Strongly polynomial-time approximation for a class of bicriteria problems

Consider the following problem: given a ground set and two minimization objectives of the same type find a subset from a given subset-class that minimizes the first objective subject to a budget constraint on the second objective. Using Megiddo's parametric method we improve an earlier weakly polynomial time algorithm.     

Parametric Quintic-Spline Approach to the Solution of a System of Fourth-Order Boundary-Value Problems

In this paper, we use parametric quintic splines to derive some consistency relations which are then used to develop a numerical method for computing the solution of a system of fourth-order boundary-value problems associated with obstacle, unilateral, and contact problems. It is known that a class of variational inequalities related to contact problems in elastostatics can be characterized by a sequence of variational inequations, which are solved using some numerical method. Numerical evidence is presented to show the applicability and superiority of the new method over other collocation, finite difference, and spline methods.     

A closed-form representation of mixed-integer program value functions

We identify a class of formulas computable in polynomial time such that the functions defined by these formulas are precisely the value functions of mixed-integer programs with rational constraint coefficients.     

不确定非线性系统的鲁棒自适应控制器

在ｂａｃｋｓｔｅｐｐｉｎｇ程序中，把非线性自适应控制和鲁棒控制连接起来，为参数化的严格反馈系统在不确定性存在的情况下，建立了一种鲁棒自适应控制方案．非线性自适应控制被用来处理系统的线性参数化部分，而鲁棒控制通过引进非线性阻尼项被用来处理不确定性部分．与现有的方案不同，作者给出了非线性阻尼项的无限种选择，而不是仅仅一种选择．通过使用一种合适的选择，能够设计一个鲁棒自适应控制器．它不仅能够保证对不确定性的鲁棒性，而且能够使输出误差任意小，以及用较小的控制努力取得较好的性能．     

Noncollinear optical parametric amplification in lithium triborate seeded by a cw Ti:sapphire laser

Experimental investigations of a type-I noncollinear phase-matched optical parametric amplification based on lithium triborate, which was pumped by a 5-ns second-harmonic pulses from a Q-switched Nd:YAG, seeded by a cw Ti:sapphire laser at 800 nm, was presented. The experiments generated 2-ns signal output pulses at 800 nm, the maximum signal output pulse energy reached 19 μJ, the corresponding parametric gain was 44 dB. Furthermore, the experiments demonstrate that the 65 nm-FWHM parametric fluorescence gain spectrum could also be observed. A quantitative account of the ultrabroadband parametric fluorescence gain spectrum was given with our theory. The experimental measurements are in agreement with theoretical calculations.     

Determination of the optimal initial function and the parameters for nonlinear time-delay systems

This paper deals with dynamic systems described by nonlinear differential-difference equations of retarded type. The problem considered is to determine the initial function and certain system parameters which minimize a given cost functional. A computational method is presented and some convergence results are given. Numerical examples of linear and nonlinear systems are also included.     

Algorithms for flows with parametric capacities

We consider the problem of finding maximal flows with respect to capacities which are linear functions of a parametert [0,T]. Since this problem is a special case of a parametric linear program the classichorizontal approach can be applied in which optimal solutions are computed for successive subintervals of [0,T]. We discuss an alternative algorithm which approximates in each iteration the optimal solution for allt [0,T]. Thisvertical algorithm is a labeling type algorithm where the flow variables are piecewise linear functions. Flow augmentations are done alongconditional flow augmenting paths which can be found by modified path algorithms. The vertical algorithm can be used to solve the parametric flow problem optimally as well as to compute a good approximation for allt if the computation of the optimal solution turns out to be too time consuming.Partially supported by NSF Grants ECS-8412926 and INT-8521433, and NATO Grant RG 85/0240.     

Data loci in algebraic optimization

We consider parametric optimization problems from an algebraic viewpoint. The idea is to find all of the critical points of an objective function thereby determining a global optimum. For generic parameters (data) in the objective function the number of critical points remains constant. This number is known as the algebraic degree of an optimization problem. In this article, we go further by considering the inverse problem of finding parameters of the objective function so it gives rise to critical points exhibiting a special structure. For example if the critical point is in the singular locus, has some symmetry, or satisfies some other algebraic property. Our main result is a theorem describing such parameters.     

Parameterized approximations for the two-sided assortment optimization

We consider the problem faced by an online service platform that matches suppliers with consumers. Unlike traditional matching models, which treat them as passive participants, we allow both sides of the market to exercise their choices. To model this setting, we introduce a two-sided assortment optimization model wherein each participant's choice is modeled using a multinomial logit choice function, and the platform's objective is to maximize its expected revenue. We first show that the problem is NP-hard even when the number of suppliers is limited to two and provide a mixed-integer linear programming formulation. Next, we discuss two simple greedy heuristics and argue that these can lead to arbitrarily bad solutions. We then develop relaxations that provide upper and lower bounds and investigate the tightness of these relaxations by obtaining parametric approximation guarantees. Finally, we present numerical results on synthetic data demonstrating the practical utility of these relaxations.