Randomized approximation of Sobolev embeddings, III

We continue the study of randomized approximation of embeddings between Sobolev spaces on the basis of function values. The source space is a Sobolev space with nonnegative smoothness order; the target space has negative smoothness order. The optimal order of approximation (in some cases only up to logarithmic factors) is determined. Extensions to Besov and Bessel potential spaces are given and a problem recently posed by Novak and Woźniakowski is partially solved. The results are applied to the complexity analysis of weak solution of elliptic PDE.     

A note on the MIR closure

In 1988, Nemhauser and Wolsey introduced the concept of MIR inequality for mixed integer linear programs. In 1998, Wolsey gave another definition of MIR inequalities. This note points out that the natural concepts of MIR closures derived from these two definitions are distinct. Dash, Günlük and Lodi made the same observation independently.     

Approximation algorithms for scheduling unrelated parallel machines

We consider the following scheduling problem. There arem parallel machines andn independent jobs. Each job is to be assigned to one of the machines. The processing of jobj on machinei requires timep _ij . The objective is to find a schedule that minimizes the makespan.Our main result is a polynomial algorithm which constructs a schedule that is guaranteed to be no longer than twice the optimum. We also present a polynomial approximation scheme for the case that the number of machines is fixed. Both approximation results are corollaries of a theorem about the relationship of a class of integer programming problems and their linear programming relaxations. In particular, we give a polynomial method to round the fractional extreme points of the linear program to integral points that nearly satisfy the constraints.In contrast to our main result, we prove that no polynomial algorithm can achieve a worst-case ratio less than 3/2 unlessP = NP. We finally obtain a complexity classification for all special cases with a fixed number of processing times.A preliminary version of this paper appeared in theProceedings of the 28th Annual IEEE Symposium on the Foundations of Computer Science (Computer Society Press of the IEEE, Washington, D.C., 1987) pp. 217–224.     

Variance reduction in sample approximations of stochastic programs

This paper studies the use of randomized Quasi-Monte Carlo methods (RQMC) in sample approximations of stochastic programs. In numerical integration, RQMC methods often substantially reduce the variance of sample approximations compared to Monte Carlo (MC). It seems thus natural to use RQMC methods in sample approximations of stochastic programs. It is shown, that RQMC methods produce epi-convergent approximations of the original problem. RQMC and MC methods are compared numerically in five different portfolio management models. In the tests, RQMC methods outperform MC sampling substantially reducing the sample variance and bias of optimal values in all the considered problems.     

A pseudo-empirical log-likelihood estimator using scrambled responses

In this paper, we propose an empirical log-likelihood estimator for estimating the population mean of a sensitive variable in the presence of an auxiliary variable. A new concept of conditional mean squared error of the empirical likelihood estimator is introduced. The proposed method is valid for simple random and without replacement sampling (SRSWOR) and could easily be extended for complex survey designs. The relative efficiency of the proposed pseudo-empirical log-likelihood estimator with respect to the usual, and to a recent estimator due to Diana and Perri (2009b), has been investigated through a simulation study.     

On the discrete-time Geo/G/1 queue with randomized vacations and at most J vacations

This paper examines a discrete-time Geo/G/1 queue, where the server may take at most J − 1 vacations after the essential vacation. In this system, messages arrive according to Bernoulli process and receive corresponding service immediately if the server is available upon arrival. When the server is busy or on vacation, arriving messages have to wait in the queue. After the messages in the queue are served exhaustively, the server leaves for the essential vacation. At the end of essential vacation, the server activates immediately to serve if there are messages waiting in the queue. Alternatively, the server may take another vacation with probability p or go into idle state with probability (1 − p) until the next message arrives. Such pattern continues until the number of vacations taken reaches J. This queueing system has potential applications in the packet-switched networks. By applying the generating function technique, some important performance measures are derived, which may be useful for network and software system engineers. A cost model, developed to determine the optimum values of p and J at a minimum cost, is also studied.     

Variant of Greedy Randomized Gauss-Seidel Method for Ridge Regression

The variants of randomized Kaczmarz and randomized Gauss-Seidel algorithms are two effective stochastic iterative methods for solving ridge regression problems. For solving ordinary least squares regression problems, the greedy randomized Gauss-Seidel (GRGS) algorithm always performs better than the randomized Gauss-Seidel algorithm (RGS) when the system is overdetermined. In this paper, inspired by the greedy modification technique of the GRGS algorithm, we extend the variant of the randomized Gauss-Seidel algorithm, obtaining a variant of greedy randomized Gauss-Seidel (VGRGS) algorithm for solving ridge regression problems. In addition, we propose a relaxed VGRGS algorithm and the corresponding convergence theorem is established. Numerical experiments show that our algorithms outperform the VRK-type and the VRGS algorithms when $m > n$.     

Operator geometric stable laws

Operator geometric stable laws are the weak limits of operator normed and centered geometric random sums of independent, identically distributed random vectors. They generalize operator stable laws and geometric stable laws. In this work we characterize operator geometric stable distributions, their divisibility and domains of attraction, and present their application to finance. Operator geometric stable laws are useful for modeling financial portfolios where the cumulative price change vectors are sums of a random number of small random shocks with heavy tails, and each component has a different tail index.     

Lifting,superadditivity, mixed integer rounding and single node flow sets revisited

In this survey we attempt to give a unified presentation of a variety of results on the lifting of valid inequalities, as well as a standard procedure combining mixed integer rounding with lifting for the development of strong valid inequalities for knapsack and single node flow sets. Our hope is that the latter can be used in practice to generate cutting planes for mixed integer programs. The survey contains essentially two parts. In the first we present lifting in a very general way, emphasizing superadditive lifting which allows one to lift simultaneously different sets of variables. In the second, our procedure for generating strong valid inequalities consists of reduction to a knapsack set with a single continuous variable, construction of a mixed integer rounding inequality, and superadditive lifting. It is applied to several generalizations of the 0–1 single node flow set. This paper appeared in 4OR, 1, 173–208 (2003). The first author is supported by the FNRS as a chercheur qualifié. This paper presents research results of the Belgian Program on Interuniversity Poles of Attraction initiated by the Belgian State, Prime Minister’s Office, Science Policy Programming. The scientific responsibility is assumed by the authors.     

Approximation characteristics for diagonal operators in different computational settings

First we study several extremal problems on minimax, and prove that they are equivalent. Then we connect this result with the exact values of some approximation characteristics of diagonal operators in different settings, such as the best n-term approximation, the linear average and stochastic n-widths, and the Kolmogorov and linear n-widths. Most of these exact values were known before, but in terms of equivalence of these extremal problems, we present a unified approach to give them a direct proof.