443 research outputs found
Improved Cheeger's Inequality: Analysis of Spectral Partitioning Algorithms through Higher Order Spectral Gap
Let \phi(G) be the minimum conductance of an undirected graph G, and let
0=\lambda_1 <= \lambda_2 <=... <= \lambda_n <= 2 be the eigenvalues of the
normalized Laplacian matrix of G. We prove that for any graph G and any k >= 2,
\phi(G) = O(k) \lambda_2 / \sqrt{\lambda_k}, and this performance guarantee
is achieved by the spectral partitioning algorithm. This improves Cheeger's
inequality, and the bound is optimal up to a constant factor for any k. Our
result shows that the spectral partitioning algorithm is a constant factor
approximation algorithm for finding a sparse cut if \lambda_k$ is a constant
for some constant k. This provides some theoretical justification to its
empirical performance in image segmentation and clustering problems. We extend
the analysis to other graph partitioning problems, including multi-way
partition, balanced separator, and maximum cut
From the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm to a Quantum Alternating Operator Ansatz
The next few years will be exciting as prototype universal quantum processors
emerge, enabling implementation of a wider variety of algorithms. Of particular
interest are quantum heuristics, which require experimentation on quantum
hardware for their evaluation, and which have the potential to significantly
expand the breadth of quantum computing applications. A leading candidate is
Farhi et al.'s Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm, which alternates
between applying a cost-function-based Hamiltonian and a mixing Hamiltonian.
Here, we extend this framework to allow alternation between more general
families of operators. The essence of this extension, the Quantum Alternating
Operator Ansatz, is the consideration of general parametrized families of
unitaries rather than only those corresponding to the time-evolution under a
fixed local Hamiltonian for a time specified by the parameter. This ansatz
supports the representation of a larger, and potentially more useful, set of
states than the original formulation, with potential long-term impact on a
broad array of application areas. For cases that call for mixing only within a
desired subspace, refocusing on unitaries rather than Hamiltonians enables more
efficiently implementable mixers than was possible in the original framework.
Such mixers are particularly useful for optimization problems with hard
constraints that must always be satisfied, defining a feasible subspace, and
soft constraints whose violation we wish to minimize. More efficient
implementation enables earlier experimental exploration of an alternating
operator approach to a wide variety of approximate optimization, exact
optimization, and sampling problems. Here, we introduce the Quantum Alternating
Operator Ansatz, lay out design criteria for mixing operators, detail mappings
for eight problems, and provide brief descriptions of mappings for diverse
problems.Comment: 51 pages, 2 figures. Revised to match journal pape
Exact algorithms for the order picking problem
Order picking is the problem of collecting a set of products in a warehouse
in a minimum amount of time. It is currently a major bottleneck in supply-chain
because of its cost in time and labor force. This article presents two exact
and effective algorithms for this problem. Firstly, a sparse formulation in
mixed-integer programming is strengthened by preprocessing and valid
inequalities. Secondly, a dynamic programming approach generalizing known
algorithms for two or three cross-aisles is proposed and evaluated
experimentally. Performances of these algorithms are reported and compared with
the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) solver Concorde
Open Problems in (Hyper)Graph Decomposition
Large networks are useful in a wide range of applications. Sometimes problem
instances are composed of billions of entities. Decomposing and analyzing these
structures helps us gain new insights about our surroundings. Even if the final
application concerns a different problem (such as traversal, finding paths,
trees, and flows), decomposing large graphs is often an important subproblem
for complexity reduction or parallelization. This report is a summary of
discussions that happened at Dagstuhl seminar 23331 on "Recent Trends in Graph
Decomposition" and presents currently open problems and future directions in
the area of (hyper)graph decomposition
On non-linear network embedding methods
As a linear method, spectral clustering is the only network embedding algorithm that offers both a provably fast computation and an advanced theoretical understanding. The accuracy of spectral clustering depends on the Cheeger ratio defined as the ratio between the graph conductance and the 2nd smallest eigenvalue of its normalizedLaplacian. In several graph families whose Cheeger ratio reaches its upper bound of Theta(n), the approximation power of spectral clustering is proven to perform poorly. Moreover, recent non-linear network embedding methods have surpassed spectral clustering by state-of-the-art performance with little to no theoretical understanding to back them.
The dissertation includes work that: (1) extends the theory of spectral clustering in order to address its weakness and provide ground for a theoretical understanding of existing non-linear network embedding methods.; (2) provides non-linear extensions of spectral clustering with theoretical guarantees, e.g., via different spectral modification algorithms; (3) demonstrates the potentials of this approach on different types and sizes of graphs from industrial applications; and (4)makes a theory-informed use of artificial networks
Higher-Order Cheeger Inequality for Partitioning with Buffers
We prove a new generalization of the higher-order Cheeger inequality for
partitioning with buffers. Consider a graph . The buffered expansion
of a set with a buffer is the edge
expansion of after removing all the edges from set to its buffer .
An -buffered -partitioning is a partitioning of a graph into
disjoint components and buffers , in which the size of buffer
for is small relative to the size of : . The buffered expansion of a buffered partition is the maximum of
buffered expansions of the sets with buffers . Let
be the buffered expansion of the optimal
-buffered -partitioning, then for every ,
where
is the -th
smallest eigenvalue of the normalized Laplacian of .
Our inequality is constructive and avoids the ``square-root loss'' that is
present in the standard Cheeger inequalities (even for ). We also provide
a complementary lower bound, and a novel generalization to the setting with
arbitrary vertex weights and edge costs. Moreover our result implies and
generalizes the standard higher-order Cheeger inequalities and another recent
Cheeger-type inequality by Kwok, Lau, and Lee (2017) involving robust vertex
expansion.Comment: 45 page
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