579 research outputs found
Bi-Criteria and Approximation Algorithms for Restricted Matchings
In this work we study approximation algorithms for the \textit{Bounded Color
Matching} problem (a.k.a. Restricted Matching problem) which is defined as
follows: given a graph in which each edge has a color and a profit
, we want to compute a maximum (cardinality or profit)
matching in which no more than edges of color are
present. This kind of problems, beside the theoretical interest on its own
right, emerges in multi-fiber optical networking systems, where we interpret
each unique wavelength that can travel through the fiber as a color class and
we would like to establish communication between pairs of systems. We study
approximation and bi-criteria algorithms for this problem which are based on
linear programming techniques and, in particular, on polyhedral
characterizations of the natural linear formulation of the problem. In our
setting, we allow violations of the bounds and we model our problem as a
bi-criteria problem: we have two objectives to optimize namely (a) to maximize
the profit (maximum matching) while (b) minimizing the violation of the color
bounds. We prove how we can "beat" the integrality gap of the natural linear
programming formulation of the problem by allowing only a slight violation of
the color bounds. In particular, our main result is \textit{constant}
approximation bounds for both criteria of the corresponding bi-criteria
optimization problem
Generalized roof duality and bisubmodular functions
Consider a convex relaxation of a pseudo-boolean function . We
say that the relaxation is {\em totally half-integral} if is a
polyhedral function with half-integral extreme points , and this property is
preserved after adding an arbitrary combination of constraints of the form
, , and where \gamma\in\{0, 1, 1/2} is a
constant. A well-known example is the {\em roof duality} relaxation for
quadratic pseudo-boolean functions . We argue that total half-integrality is
a natural requirement for generalizations of roof duality to arbitrary
pseudo-boolean functions. Our contributions are as follows. First, we provide a
complete characterization of totally half-integral relaxations by
establishing a one-to-one correspondence with {\em bisubmodular functions}.
Second, we give a new characterization of bisubmodular functions. Finally, we
show some relationships between general totally half-integral relaxations and
relaxations based on the roof duality.Comment: 14 pages. Shorter version to appear in NIPS 201
LP-Based Algorithms for Capacitated Facility Location
Linear programming has played a key role in the study of algorithms for
combinatorial optimization problems. In the field of approximation algorithms,
this is well illustrated by the uncapacitated facility location problem. A
variety of algorithmic methodologies, such as LP-rounding and primal-dual
method, have been applied to and evolved from algorithms for this problem.
Unfortunately, this collection of powerful algorithmic techniques had not yet
been applicable to the more general capacitated facility location problem. In
fact, all of the known algorithms with good performance guarantees were based
on a single technique, local search, and no linear programming relaxation was
known to efficiently approximate the problem.
In this paper, we present a linear programming relaxation with constant
integrality gap for capacitated facility location. We demonstrate that the
fundamental theories of multi-commodity flows and matchings provide key
insights that lead to the strong relaxation. Our algorithmic proof of
integrality gap is obtained by finally accessing the rich toolbox of LP-based
methodologies: we present a constant factor approximation algorithm based on
LP-rounding.Comment: 25 pages, 6 figures; minor revision
The Investment Management Game: Extending the Scope of the Notion of Core
The core is a dominant solution concept in economics and cooperative game
theory; it is predominantly used for profit, equivalently cost or utility,
sharing. This paper demonstrates the versatility of this notion by proposing a
completely different use: in a so-called investment management game, which is a
game against nature rather than a cooperative game. This game has only one
agent whose strategy set is all possible ways of distributing her money among
investment firms. The agent wants to pick a strategy such that in each of
exponentially many future scenarios, sufficient money is available in the right
firms so she can buy an optimal investment for that scenario. Such a strategy
constitutes a core imputation under a broad interpretation, though traditional
formal framework, of the core. Our game is defined on perfect graphs, since the
maximum stable set problem can be solved in polynomial time for such graphs. We
completely characterize the core of this game, analogous to Shapley and Shubik
characterization of the core of the assignment game. A key difference is the
following technical novelty: whereas their characterization follows from total
unimodularity, ours follows from total dual integralityComment: 16 pages. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2209.0490
The Number of Nowhere-Zero Flows on Graphs and Signed Graphs
A nowhere-zero -flow on a graph is a mapping from the edges of
to the set \{\pm1, \pm2, ..., \pm(k-1)\} \subset \bbZ such that, in
any fixed orientation of , at each node the sum of the labels over the
edges pointing towards the node equals the sum over the edges pointing away
from the node. We show that the existence of an \emph{integral flow polynomial}
that counts nowhere-zero -flows on a graph, due to Kochol, is a consequence
of a general theory of inside-out polytopes. The same holds for flows on signed
graphs. We develop these theories, as well as the related counting theory of
nowhere-zero flows on a signed graph with values in an abelian group of odd
order. Our results are of two kinds: polynomiality or quasipolynomiality of the
flow counting functions, and reciprocity laws that interpret the evaluations of
the flow polynomials at negative integers in terms of the combinatorics of the
graph.Comment: 17 pages, to appear in J. Combinatorial Th. Ser.
On duality and fractionality of multicommodity flows in directed networks
In this paper we address a topological approach to multiflow (multicommodity
flow) problems in directed networks. Given a terminal weight , we define a
metrized polyhedral complex, called the directed tight span , and
prove that the dual of -weighted maximum multiflow problem reduces to a
facility location problem on . Also, in case where the network is
Eulerian, it further reduces to a facility location problem on the tropical
polytope spanned by . By utilizing this duality, we establish the
classifications of terminal weights admitting combinatorial min-max relation
(i) for every network and (ii) for every Eulerian network. Our result includes
Lomonosov-Frank theorem for directed free multiflows and
Ibaraki-Karzanov-Nagamochi's directed multiflow locking theorem as special
cases.Comment: 27 pages. Fixed minor mistakes and typos. To appear in Discrete
Optimizatio
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