Improved modeling and solution methods for the multi-resource routing problem

This paper presents modeling and solution method improvements for the Multi-Resource Routing Problem (MRRP) with flexible tasks. The MRRP with flexible tasks is used to model routing and scheduling problems for intermodal drayage operations in which two resources (tractors and trailers) perform tasks to transport loaded and empty equipment. Tasks may be either well defined, in which both the origin and the destination of a movement are given, or flexible, in which the origin or the destination is chosen by the model. This paper proposes methods to effectively manage the number of options considered for flexible tasks (either feasible origins for a known destination or feasible destinations for a known origin). This modeling change generates sufficient options to allow for low-cost solutions while maintaining reasonable computational effort. We also propose a new solution method that uses randomized route generation. Computational results from test cases show that these changes improve the quality of solutions by at least 5% in the test cases as compared to methods from previous studies.     

Instability analysis of semiconductor injection lasers with saturable absorption and self-sustained pulsations on the centre manifold

The small-signal analysis of a simple model of three rate equations is performed rigorously by means of both the Routh-Hurwitz theorem and Descartes' sign rule, and the relationship between bistable behaviour and self-sustained pulsations (SSPs) is investigated. Because one eigenvalue of the Jacobian of the model system is always negative, small-amplitude, sinusoidal SSPs can be described in terms of Haken's dressed-mode variables on a two-dimensional centre manifold. Possible simplifications for the switching modelling are also mentioned.     

Empirical minimization

We investigate the behavior of the empirical minimization algorithm using various methods. We first analyze it by comparing the empirical, random, structure and the original one on the class, either in an additive sense, via the uniform law of large numbers, or in a multiplicative sense, using isomorphic coordinate projections. We then show that a direct analysis of the empirical minimization algorithm yields a significantly better bound, and that the estimates we obtain are essentially sharp. The method of proof we use is based on Talagrand's concentration inequality for empirical processes. Research partially supported by NSF under award DMS-0434393. Research partially supported by the Australian Research Council Discovery Porject DP0343616.     

A Linear Time Algorithm for Constructing Maximally Symmetric Straight Line Drawings of Triconnected Planar Graphs

Symmetry is one of the most important aesthetic criteria in graph drawing because it reveals structure in the graph. To draw graphs symmetrically, we employ two steps. The first step is to find appropriate automorphisms. The second step is to draw the graph to display the automorphisms. Our aim in this paper is to construct maximally symmetric straight line drawings of triconnected planar graphs in linear time. Previously known algorithms run in quadratic time. We show that an algorithm of Fontet can be used to find an embedding in the plane with the maximum number of symmetries, and present a new algorithm for finding a straight line drawing that achieves that maximum. Both algorithms run in linear time.     

On the Erlang Loss Model with Time Dependent Input

We consider the M(t)/M(t)/m/m queue, where the arrival rate λ(t) and service rate μ(t) are arbitrary (smooth) functions of time. Letting p_n(t) be the probability that n servers are occupied at time t (0≤ n≤ m, t > 0), we study this distribution asymptotically, for m→∞ with a comparably large arrival rate λ(t) = O(m) (with μ(t) = O(1)). We use singular perturbation techniques to solve the forward equation for p_n(t) asymptotically. Particular attention is paid to computing the mean number of occupied servers and the blocking probability p_m(t). The analysis involves several different space-time ranges, as well as different initial conditions (we assume that at t = 0 exactly n₀ servers are occupied, 0≤ n₀≤ m). Numerical studies back up the asymptotic analysis. AMS subject classification: 60K25,34E10 Supported in part by NSF grants DMS-99-71656 and DMS-02-02815