Adaptive learning and <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-best response sets

A product set of strategies is a p-best response set if for each agent it contains all best responses to any distribution placing at least probability p on his opponents’ profiles belonging to the product set. A p-best response set is minimal if it does not properly contain another p-best response set. We study a perturbed joint fictitious play process with bounded memory and sample and a perturbed independent fictitious play process as in Young (Econometrica 61:57–84, 1993). We show that in n-person games only strategies contained in the unique minimal p-best response set can be selected in the long run by both types of processes provided that the rate of perturbations and p are sufficiently low. For each process, an explicit bound of p is given and we analyze how this critical value evolves when n increases. Our results are robust to the degree of incompleteness of sampling relative to memory.     

Semidefinite approximations for quadratic programs over orthogonal matrices

Finding global optimum of a non-convex quadratic function is in general a very difficult task even when the feasible set is a polyhedron. We show that when the feasible set of a quadratic problem consists of orthogonal matrices from \mathbbR^n×k{\mathbb{R}^{n\times k}} , then we can transform it into a semidefinite program in matrices of order kn which has the same optimal value. This opens new possibilities to get good lower bounds for several problems from combinatorial optimization, like the Graph partitioning problem (GPP), the Quadratic assignment problem (QAP) etc. In particular we show how to improve significantly the well-known Donath-Hoffman eigenvalue lower bound for GPP by semidefinite programming. In the last part of the paper we show that the copositive strengthening of the semidefinite lower bounds for GPP and QAP yields the exact values.     

k-Best constrained bases of a matroid

We propose a method for finding a set ofk-best bases of an arbitrary matroid where the bases are required to satisfy additional partitionlike constraints. An application of this problem is discussed.Research partly supported by Sonderforschungsbereich 303 der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft and by the Austrian Science Foundation, Project P6004.     

Treatment of near-breakdown in the CGS algorithm

Lanczos' method for solving the system of linear equationsAx=b consists in constructing a sequence of vectors (x _k ) such thatr _k =b–Ax _k =P _k (A)r ₀ wherer ₀=b–Ax ₀.P _k is an orthogonal polynomial which is computed recursively. The conjugate gradient squared algorithm (CGS) consists in takingr _k =P _k ² (A)r₀. In the recurrence relation forP _k , the coefficients are given as ratios of scalar products. When a scalar product in a denominator is zero, then a breakdown occurs in the algorithm. When such a scalar product is close to zero, then rounding errors can seriously affect the algorithm, a situation known as near-breakdown. In this paper it is shown how to avoid near-breakdown in the CGS algorithm in order to obtain a more stable method.     

Extensive Testing of a Hybrid Genetic Algorithm for Solving Quadratic Assignment Problems

A robust search algorithm should ideally exhibit reasonable performance on a diverse and varied set of problems. In an earlier paper Lim et al. (Computational Optimization and Applications, vol. 15, no. 3, 2000), we outlined a class of hybrid genetic algorithms based on the k-gene exchange local search for solving the quadratic assignment problem (QAP). We follow up on our development of the algorithms by reporting in this paper the results of comprehensive testing of the hybrid genetic algorithms (GA) in solving QAP. Over a hundred instances of QAP benchmarks were tested using a standard set of parameters setting and the results are presented along with the results obtained using simple GA for comparisons. Results of our testing on all the benchmarks show that the hybrid GA can obtain good quality solutions of within 2.5% above the best-known solution for 98% of the instances of QAP benchmarks tested. The computation time is also reasonable. For all the instances tested, all except for one require computation time not exceeding one hour. The results will serve as a useful baseline for performance comparison against other algorithms using the QAP benchmarks as a basis for testing.     

The numerical evaluation of principal value integrals by finite-part integration

Summary We give a numerical formula for the evaluation of finite-part integrals of the form This method is very convenient for computational purposes since mere scalar products of certain weights and function values have to be calculated. Iff ^(2m-1) (s)=0,m=1,2, ..., [k/2],k>1 the above integral reduces to a generalized principal value integral.     

k-Independence and the k-residue of a graph

Favaron, Mahéo, and Saclé proved that the residue of a simple graph G is a lower bound on its independence number α (G). For k ∈ ℕ, a vertex set X in a graph is called k-independent, if the subgraph induced by X has maximum degree less than k. We prove that a generalization of the residue, the k-residue of a graph, yields a lower bound on the k-independence number. The new bound strengthens a bound of Caro and Tuza and improves all known bounds for some graphs. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 32: 241–249, 1999     

The kth upper and lower bases of primitive nonpowerful minimally strong signed digraphs

In this article, we study the kth upper and lower bases of primitive nonpowerful minimally strong signed digraphs. A bound on the kth upper bases for primitive nonpowerful minimally strong signed digraphs is obtained, and the equality case of the bound is characterized. For the kth lower bases, we obtain some bounds. For some cases, the bounds are best possible and the extremal signed digraphs are characterized. We also show that there exist ‘gaps’ in both the kth upper base set and the kth lower base set of primitive nonpowerful minimally strong signed digraphs.     

On Four-Connecting a Triconnected Graph

We consider the problem of finding a smallest set of edges whose addition four-connects a triconnected graph. This is a fundamental graph-theoretic problem that has applications in designing reliable networks and improving statistical database security. We present an O(n · α(m, n) + m)-time algorithm for four-connecting an undirected graph G that is triconnected by adding the smallest number of edges, where n and m are the number of vertices and edges in G, respectively, and α(m, n) is the inverse Ackermann function. This is the first polynomial time algorithm to solve this problem exactly.In deriving our algorithm, we present a new lower bound for the number of edges needed to four-connect a triconnected graph. The form of this lower bound is different from the form of the lower bound known for biconnectivity augmentation and triconnectivity augmentation. Our new lower bound applies for arbitrary k and gives a tighter lower bound than the one known earlier for the number of edges needed to k-connect a (k − 1)-connected graph. For k = 4, we show that this lower bound is tight by giving an efficient algorithm to find a set of edges whose size equals the new lower bound and whose addition four-connects the input triconnected graph.     

Improved lower bounds on k-independence

A vertex set Y in a (hyper)graph is called k-independent if in the sub(hyper)-graph induced by Y every vertex is incident to less than k edges. We prove a lower bound for the maximum cardinality of a k-independent set—in terms of degree sequences—which strengthens and generalizes several previously known results, including Turán's theorem.     

一种基于匈牙利算法的二次分配问题求解方法

二次分配问题(Quadratic assignment problem,QAP)属于NP-hard组合优化难题.二次分配问题的线性化及下界计算方法,是求解二次分配问题的重要途径.以Frieze-Yadegar线性化模型和Gilmore-Lawler下界为基础,详细论述了二次分配问题线性化模型的结构特征,并分析了Gilmore-Lawler下界值往往远离目标函数最优值的原因.在此基础上,提出一种基于匈牙利算法的二次分配问题对偶上升下界求解法.通过求解QAPLIB中的部分实例,说明了方法的有效和可行性.     

Algorithms for finding K-best perfect matchings

In the K-best perfect matching problem (KM) one wants to find K pairwise different, perfect matchings M₁,…,M_k such that w(M₁) ≥ w(M₂) ≥ ⋯ ≥ w(M_k) ≥ w(M), ∀M ≠ M₁, M₂,…, M_k. The procedure discussed in this paper is based on a binary partitioning of the matching solution space. We survey different algorithms to perform this partitioning. The best complexity bound of the resulting algorithms discussed is O(Kn³), where n is the number of nodes in the graph.     

A packing problem its application to Bose's families

We propose and study the following problem: given X ⊂ Z_n, construct a maximum packing of dev X (the development of X), i.e., a maximum set of pairwise disjoint translates of X. Such a packing is optimal when its size reaches the upper bound . In particular, it is perfect when its size is exactly equal to i.e. when it is a partition of Z_n. We apply the above problem for constructing Bose's families. A (q, k) Bose's family (BF) is a nonempty family F of subsets of the field GF(q) such that: (i) each member of F is a coset of the kth roots of unity for k odd (the union of a coset of the (k - 1)th roots of unity and zero for k even); (ii) the development of F, i.e., the incidence structure , is a semilinear space. A (q, k)-BF is optimal when its size reaches the upper bound . In particular, it is perfect when its size is exactly equal to ; in this case the (q, k)-BF is a (q, k, 1) difference family and its development is a linear space. If the set of (q, k)-BF's is not empty, there is a bijection preserving maximality, optimality, and perfectness between this set with the set of packings of dev X, where X is a suitable -subset of Z_n, for k odd, for k even. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The capacitated max k-cut problem

We consider a capacitated max k-cut problem in which a set of vertices is partitioned into k subsets. Each edge has a non-negative weight, and each subset has a possibly different capacity that imposes an upper bound on its size. The objective is to find a partition that maximizes the sum of edge weights across all pairs of vertices that lie in different subsets. We describe a local-search algorithm that obtains a solution with value no smaller than 1 − 1/k of the optimal solution value. This improves a previous bound of 1/2 for the max k-cut problem with fixed, though possibly different, sizes of subsets. We thank an anonymous referee for extensive and constructive comments. The first and second authors are grateful for the support provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.     

Partitions with certain intersection properties

Partitions of the n ‐element set are considered. A family of m such partitions is called an ( n, m, k )‐pamily, if there are two classes for any pair of partitions whose intersection has at least k elements, and any pair of elements is in the same class for at most two partitions. Let f ( n, k ) denote the maximum of m for which an ( n, m, k )‐pamily exist. A constructive lower bound is given for f ( n, k ), which is compared with the trivial upper bound. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Combin Designs 19:345‐354, 2011     

Solution of a covering problem related to labelled tournaments

Suppose we have a tournament with edges labelled so that the edges incident with any vertex have at most k distinct labels (and no vertex has outdegree 0). Let m be the minimal size of a subset of labels such that for any vertex there exists an outgoing edge labelled by one of the labels in the subset. It was known that m ≤ (^k+1₂) for any tournament. We show that this bound is almost best possible, by a probabilistic construction of tournaments with m = O(k²/log k). We give explicit tournaments with m = k^2−o(1). If the number of vertices is bounded by N < 2^k₁ we have a better upper bound of m = O(k log N), which is again almost optimal. We also consider a relaxation of this problem in which instead of the size of a subset of labels we minimize the total weight of a fractional set with analogous properties. In that case the optimal bound is 2k − 1. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Lagrangean relaxation for a lower bound to a set partitioning problem with side constraints: properties and algorithms

The problem (P) addressed here is a special set partitioning problem with two additional non-trivial constraints. A Lagrangean Relaxation (LR_u) is proposed to provide a lower bound to the optimal solution to this problem. This Lagrangean relaxation is accomplished by a subgradient optimization procedure which solves at each iteration a special 0–1 knapsack problem (KP-k). We give two procedures to solve (KP-k), namely an implicity enumeration algorithm and a column generation method. The approach is promising for it provides feasible integer solutions to the side constraints that will hopefully be optimal to most of the instances of the problem (P). Properties of the feasible solutions to (KP-k) are highlighted and it is shown that the linear programming relaxation to this problem has a worst case time bound of order O(n³).     

Bounds on the local bases of primitive nonpowerful nearly reducible sign patterns

In this work, we study the kth local base, which is a generalization of the base, of a primitive non-powerful nearly reducible sign pattern of order n ≥ 7. We obtain the sharp bound together with a complete characterization of the equality case, of the kth local bases for primitive non-powerful nearly reducible sign patterns. We also show that there exist “gaps” in the kth local base set of primitive non-powerful nearly reducible sign patterns.     

The union of minimal hitting sets: Parameterized combinatorial bounds and counting

A k-hitting set in a hypergraph is a set of at most k vertices that intersects all hyperedges. We study the union of all inclusion-minimal k-hitting sets in hypergraphs of rank r (where the rank is the maximum size of hyperedges). We show that this union is relevant for certain combinatorial inference problems and give worst-case bounds on its size, depending on r and k. For r=2 our result is tight, and for each r3 we have an asymptotically optimal bound and make progress regarding the constant factor. The exact worst-case size for r3 remains an open problem. We also propose an algorithm for counting all k-hitting sets in hypergraphs of rank r. Its asymptotic runtime matches the best one known for the much more special problem of finding one k-hitting set. The results are used for efficient counting of k-hitting sets that contain any particular vertex.     

On a generalization of distance sets

A subset X in the d-dimensional Euclidean space is called a k-distance set if there are exactly k distinct distances between two distinct points in X and a subset X is called a locally k-distance set if for any point x in X, there are at most k distinct distances between x and other points in X.Delsarte, Goethals, and Seidel gave the Fisher type upper bound for the cardinalities of k-distance sets on a sphere in 1977. In the same way, we are able to give the same bound for locally k-distance sets on a sphere. In the first part of this paper, we prove that if X is a locally k-distance set attaining the Fisher type upper bound, then determining a weight function w, (X,w) is a tight weighted spherical 2k-design. This result implies that locally k-distance sets attaining the Fisher type upper bound are k-distance sets. In the second part, we give a new absolute bound for the cardinalities of k-distance sets on a sphere. This upper bound is useful for k-distance sets for which the linear programming bound is not applicable. In the third part, we discuss about locally two-distance sets in Euclidean spaces. We give an upper bound for the cardinalities of locally two-distance sets in Euclidean spaces. Moreover, we prove that the existence of a spherical two-distance set in (d−1)-space which attains the Fisher type upper bound is equivalent to the existence of a locally two-distance set but not a two-distance set in d-space with more than d(d+1)/2 points. We also classify optimal (largest possible) locally two-distance sets for dimensions less than eight. In addition, we determine the maximum cardinalities of locally two-distance sets on a sphere for dimensions less than forty.