A constraint hierarchies approach to geometric constraints on sketches

International audienceWe propose an approach that uses preferences on the constraints in order to deal with over-constrained geometric constraint problems. This approach employs constraint hierarchies, a paradigm that has close relations with the traditional graph-based approaches used in geometric constraint solving. We also remark that any geometric constraint problem defined by imposing relations on a sketch becomes overconstrained as soon as the sketch is imposed as a weak constraint representing the designers intents. As a result our method appears very appropriate in CAD/CAM tools

A combined sine-Gordon and modified Korteweg-de Vries hierarchy and its algebro-geometric solutions

We derive a zero-curvature formalism for a combined sine-Gordon (sG) and modified Korteweg-de Vries (mKdV) equation which yields a local sGmKdV hierarchy. In complete analogy to other completely integrable hierarchies of soliton equations, such as the KdV, AKNS, and Toda hierarchies, the sGmKdV hierarchy is recursively constructed by means of a fundamental polynomial formalism involving a spectral parameter. We further illustrate our approach by developing the basic algebro-geometric setting for the sGmKdV hierarchy, including Baker-Akhiezer functions, trace formulas, Dubrovin-type equations, and theta function representations for its algebro-geometric solutions. Although we mainly focus on sG-type equations, our formalism also yields the sinh-Gordon, elliptic sine-Gordon, elliptic sinh-Gordon, and Liouville-type equations combined with the mKdV hierarchy.Comment: LaTeX; emphasis put on the mKdV hierarch

Rounding Sum-of-Squares Relaxations

We present a general approach to rounding semidefinite programming relaxations obtained by the Sum-of-Squares method (Lasserre hierarchy). Our approach is based on using the connection between these relaxations and the Sum-of-Squares proof system to transform a *combining algorithm* -- an algorithm that maps a distribution over solutions into a (possibly weaker) solution -- into a *rounding algorithm* that maps a solution of the relaxation to a solution of the original problem. Using this approach, we obtain algorithms that yield improved results for natural variants of three well-known problems: 1) We give a quasipolynomial-time algorithm that approximates the maximum of a low degree multivariate polynomial with non-negative coefficients over the Euclidean unit sphere. Beyond being of interest in its own right, this is related to an open question in quantum information theory, and our techniques have already led to improved results in this area (Brand\~{a}o and Harrow, STOC '13). 2) We give a polynomial-time algorithm that, given a d dimensional subspace of R^n that (almost) contains the characteristic function of a set of size n/k, finds a vector $v$ in the subspace satisfying $|v|_4^4 > c(k/d^{1/3}) |v|_2^2$, where $|v|_p = (E_i v_i^p)^{1/p}$. Aside from being a natural relaxation, this is also motivated by a connection to the Small Set Expansion problem shown by Barak et al. (STOC 2012) and our results yield a certain improvement for that problem. 3) We use this notion of L_4 vs. L_2 sparsity to obtain a polynomial-time algorithm with substantially improved guarantees for recovering a planted $\mu$-sparse vector v in a random d-dimensional subspace of R^n. If v has mu n nonzero coordinates, we can recover it with high probability whenever $\mu < O(\min(1,n/d^2))$, improving for $d < n^{2/3}$ prior methods which intrinsically required $\mu < O(1/\sqrt(d))$

Knowledge-based support in Non-Destructive Testing for health monitoring of aircraft structures

Maintenance manuals include general methods and procedures for industrial maintenance and they contain information about principles of maintenance methods. Particularly, Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) methods are important for the detection of aeronautical defects and they can be used for various kinds of material and in different environments. Conventional non-destructive evaluation inspections are done at periodic maintenance checks. Usually, the list of tools used in a maintenance program is simply located in the introduction of manuals, without any precision as regards to their characteristics, except for a short description of the manufacturer and tasks in which they are employed. Improving the identification concepts of the maintenance tools is needed to manage the set of equipments and establish a system of equivalence: it is necessary to have a consistent maintenance conceptualization, flexible enough to fit all current equipment, but also all those likely to be added/used in the future. Our contribution is related to the formal specification of the system of functional equivalences that can facilitate the maintenance activities with means to determine whether a tool can be substituted for another by observing their key parameters in the identified characteristics. Reasoning mechanisms of conceptual graphs constitute the baseline elements to measure the fit or unfit between an equipment model and a maintenance activity model. Graph operations are used for processing answers to a query and this graph-based approach to the search method is in-line with the logical view of information retrieval. The methodology described supports knowledge formalization and capitalization of experienced NDT practitioners. As a result, it enables the selection of a NDT technique and outlines its capabilities with acceptable alternatives