26,998 research outputs found
A Computational Comparison of Optimization Methods for the Golomb Ruler Problem
The Golomb ruler problem is defined as follows: Given a positive integer n,
locate n marks on a ruler such that the distance between any two distinct pair
of marks are different from each other and the total length of the ruler is
minimized. The Golomb ruler problem has applications in information theory,
astronomy and communications, and it can be seen as a challenge for
combinatorial optimization algorithms. Although constructing high quality
rulers is well-studied, proving optimality is a far more challenging task. In
this paper, we provide a computational comparison of different optimization
paradigms, each using a different model (linear integer, constraint programming
and quadratic integer) to certify that a given Golomb ruler is optimal. We
propose several enhancements to improve the computational performance of each
method by exploring bound tightening, valid inequalities, cutting planes and
branching strategies. We conclude that a certain quadratic integer programming
model solved through a Benders decomposition and strengthened by two types of
valid inequalities performs the best in terms of solution time for small-sized
Golomb ruler problem instances. On the other hand, a constraint programming
model improved by range reduction and a particular branching strategy could
have more potential to solve larger size instances due to its promising
parallelization features
Using a conic bundle method to accelerate both phases of a quadratic convex reformulation
We present algorithm MIQCR-CB that is an advancement of method
MIQCR~(Billionnet, Elloumi and Lambert, 2012). MIQCR is a method for solving
mixed-integer quadratic programs and works in two phases: the first phase
determines an equivalent quadratic formulation with a convex objective function
by solving a semidefinite problem , and, in the second phase, the
equivalent formulation is solved by a standard solver. As the reformulation
relies on the solution of a large-scale semidefinite program, it is not
tractable by existing semidefinite solvers, already for medium sized problems.
To surmount this difficulty, we present in MIQCR-CB a subgradient algorithm
within a Lagrangian duality framework for solving that substantially
speeds up the first phase. Moreover, this algorithm leads to a reformulated
problem of smaller size than the one obtained by the original MIQCR method
which results in a shorter time for solving the second phase.
We present extensive computational results to show the efficiency of our
algorithm
- …