Open-1-OLTTP, a lower bound of competitive ratio 2 is presented and two optimal on-line algorithms, Reschedule Strategy (RS) and Lay Over Strategy (LOS) respectively, are analyzed. For the second version, Close-1-OLTTP, a lower bound of competitive ratio , where θ is the ratio between the time consumed by the loaded truck and the empty truck to travel the same distance, is also developed and on-line algorithms RS and LOS are proved to have competitive ratio 2. Finally, some interesting remarks concerning OLTTP and its future research are discussed.     

两台可拒绝同型机半在线排序问题

本文讨论一个两台可拒绝同型机半在线排序问题.当工件到达时,可以被拒绝,但要付出一定的罚值,也可以被接收加工,消耗一定的加工时间.其目标是要使所有加工工件生成的makespan和被拒绝工件的总罚值之和最小.加工不允许中断.进一步,机器带有两个并行处理子系统,可以提供两种排序方案,最后选取较好的一种.这是第一个在可拒绝同型机排序模型中使用半在线信息,我们设计出一个近似算法,其竞争比为3/2,另外又给出一个√3+1/2≈1.366的下界.     

Circular permutation graph family with applications

In a circular permutation diagram, there are two sets of terminals on two concentric circles: C_in and C_out. Given a permutation Π = [π₁, π₂, …, π_n], terminal i on C_in and terminal π_i on C_out are connected by a wire. The intersection graph G_c of a circular permutation diagram D_c is called a circular permutation graph of a permutation Π corresponding to the diagram D_c. The set of all circular permutation graphs of a permutation Π is called the circular permutation graph family of permutation Π. In this paper, we propose the following: (1) an O(V + E) time algorithm to check if a labeled graph G = (V, E) is a labeled circular permutation graph. (2) An O(n log n + nt) time algorithm to find a maximum independent set of a family, where n = Π and t is the cardinality of the output. (Number t in the worst case is O(n). However, if Π is uniformly distributed (and independent from i), its expected value is O(√n).) (3) An O(min(δV_clog logV_c,V_clogV_c) + E_c) time algorithm for finding a maximum independent set of a circular permutation diagram D_c, where δ is the minimum degree of vertices in the intersection graph G_c = (V_c,E_c) of D_c. (4) An O(n log log n) time algorithm for finding a maximum clique and the chromatic number of a circular permutation diagram, where n is the number of wires in the diagram.     

The on-line asymmetric traveling salesman problem

We consider two on-line versions of the asymmetric traveling salesman problem with triangle inequality. For the homing version, in which the salesman is required to return in the city where it started from, we give a $\frac{3+\sqrt{5}}{2}$-competitive algorithm and prove that this is best possible. For the nomadic version, the on-line analogue of the shortest asymmetric Hamiltonian path problem, we show that the competitive ratio of any on-line algorithm depends on the amount of asymmetry of the space in which the salesman moves. We also give bounds on the competitive ratio of on-line algorithms that are zealous, that is, in which the salesman cannot stay idle when some city can be served.     

双人合作的在线雪橇租赁问题

以往的文献只研究了单人雪橇租赁问题,本文将雪橇租赁问题扩展到了双人合作情形.研究了两个在线决策者的合作博弈模型,给出了TBS策略和BCS策略,并求出了双方收益分配的纳什均衡解.结论显示,TBS策略具有最小竞争比,但基于该策略的合作却不稳定,需要契约维持;BCS策略不具有最小竞争比,却是占优策略,基于该策略的合作是稳定的。因此存在合作可能的情况下,选择BCS策略的合作总比非合作要好。文章第4节详细的比较了TBS策略和BCS策略。   此外,文章还得到了一个有意思的发现,随着参与人的增加,竞争比是有可能不上升的.这一发现与经典的在线问题(如k-server问题)的结论不一样,在k-server问题中,随着参与者(服务器)的增加,竞争比会呈线性提高》。     

Uniqueness implies existence for three-point boundary value problems for dynamic equations

Shooting methods are used to obtain solutions of the three-point boundary value problem for the second-order dynamic equation, y^ΔΔ = f (x, y, y^Δ), y(x₁) = y₁, y(x₃) − y(x₂) = y₂, where f : (a, b)_T × ² → is continuous, x₁ < x₂ < x₃ in (a, b)_T, y₁, y₂ ε , and T is a time scale. It is assumed such solutions are unique when they exist.     

On the on-line chromatic number of the family of on-line 3-chromatic graphs

Let the family OL(3) contain all graphs which can be colored on-line with 3 colors. Gyárfás and Lehel suggested the problem of determining the on-line chromatic number χ^*(OL(3)) of OL(3). They showed that 4 χ^*(OL(3)) 16. We present an algorithm that colors every on-line-3-chromatic graph with 4 colors. Thus χ^*(OL(3)) = 4.     

Multiplicity results on a nonlinear biharmonic equation

Let ω be a bounded open set in Rn with smooth boundary ω We are concerned with a fourth order semilinear elliptic boundary value problem Δ²u + cΔu = bu⁺ + s inω under Dirichlet boundary condition. We investigate the existence of solutions of the fourth order nonlinear equation (0.1) when the nonlinearity bu⁺ crosses eigenvalues of Δ² + cΔ under Dirichlet boundary condition.     

Online time-constrained scheduling in linear and ring networks

We consider the problem of scheduling a sequence of packets over a linear network, where every packet has a source and a target, as well as a release time and a deadline by which it must arrive at its target. The model we consider is bufferless, where packets are not allowed to be buffered in nodes along their paths other than at their source. This model applies to optical networks where opto-electronic conversion is costly, and packets mostly travel through bufferless hops. The offline version of this problem was previously studied in M. Adler et al. (2002) [3]. In this paper we study the online version of the problem, where we are required to schedule the packets without knowledge of future packet arrivals. We use competitive analysis to evaluate the performance of our algorithms. We present the first online algorithms for several versions of the problem. For the problem of throughput maximization, where all packets have uniform weights, we give an algorithm with a logarithmic competitive ratio, and present some lower bounds. For other weight functions, we show algorithms that achieve optimal competitive ratios.     

On-line steiner trees in the Euclidean plane

Suppose we are given a sequence ofn points in the Euclidean plane, and our objective is to construct, on-line, a connected graph that connects all of them, trying to minimize the total sum of lengths of its edges. The points appear one at a time, and at each step the on-line algorithm must construct a connected graph that contains all current points by connecting the new point to the previously constructed graph. This can be done by joining the new point (not necessarily by a straight line) to any point of the previous graph (not necessarily one of the given points). The performance of our algorithm is measured by its competitive ratio: the supremum, over all sequences of points, of the ratio between the total length of the graph constructed by our algorithm and the total length of the best Steiner tree that connects all the points. There are known on-line algorithms whose competitive ratio isO(logn) even for all metric spaces, but the only lower bound known is of [IW] for some contrived discrete metric space. Moreover, for the plane, on-line algorithms could have been more powerful and achieve a better competitive ratio, and no nontrivial lower bounds for the best possible competitive ratio were known. Here we prove an almost tight lower bound of Ω(logn/log logn) for the competitive ratio of any on-line algorithm. The lower bound holds for deterministic algorithms as well as for randomized ones, and obviously holds in any Euclidean space of dimension greater than 2 as well. Noga Alon was supported in part by a USA-Israeli BSF grant.     

On-line construction of the upper envelope of triangles and surface patches in three dimensions

In this paper, we describe a randomized incremental algorithm for computing the upper envelope (i.e., the pointwise maximum) of a set of n triangles in three dimensions. This algorithm is an on-line algorithm. It is structure-sensitive: the expected cost of inserting the n-th triangle is O(log nΣ_r=1ⁿτ(r)/r²) and depends on the expected size τ(r) of an intermediate result for r triangles. Since τ(r) can be Θ(r²(r)) in the worst case, this cost is bounded in the worst case by O(n(n) log n). (The expected behaviour is analyzed by averaging over all possible orderings of the input.) The main new characteristics is the use of a two-level history graph. (The history graph is an auxiliary data structure maintained by randomized incremental algorithms.) Our algorithm is fairly simple and appears to be efficient in practice. It extends to surfaces and surface patches of fixed maximum algebraic degree.     

Air traverse time in grain bins

To maintain the quality of cereal grains during storage, it is necessary to keep the grain cool and free from insects, and typical methods for dealing with these problems are considered in this paper. In particular the insect population is controlled by fumigating the grain bed with carbon dioxide gas and the grain is cooled by forcing ambient air through the bed. In both problems, the equations which describe the physical processes contain a mixture of advection and diffusion or conduction terms. This paper explores the relationship between traverse time and heat and mass transfer and gains an insight into the grain storage processes that are controlled by forced convection. When heat and mass transport is dominated by the advection terms, the equations are simplified by changing variables from the (x,y) space coordinates to (ψ,τ), where ψ is the stream function for the problem and the traverse time τ at a point in the storage bin is the time taken for the air to travel to the point from the inlet duct. The conditions are described for the equations to be independent of ψ, with the main condition being that the derivatives of the metrics g₁₁, g₁₂ and g₂₂ with respect to ψ are small enough. If the equations are independent of ψ then the dependent variable (concentration or temperature) will be constant on lines of constant traverse time τ. This relationship between traverse time and the cooling or fumigation pattern can be used in the design of storage bins since it implies that the best outlet surface is a line of constant τ.     

Optimal on-line colorings for minimizing the number of ADMs in optical networks

We consider the problem of minimizing the number of ADMs in optical networks. All previous theoretical studies of this problem dealt with the off-line case, where all the lightpaths are given in advance. In a real-life situation, the requests (lightpaths) arrive at the network on-line, and we have to assign them wavelengths so as to minimize the switching cost. This study is thus of great importance in the theory of optical networks. We present a deterministic on-line algorithm for the problem, and show its competitive ratio to be $\frac{7}{4}$. We show that this result is best possible in general. Moreover, we show that even for the ring topology network there is no on-line algorithm with competitive ratio better than $\frac{7}{4}$. We show that on path topology the competitive ratio of the algorithm is $\frac{3}{2}$. This is optimal for in this topology. The lower bound on ring topology does not hold when the ring is of bounded size. We analyze the triangle topology and show a tight bound of $\frac{5}{3}$ for it. The analyses of the upper bounds, as well as those for the lower bounds, are all using a variety of proof techniques, which are of interest by their own, and which might prove helpful in future research on the topic.     

带机器准备时间的平行机在线与半在线排序

本文研究带机器准备时间的m台平行机系统在线和半在线排序问题.对在线排序问题,我们证明了LS算法的最坏情况界为2-1/m.对已知工件加工时间递减,已知总加工时间和已知工件最大加工时间三个半在线模型,我们分析了它们的下界和所给算法的最坏情况界.对其中两台机情形均得到了最好近似算怯。     

Graphs whose acyclic graphoidal covering number is one less than its maximum degree

An acyclic graphoidal cover of a graph G is a collection ψ of paths in G such that every path in ψ has at least two vertices, every vertex of G is an internal vertex of at most one path in ψ and every edge of G is in exactly one path in ψ. The minimum cardinality of an acyclic graphoidal cover of G is called the acyclic graphoidal covering number of G and is denoted by η_a. In this paper we characterize the class of graphs G for which η_a=Δ−1 where Δ is the maximum degree of a vertex in G.     

带复合信息的三台平行机半在线排序问题

本文讨论在已知加工工件总长度(sum)以及机器带一个缓冲区(buffer)两个复合信息下的同型平行机半在线排序问题． Dosa和He研究了当机器数m=2时的情形,设计出竞争比为5／4的最优半在线算法．本文将其情况推广到三台机器,给出竞争比为4／3的半在线算法,并得到一个11／9的问题下界．     

Invariant record processes and applications to best choice modelling

Let X₁, X₂,…be identically distributed random variables from an unknown continuous distribution. Further let I_r(1), I_r(2),…be a sequence of indicator functions defined on X₁, X₂,…by I_r(k) = 0 if k < r, I_r(k) = 1 if X_k is a r-record AND = 0 otherwise. Suppose that we observe X₁, X₂,… at times T₁ < T₂ <… where the T_k's are realisations of some regular counting process (N(τ)) defined on the positive half-line. Having observed [0, τ], say, the problem is to predict the future behaviour of the counting processes (R_r(τ, s))_sτ = # r-records in [τ, s]. More specifically the objective of this paper is to show that these processes can be (inhomogeneous) Poisson processes even if (N(τ))_τ0 has dependent increments.

The strong link between optimal selection and optimal stopping of record sequences or record processes, perhaps not fully recognized so far, is pointed out in this paper. It is shown to lead to a unification of the treatment of problems which, at first sight, are rather different. Moreover the stopping of record processes in continuous time can lead to rigorous and elegant solutions in cases where dynamic programming is bound to fail. Several examples will be given to facilitate a comparison with other methods.     

具有特殊工件的平行机在线排序问题

本文研究一类具有特殊工件的平行机在线排序问题,目标是最小化最大完工时间.此模型有两种工件:正常工件和特殊工件.正常工件能够在m台平行机的任何一台机器上加工,而特殊工件仅能够在它唯一被指定的机器上加工.文中所有特殊工件的指定机器为M1.我们提供了竞争比为(2m2-2m 1)/(m2-m 1)的在线近似算法.当m=2时,算法是最好可能的.当m=3时,算法的竞争比为13/7≈1.857,并且提供了竞争比的下界(1 (平方根33))14≈1.686.     

ContributionsAcyclic graphoidal covers and path partitions in a graph

An acyclic graphoidal cover of a graph G is a collection ψ of paths in G such that every path in ψ has at least two vertices, every vertex of G is an internal vertex of at most one path in ψ and every edge of G is in exactly one path in ψ. The minimum cardinality of an acyclic graphoidal cover of G is called the acyclic graphoidal covering number of G and is denoted by η_a. A path partition of a graph G is a collection P of paths in G such that every edge of G is in exactly one path in P. The minimum cardinality of a path partition of G is called the path partition number of G and is denoted by π. In this paper we determine η_a and π for several classes of graphs and obtain a characterization of all graphs with Δ 4 and η_a = Δ − 1. We also obtain a characterization of all graphs for which η_a = π.