An algorithm for the mixed-integer nonlinear bilevel programming problem

The bilevel programming problem (BLPP) is a two-person nonzero sum game in which play is sequential and cooperation is not permitted. In this paper, we examine a class of BLPPs where the leader controls a set of continuous and discrete variables and tries to minimize a convex nonlinear objective function. The follower's objective function is a convex quadratic in a continuous decision space. All constraints are assumed to be linear. A branch and bound algorithm is developed that finds global optima. The main purpose of this paper is to identify efficient branching rules, and to determine the computational burden of the numeric procedures. Extensive test results are reported. We close by showing that it is not readily possible to extend the algorithm to the more general case involving integer follower variables.This work was supported by a grant from the Advanced Research Program of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.     

Bilevel linear programming with ambiguous objective function of the follower

Bilevel linear optimization problems are the linear optimization problems with two sequential decision steps of the leader and the follower. In this paper, we focus on the ambiguity of coefficients of the follower in his objective function that hinder the leader from exactly calculating the rational response of the follower. Under the assumption that the follower’s possible range of the ambiguous coefficient vector is known as a certain convex polytope, the leader can deduce the possible set of rational responses of the follower. The leader further assumes that the follower’s response is the worst-case scenario to his objective function, and then makes a decision according to the maximin criteria. We thus formulate the bilevel linear optimization problem with ambiguous objective function of the follower as a special kind of three-level programming problem. In our formulation, we show that the optimal solution locates on the extreme point and propose a solution method based on the enumeration of possible rational responses of the follower. A numerical example is used to illustrate our proposed computational method.     

求解双层规划的多目标布谷鸟算法

双层规划是一类具有主从递阶结构的优化问题,属于NP-hard范畴。本文利用KKT条件将双层规划问题转化为等价的单层约束规划问题,通过约束处理技术进一步转化为带偏好双目标无约束优化问题,提出多目标布谷鸟算法求解策略。该算法采用Pareto支配和ε-个体比较准则,充分利用种群中优秀不可行解的信息指导搜索过程;设置外部档案集存储迭代过程中的优秀个体并通过高斯扰动改善外部档案集的质量,周期性替换群体中的劣势个体,引导种群不断向可行域或最优解逼近。数值实验及其参数分析验证了算法的有效性。     

Regularized parametric Kuhn-Tucker theorem in a Hilbert space

For a parametric convex programming problem in a Hilbert space with a strongly convex objective functional, a regularized Kuhn-Tucker theorem in nondifferential form is proved by the dual regularization method. The theorem states (in terms of minimizing sequences) that the solution to the convex programming problem can be approximated by minimizers of its regular Lagrangian (which means that the Lagrange multiplier for the objective functional is unity) with no assumptions made about the regularity of the optimization problem. Points approximating the solution are constructively specified. They are stable with respect to the errors in the initial data, which makes it possible to effectively use the regularized Kuhn-Tucker theorem for solving a broad class of inverse, optimization, and optimal control problems. The relation between this assertion and the differential properties of the value function (S-function) is established. The classical Kuhn-Tucker theorem in nondifferential form is contained in the above theorem as a particular case. A version of the regularized Kuhn-Tucker theorem for convex objective functionals is also considered.     

On bilevel programming,Part I: General nonlinear cases

This paper is concerned with general nonlinear nonconvex bilevel programming problems (BLPP). We derive necessary and sufficient conditions at a local solution and investigate the stability and sensitivity analysis at a local solution in the BLPP. We then explore an approach in which a bundle method is used in the upper-level problem with subgradient information from the lower-level problem. Two algorithms are proposed to solve the general nonlinear BLPP and are shown to converge to regular points of the BLPP under appropriate conditions. The theoretical analysis conducted in this paper seems to indicate that a sensitivity-based approach is rather promising for solving general nonlinear BLPP.This research is sponsored by the Office of Naval Research under contract N00014-89-J-1537.     

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.     

Linear bilevel multi-follower programming with independent followers

This paper considers a particular case of linear bilevel programming problems with one leader and multiple followers. In this model, the followers are independent, meaning that the objective function and the set of constraints of each follower only include the leader’s variables and his own variables. We prove that this problem can be reformulated into a linear bilevel problem with one leader and one follower by defining an adequate second level objective function and constraint region. In the second part of the paper we show that the results on the optimality of the linear bilevel problem with multiple independent followers presented in Shi et al. [The kth-best approach for linear bilevel multi-follower programming, J. Global Optim. 33, 563–578 (2005)] are based on a misconstruction of the inducible region.     

Single-level reformulations of a specific non-smooth bilevel programming problem and their applications

Optimization Letters - We study a bilevel programming problem (BLPP) with a maximin lower level problem which is non-smooth and sometimes even non-convex. We reformulate such a non-smooth BLPP as a...     

The nonlinear bilevel programming problem:formulations,regularity and optimality conditions

In this paper, we study regularity and optimality conditions for the BLPP by using a marginal function formulation, where the marginal function is defined by the optimal value function of the lower problem. We address the regularity issue by exploring the structure of the tangent cones of the feasible set of the BLPP. These regularity results indicate that the nonlinear/nonlinear BLPP is most likely degenerate and a class of nonlinear/linear BLPP is regular in the conventional sense. Existence of exact penalty function is proved for a class of nonlinear/linear BLPP. Fritz-John type optimality conditions are derived for nonlinear BLPP, while KKT type conditions are obtained for a class of nonlinear/linear BLPP in the framework of nonsmooth analysis. A typical example is examined for these conditions and some applications of these conditions are pointed out     

An exact procedure and LP formulations for the leader—follower location problem

The leader—follower location problem consists of determining an optimal strategy for two competing firms which make decisions sequentially. The leader optimisation problem is to minimise the maximum market share of the follower. The objective of the follower problem is to maximise its market share. We describe linear programming formulations for both problems and analyse the use of these formulations to solve the problems. We also propose an exact procedure based on an elimination process in a candidate list.     

Regularized optimization methods for convex MINLP problems

We propose regularized cutting-plane methods for solving mixed-integer nonlinear programming problems with nonsmooth convex objective and constraint functions. The given methods iteratively search for trial points in certain localizer sets, constructed by employing linearizations of the involved functions. New trial points can be chosen in several ways; for instance, by minimizing a regularized cutting-plane model if functions are costly. When dealing with hard-to-evaluate functions, the goal is to solve the optimization problem by performing as few function evaluations as possible. Numerical experiments comparing the proposed algorithms with classical methods in this area show the effectiveness of our approach.     

Some properties of the bilevel programming problem

The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on the difficulties accompanying the development of efficient algorithms for solving the bilevel programming problem (BLPP). We begin with a pair of examples showing that, even under the best of circumstances, solutions may not exist. This is followed by a proof that the BLPP is NP-hard.This work was partially supported by a grant from the Advanced Research Program of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.     

Continuous regularized variable-metric proximal minimization method

The article considers the variable-metric continuous proximal method for the convex programming problem. The convergence of the method is proved. The regularized version of the method is proposed for the case where the objective function and the feasible set are defined inexactly. A regularizing operator is constructed. Translated from Obratnye Zadachi Estestvoznaniya, Published by Moscow University, Moscow, 1997, pp. 39–47.     

A Stackelberg equilibrium for a missile procurement problem

This paper deals with a procurement problem of missiles involving the efficient assignment of the missiles to some targets. Within a fixed amount of budget, a leader purchases several types of missiles, by which he aims to damage as much value as possible a follower hides into some facilities later. The effectiveness of the missile depends on the type of missile and facility. A payoff of the game is the expected amount of destroyed value. The problem is generalized as a two-person zero-sum game of distributing discrete resources with a leader and a follower. Our problem is to derive a Stackelberg equilibrium for the game. This type of game has an abundance of applications. The problem is first formulated into an integer programming problem with a non-separable objective function of variables and it is further equivalently transformed into a maximin integer knapsack problem. We propose three exacts methods and an approximation method for an optimal solution.     

Upper bounds for objective functions of discrete competitive facility location problems

Under study is the problem of locating facilities when two competing companies successively open their facilities. Each client chooses an open facility according to his own preferences and return interests to the leader firm or to the follower firm. The problem is to locate the leader firm so as to realize the maximum profit (gain) subject to the responses of the follower company and the available preferences of clients. We give some formulations of the problems under consideration in the form of two-level integer linear programming problems and, equivalently, as pseudo-Boolean two-level programming problems. We suggest a method of constructing some upper bounds for the objective functions of the competitive facility location problems. Our algorithm consists in constructing an auxiliary pseudo-Boolean function, which we call an estimation function, and finding the minimum value of this function. For the special case of the competitive facility location problems on paths, we give polynomial-time algorithms for finding optimal solutions. Some results of computational experiments allow us to estimate the accuracy of calculating the upper bounds for the competitive location problems on paths.     

Parametric global optimisation for bilevel programming

We propose a global optimisation approach for the solution of various classes of bilevel programming problems (BLPP) based on recently developed parametric programming algorithms. We first describe how we can recast and solve the inner (follower’s) problem of the bilevel formulation as a multi-parametric programming problem, with parameters being the (unknown) variables of the outer (leader’s) problem. By inserting the obtained rational reaction sets in the upper level problem the overall problem is transformed into a set of independent quadratic, linear or mixed integer linear programming problems, which can be solved to global optimality. In particular, we solve bilevel quadratic and bilevel mixed integer linear problems, with or without right-hand-side uncertainty. A number of examples are presented to illustrate the steps and details of the proposed global optimisation strategy.     

带有限反馈下层的二层规划问题的部分合作模型

对下层最优反馈为离散有限多个的二层规划问题的部分合作模型进行探讨. 当下层的合作程度依赖于上层的决策变量时, 给出一个确定合作系数函数的一般方法, 进而得到一个新的部分合作模型. 在适当地假设下, 可保证所给的部分合作模型一定可以找到比悲观解要好的解, 并结合新的部分合作模型对原不适定问题进行分析, 得到了一些有益的结论. 最后以实际算例说明了所给部分合作模型的可行性.     

群零模正则化问题的等价Lipschitz优化模型

针对群零模正则化问题, 从零模函数的变分刻画入手, 将其等价地表示为带有 互补约束的数学规划问题(简称MPCC问题), 然后证明将互补约束直接罚到MPCC的目标函数而得到的罚问题是MPCC问题的全局精确罚. 此精确罚问题的目标函数不仅在可行集上全局Lipschitz连续而且还具有满意的双线性结构, 为设计群零模正则化问题的序列凸松弛算法提供了满意的等价Lipschitz优化模型.     

The computational complexity of bilevel assignment problems

In bilevel optimization problems there are two decision makers, the leader and the follower, who act in a hierarchy. Each decision maker has his own objective function, but there are common constraints. This paper deals with bilevel assignment problems where each decision maker controls a subset of edges and each edge has a leader’s and a follower’s weight. The edges selected by the leader and by the follower need to form a perfect matching. The task is to determine which edges the leader should choose such that his objective value which depends on the follower’s optimal reaction is maximized. We consider sum- and bottleneck objective functions for the leader and follower. Moreover, if not all optimal reactions of the follower lead to the same leader’s objective value, then the follower either chooses an optimal reaction which is best (optimistic rule) or worst (pessimistic rule) for the leader. We show that all the variants arising if the leader’s and follower’s objective functions are sum or bottleneck functions are NP-hard if the pessimistic rule is applied. In case of the optimistic rule the problem is shown to be NP-hard if at least one of the decision makers has a sum objective function.     

下层独立的一主多从双层随机线性规划问题研究

Herminia I.Calvete等研究了一主多从双层确定性线性规划问题,证明了这类问题等价于一类常规的双层线性规划问题.本文在此基础上,推广确定型的问题到随机型优化情况,考虑了一类下层优化相互独立的一主多从双层随机优化问题(SLBMFP).在特定的随机变量分布条件下,理论上证明了该类问题可以转化为一主一从双层确定性优化问题.本文的研究对于求解一主多从双层随机优化模型,解决此类模型在实际应用中的问题具有一定的意义.