Multiobjective routing problems

Summary Many network routing problems, particularly where the transportation of hazardous materials is involved, are multiobjective in nature; that is, it is desired to optimise not only physical path length but other features as well. Several such problems are defined here and a general framework for multiobjective routing problems is proposed. The notion of “efficient solution” is defined and it is demonstrated, by means of an example, that a problem may have very many solutions which are efficient. Next, potentially useful solution methods for multiobjective routing problems are discussed with emphasis being placed on the use of shortest/k-shortest path techniques. Finally, some directions for possible further research are indicated. Invited by B. Pelegrin     

On lower bounds for theL 2-Wasserstein metric in a Hilbert space

We provide two families of lower bounds for theL ²-Wasserstein metric in separable Hilbert spaces which depend on the basis chosen for the space. Then we focus on one of these families and we provide a necessary and sufficient condition for the supremum in it to be attained. In the finite dimensional case, we identify the basis which provides the most accurate lower bound in the family.Research partially supported by the Spanish DGICYT under grants PB91-0306-02-00, 01 and 02.     

Lower closure and existence theorems for optimal control problems with infinite horizon

Lower closure theorems are proved for optimal control problems governed by ordinary differential equations for which the interval of definition may be unbounded. One theorem assumes that Cesari's property (Q) holds. Two theorems are proved which do not require property (Q), but assume either a generalized Lipschitz condition or a bound on the controls in an appropriateL _p-space. An example shows that these hypotheses can hold without property (Q) holding.     

Common complements of two subspaces of a Hilbert space

In this paper we find a necessary and sufficient condition for two closed subspaces, and , of a Hilbert space to have a common complement, i.e. a subspace having trivial intersection with and and such that .Unlike the finite-dimensional case the condition is significantly more subtle than simple equalities of dimensions and codimensions, and non-trivial examples of subspaces without a common complement are possible.     

On the Existence of Solutions of Quasivariational Inclusion Problems

Quasivariational inclusion problems are formulated and sufficient conditions on the existence of solutions are shown. As special cases, we obtain several results on the existence of solutions of general vector ideal, proper, Pareto, weak quasioptimization problems, quasivariational inequalities, and vector quasiequilibrium problems. Further, we prove theorems on the existence for solutions of systems of these inclusions. As a corollary, we obtain an ideal minimax theorem concerning vector functions.     

Randomized on-line scheduling on three processors

We consider a randomized on-line scheduling problem where each job has to be scheduled on any of m identical processors. The objective is to minimize the expected makespan. We show that the competitive ratio of any randomized algorithm for m=3 processors must be strictly greater than .     

Upper Bounds for the Laplacian Graph Eigenvalues

We first apply non-negative matrix theory to the matrix K = D A, where D and A are the degree-diagonal and adjacency matrices of a graph G, respectively, to establish a relation on the largest Laplacian eigenvalue λ1 (G) of G and the spectral radius p(K) of K. And then by using this relation we present two upper bounds for λ1(G) and determine the extremal graphs which achieve the upper bounds.     

Selecting distances in arrangements of hyperplanes spanned by points

In this paper we consider a problem of distance selection in the arrangement of hyperplanes induced by n given points. Given a set of n points in d-dimensional space and a number k, , determine the hyperplane that is spanned by d points and at distance ranked by k from the origin. For the planar case we present an O(nlog²n) runtime algorithm using parametric search partly different from the usual approach [N. Megiddo, J. ACM 30 (1983) 852]. We establish a connection between this problem in 3-d and the well-known 3SUM problem using an auxiliary problem of counting the number of vertices in the arrangement of n planes that lie between two sheets of a hyperboloid. We show that the 3-d problem is almost 3SUM-hard and solve it by an O(n²log²n) runtime algorithm. We generalize these results to the d-dimensional (d4) space and consider also a problem of enumerating distances.     

The Two-Dimensional Finite Bin Packing Problem. Part II: New lower and upper bounds

This paper is the second of a two part series and describes new lower and upper bounds for a more general version of the Two-Dimensional Finite Bin Packing Problem (2BP) than the one considered in Part I (see Boschetti and Mingozzi 2002). With each item is associated an input parameter specifying if it has a fixed orientation or it can be rotated by . This problem contains as special cases the oriented and non-oriented 2BP. The new lower bound is based on the one described in Part I for the oriented 2BP. The computational results on the test problems derived from the literature show the effectiveness of the new proposed lower and upper bounds.