Unboundedness in reverse convex and concave integer programming

In this paper we are concerned with the problem of unboundedness and existence of an optimal solution in reverse convex and concave integer optimization problems. In particular, we present necessary and sufficient conditions for existence of an upper bound for a convex objective function defined over the feasible region contained in ${\mathbb{Z}^n}$ . The conditions for boundedness are provided in a form of an implementable algorithm, showing that for the considered class of functions, the integer programming problem is unbounded if and only if the associated continuous problem is unbounded. We also address the problem of boundedness in the global optimization problem of maximizing a convex function over a set of integers contained in a convex and unbounded region. It is shown in the paper that in both types of integer programming problems, the objective function is either unbounded from above, or it attains its maximum at a feasible integer point.     

A discrete dynamic convexized method for nonlinear integer programming

In this paper, we consider the box constrained nonlinear integer programming problem. We present an auxiliary function, which has the same discrete global minimizers as the problem. The minimization of the function using a discrete local search method can escape successfully from previously converged discrete local minimizers by taking increasing values of a parameter. We propose an algorithm to find a global minimizer of the box constrained nonlinear integer programming problem. The algorithm minimizes the auxiliary function from random initial points. We prove that the algorithm can converge asymptotically with probability one. Numerical experiments on a set of test problems show that the algorithm is efficient and robust.     

The analysis of the stability of some integer programming algorithms with respect to the objective function

In this paper we define the notion of the stability with respect to the objective function for a wide class of integer linear programming algorithms. We study the stability of some of them under small variations of coefficients in the objective function. We prove the existence of both stable and unstable versions of the L-class enumeration algorithms. We show that some branch and bound algorithms, as well as some decomposition algorithms with Benders cuts, are unstable. We propose a modification of the considered decomposition algorithms that makes the latter stable with respect to the objective function.     

On boundedness of (quasi-)convex integer optimization problems

In this paper we are concerned with the problem of boundedness and the existence of optimal solutions to the constrained integer optimization problem. We present necessary and sufficient conditions for boundedness of either a faithfully convex or quasi-convex polynomial function over the feasible set contained in , and defined by a system of faithfully convex inequality constraints and/or quasi-convex polynomial inequalities. The conditions for boundedness are provided in the form of an implementable algorithm, terminating after a finite number of iterations, showing that for the considered class of functions, the integer programming problem with nonempty feasible region is unbounded if and only if the associated continuous optimization problem is unbounded. We also prove that for a broad class of objective functions (which in particular includes polynomials with integer coefficients), an optimal solution set of the constrained integer problem is nonempty over any subset of .     

Optimising a nonlinear utility function in multi-objective integer programming

In this paper we develop an algorithm to optimise a nonlinear utility function of multiple objectives over the integer efficient set. Our approach is based on identifying and updating bounds on the individual objectives as well as the optimal utility value. This is done using already known solutions, linear programming relaxations, utility function inversion, and integer programming. We develop a general optimisation algorithm for use with k objectives, and we illustrate our approach using a tri-objective integer programming problem.     

The Euclidean Steiner tree problem in Rn: A mathematical programming formulation

A nonconvex mixed-integer programming formulation for the Euclidean Steiner Tree Problem (ESTP) in Rⁿ is presented. After obtaining separability between integer and continuous variables in the objective function, a Lagrange dual program is proposed. To solve this dual problem (and obtaining a lower bound for ESTP) we use subgradient techniques. In order to evaluate a subgradient at each iteration we have to solve three optimization problems, two in polynomial time, and one is a special convex nondifferentiable programming problem. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Optimal toll design: a lower bound framework for the asymmetric traveling salesman problem

We propose a framework of lower bounds for the asymmetric traveling salesman problem (TSP) based on approximating the dynamic programming formulation with different basis vector sets. We discuss how several well-known TSP lower bounds correspond to intuitive basis vector choices and give an economic interpretation wherein the salesman must pay tolls as he travels between cities. We then introduce an exact reformulation that generates a family of successively tighter lower bounds, all solvable in polynomial time. We show that the base member of this family yields a bound greater than or equal to the well-known Held-Karp bound, obtained by solving the linear programming relaxation of the TSP’s integer programming arc-based formulation.     

A new lower bound for the linear knapsack problem with general integer variables

It is well known that the linear knapsack problem with general integer variables (LKP) is NP-hard. In this paper we first introduce a special case of this problem and develop an O(n) algorithm to solve it. We then show how this algorithm can be used efficiently to obtain a lower bound for a general instance of LKP and prove that it is at least as good as the linear programming lower bound. We also present the results of a computational study that show that for certain classes of problems the proposed bound on average is tighter than other bounds proposed in the literature.     

A semidefinite programming method for integer convex quadratic minimization

We consider the NP-hard problem of minimizing a convex quadratic function over the integer lattice \({\mathbf{Z}}^n\). We present a simple semidefinite programming (SDP) relaxation for obtaining a nontrivial lower bound on the optimal value of the problem. By interpreting the solution to the SDP relaxation probabilistically, we obtain a randomized algorithm for finding good suboptimal solutions, and thus an upper bound on the optimal value. The effectiveness of the method is shown for numerical problem instances of various sizes.     

Generalized Lagrangian duality for nonconvex polynomial programs with polynomial multipliers

In this paper, under the existence of a certificate of nonnegativity of the objective function over the given constraint set, we present saddle-point global optimality conditions and a generalized Lagrangian duality theorem for (not necessarily convex) polynomial optimization problems, where the Lagrange multipliers are polynomials. We show that the nonnegativity certificate together with the archimedean condition guarantees that the values of the Lasserre hierarchy of semidefinite programming (SDP) relaxations of the primal polynomial problem converge asymptotically to the common primal–dual value. We then show that the known regularity conditions that guarantee finite convergence of the Lasserre hierarchy also ensure that the nonnegativity certificate holds and the values of the SDP relaxations converge finitely to the common primal–dual value. Finally, we provide classes of nonconvex polynomial optimization problems for which the Slater condition guarantees the required nonnegativity certificate and the common primal–dual value with constant multipliers and the dual problems can be reformulated as semidefinite programs. These classes include some separable polynomial programs and quadratic optimization problems with quadratic constraints that admit certain hidden convexity. We also give several numerical examples that illustrate our results.     

An Inhomogeneous Uncertainty Principle for Digital Low-Pass Filters

This article introduces an inhomogeneous uncertainty principle for digital lowpass filters. The measure for uncertainty is a product of two factors evaluating the frequency selectivity in comparison with the ideal filter and the effective length of the filter in the digital domain, respectively. We derive a sharp lower bound for this product in the class of filters with so-called finite effective length and show the absence of minimizers. We find necessary and certain sufficient conditions to identify minimizing sequences. When the class of filters is restricted to a given maximal length, we show the existence of an uncertainty minimizer. The uncertainty product of such minimizing filters approaches the unrestricted infimum as the filter length increases. We examine the asymptotics and explicitly construct a sequence of finite-length filters with the same asymptotics as the sequence of finite-length minimizers.     

一类特殊多项式整数规划问题的最优化算法

本文考虑了一类特殊的多项式整数规划问题。此类问题有很广泛的实际应用,并且是NP难问题。对于这类问题,最优性必要条件和最优性充分条件已经给出。我们在本文中将要利用这些最优性条件设计最优化算法。首 先,利用最优性必要条件,我们给出了一种新的局部优化算法。进而我们结合最优性充分条件、新的局部优化算法和辅助函数,设计了新的全局最优化算法。本文给出的算例展示出我们的算法是有效的和可靠的。     

A flow model based on polylinking system

We extend recent work on nonlinear optimal control problems with integer restrictions on some of the control functions (mixed-integer optimal control problems, MIOCP). We improve a theorem (Sager et?al. in Math Program 118(1): 109–149, 2009) that states that the solution of a relaxed and convexified problem can be approximated with arbitrary precision by a solution fulfilling the integer requirements. Unlike in previous publications the new proof avoids the usage of the Krein-Milman theorem, which is undesirable as it only states the existence of a solution that may switch infinitely often. We present a constructive way to obtain an integer solution with a guaranteed bound on the performance loss in polynomial time. We prove that this bound depends linearly on the control discretization grid. A numerical benchmark example illustrates the procedure. As a byproduct, we obtain an estimate of the Hausdorff distance between reachable sets. We improve the approximation order to linear grid size h instead of the previously known result with order ${\sqrt{h}}$ (H?ckl in Reachable sets, control sets and their computation, augsburger mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche schriften. Dr. Bernd Wi?ner, Augsburg, 1996). We are able to include a Special Ordered Set condition which will allow for a transfer of the results to a more general, multi-dimensional and nonlinear case compared to the Theorems in Pietrus and Veliov in (Syst Control Lett 58:395–399, 2009).     

An linear programming based lower bound for the simple assembly line balancing problem

The simple assembly line balancing problem is a classical integer programming problem in operations research. A set of tasks, each one being an indivisible amount of work requiring a number of time units, must be assigned to workstations without exceeding the cycle time. We present a new lower bound, namely the LP relaxation of an integer programming formulation based on Dantzig–Wolfe decomposition. We propose a column generation algorithm to solve the formulation. Therefore, we develop a branch-and-bound algorithm to exactly solve the pricing problem. We assess the quality of the lower bound by comparing it with other lower bounds and the best-known solution of the various instances from the literature. Computational results show that the lower bound is equal to the best-known objective function value for the majority of the instances. Moreover, the new LP based lower bound is able to prove optimality for an open problem.     

Equivalence of the generalized complementarity problem to differentiable unconstrained minimization

We consider an unconstrained minimization reformulation of the generalized complementarity problem (GCP). The merit function introduced here is differentiable and has the property that its global minimizers coincide with the solutions of GCP. Conditions for its stationary points to be global minimizers are given. Moreover, it is shown that the level sets of the merit function are bounded under suitable assumptions. We also show that the merit function provides global error bounds for GCP. These results are based on a condition which reduces to the condition of the uniform P-function when GCP is specialized to the nonlinear complementarity problem. This condition also turns out to be useful in proving the existence and uniqueness of a solution for GCP itself. Finally, we obtain as a byproduct an error bound result with the natural residual for GCP.We thank Jong-Shi Pang for his valuable comments on error bound results with the natural residual for the nonlinear complementarity problem. We are also grateful to the anonymous referees for some helpful comments. The research of the second author was supported in part by the Science Research Grant-in-Aid from the Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture, Japan.     

pth Power Lagrangian Method for Integer Programming

When does there exist an optimal generating Lagrangian multiplier vector (that generates an optimal solution of an integer programming problem in a Lagrangian relaxation formulation), and in cases of nonexistence, can we produce the existence in some other equivalent representation space? Under what conditions does there exist an optimal primal-dual pair in integer programming? This paper considers both questions. A theoretical characterization of the perturbation function in integer programming yields a new insight on the existence of an optimal generating Lagrangian multiplier vector, the existence of an optimal primal-dual pair, and the duality gap. The proposed pth power Lagrangian method convexifies the perturbation function and guarantees the existence of an optimal generating Lagrangian multiplier vector. A condition for the existence of an optimal primal-dual pair is given for the Lagrangian relaxation method to be successful in identifying an optimal solution of the primal problem via the maximization of the Lagrangian dual. The existence of an optimal primal-dual pair is assured for cases with a single Lagrangian constraint, while adopting the pth power Lagrangian method. This paper then shows that an integer programming problem with multiple constraints can be always converted into an equivalent form with a single surrogate constraint. Therefore, success of a dual search is guaranteed for a general class of finite integer programming problems with a prominent feature of a one-dimensional dual search.     

An Improved Lower Bound for the Multimedian Location Problem

We consider the problem of locating, on a network, n new facilities that interact with m existing facilities. In addition, pairs of new facilities interact. This problem, the multimedian location problem on a network, is known to be NP-hard. We give a new integer programming formulation of this problem, and show that its linear programming relaxation provides a lower bound that is superior to the bound provided by a previously published formulation. We also report results of computational testing with both formulations.     

Banach Spaces Admitting a Separating Polynomial and L P Spaces

 We prove that in a Banach space admitting a separating polynomial, each weakly null normalized sequence has a subsequence which is equivalent to the usual basis of some , p an even integer. We show that for each even integer p, the Schatten class admits a separating polynomial. For a space with a basis admitting a 4-homogeneous separating polynomial, we relate the unconditionality of the basis with the existence of certain type of polynomials defined in terms of infinite symmetric matrices. We find relations between the properties of the entries of these matrices and the geometrical structure of the space. Finally we study the existence of convex 4-homogeneous separating polynomials. Received 3 January 2001     

On some questions related to the Gauss conjecture for function fields

We show that, for any finite field Fq, there exist infinitely many real quadratic function fields over Fq such that the numerator of their zeta function is a separable polynomial. As pointed out by Anglès, this is a necessary condition for the existence, for any finite field Fq, of infinitely many real function fields over Fq with ideal class number one (the so-called Gauss conjecture for function fields). We also show conditionally the existence of infinitely many real quadratic function fields over Fq such that the numerator of their zeta function is an irreducible polynomial.     

Banach Spaces Admitting a Separating Polynomial and L P Spaces

 We prove that in a Banach space admitting a separating polynomial, each weakly null normalized sequence has a subsequence which is equivalent to the usual basis of some , p an even integer. We show that for each even integer p, the Schatten class admits a separating polynomial. For a space with a basis admitting a 4-homogeneous separating polynomial, we relate the unconditionality of the basis with the existence of certain type of polynomials defined in terms of infinite symmetric matrices. We find relations between the properties of the entries of these matrices and the geometrical structure of the space. Finally we study the existence of convex 4-homogeneous separating polynomials.