630 research outputs found
The Convex Hull Problem in Practice : Improving the Running Time of the Double Description Method
The double description method is a simple but widely used algorithm for computation of extreme points in polyhedral sets. One key aspect of its implementation is the question of how to efficiently test extreme points for adjacency. In this dissertation, two significant contributions related to adjacency testing are presented. First, the currently used data structures are revisited and various optimizations are proposed. Empirical evidence is provided to demonstrate their competitiveness. Second, a new adjacency test is introduced. It is a refinement of the well known algebraic test featuring a technique for avoiding redundant computations. Its correctness is formally proven. Its superiority in multiple degenerate scenarios is demonstrated through experimental results. Parallel computation is one further aspect of the double description method covered in this work. A recently introduced divide-and-conquer technique is revisited and considerable practical limitations are demonstrated
BSP-fields: An Exact Representation of Polygonal Objects by Differentiable Scalar Fields Based on Binary Space Partitioning
The problem considered in this work is to find a dimension independent algorithm for the generation of signed scalar fields exactly representing polygonal objects and satisfying the following requirements: the defining real function takes zero value exactly at the polygonal object boundary; no extra zero-value isosurfaces should be generated; C1 continuity of the function in the entire domain. The proposed algorithms are based on the binary space partitioning (BSP) of the object by the planes passing through the polygonal faces and are independent of the object genus, the number of disjoint components, and holes in the initial polygonal mesh. Several extensions to the basic algorithm are proposed to satisfy the selected optimization criteria. The generated BSP-fields allow for applying techniques of the function-based modeling to already existing legacy objects from CAD and computer animation areas, which is illustrated by several examples
Expansive Motions and the Polytope of Pointed Pseudo-Triangulations
We introduce the polytope of pointed pseudo-triangulations of a point set in
the plane, defined as the polytope of infinitesimal expansive motions of the
points subject to certain constraints on the increase of their distances. Its
1-skeleton is the graph whose vertices are the pointed pseudo-triangulations of
the point set and whose edges are flips of interior pseudo-triangulation edges.
For points in convex position we obtain a new realization of the
associahedron, i.e., a geometric representation of the set of triangulations of
an n-gon, or of the set of binary trees on n vertices, or of many other
combinatorial objects that are counted by the Catalan numbers. By considering
the 1-dimensional version of the polytope of constrained expansive motions we
obtain a second distinct realization of the associahedron as a perturbation of
the positive cell in a Coxeter arrangement.
Our methods produce as a by-product a new proof that every simple polygon or
polygonal arc in the plane has expansive motions, a key step in the proofs of
the Carpenter's Rule Theorem by Connelly, Demaine and Rote (2000) and by
Streinu (2000).Comment: 40 pages, 7 figures. Changes from v1: added some comments (specially
to the "Further remarks" in Section 5) + changed to final book format. This
version is to appear in "Discrete and Computational Geometry -- The
Goodman-Pollack Festschrift" (B. Aronov, S. Basu, J. Pach, M. Sharir, eds),
series "Algorithms and Combinatorics", Springer Verlag, Berli
A branch, price, and cut approach to solving the maximum weighted independent set problem
The maximum weight-independent set problem (MWISP) is one of the most
well-known and well-studied NP-hard problems in the field of combinatorial
optimization.
In the first part of the dissertation, I explore efficient branch-and-price (B&P)
approaches to solve MWISP exactly. B&P is a useful integer-programming tool for
solving NP-hard optimization problems. Specifically, I look at vertex- and edge-disjoint
decompositions of the underlying graph. MWISPâÂÂs on the resulting subgraphs are less
challenging, on average, to solve. I use the B&P framework to solve MWISP on the
original graph G using these specially constructed subproblems to generate columns. I
demonstrate that vertex-disjoint partitioning scheme gives an effective approach for
relatively sparse graphs. I also show that the edge-disjoint approach is less effective than
the vertex-disjoint scheme because the associated DWD reformulation of the latter
entails a slow rate of convergence.
In the second part of the dissertation, I address convergence properties associated
with Dantzig-Wolfe Decomposition (DWD). I discuss prevalent methods for improving the rate of convergence of DWD. I also implement specific methods in application to the
edge-disjoint B&P scheme and show that these methods improve the rate of
convergence.
In the third part of the dissertation, I focus on identifying new cut-generation
methods within the B&P framework. Such methods have not been explored in the
literature. I present two new methodologies for generating generic cutting planes within
the B&P framework. These techniques are not limited to MWISP and can be used in
general applications of B&P. The first methodology generates cuts by identifying faces
(facets) of subproblem polytopes and lifting associated inequalities; the second
methodology computes Lift-and-Project (L&P) cuts within B&P. I successfully
demonstrate the feasibility of both approaches and present preliminary computational
tests of each
Proto-Plasm: parallel language for adaptive and scalable modelling of biosystems
This paper discusses the design goals and the first developments of
Proto-Plasm, a novel computational environment to produce libraries
of executable, combinable and customizable computer models of natural and
synthetic biosystems, aiming to provide a supporting framework for predictive
understanding of structure and behaviour through multiscale geometric modelling
and multiphysics simulations. Admittedly, the Proto-Plasm platform is
still in its infancy. Its computational framework—language, model library,
integrated development environment and parallel engine—intends to provide
patient-specific computational modelling and simulation of organs and biosystem,
exploiting novel functionalities resulting from the symbolic combination of
parametrized models of parts at various scales. Proto-Plasm may define
the model equations, but it is currently focused on the symbolic description of
model geometry and on the parallel support of simulations. Conversely, CellML
and SBML could be viewed as defining the behavioural functions (the model
equations) to be used within a Proto-Plasm program. Here we exemplify
the basic functionalities of Proto-Plasm, by constructing a schematic
heart model. We also discuss multiscale issues with reference to the geometric
and physical modelling of neuromuscular junctions
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