783 research outputs found
LP-Relaxations for Tree Augmentation
In the Tree Augmentation Problem (TAP) the goal is to augment a tree T by a minimum size edge set F from a given edge set E such that T+F is 2-edge-connected. The best approximation ratio known for TAP is 1.5. In the more general Weighted TAP problem, F should be of minimum weight. Weighted TAP admits several 2-approximation algorithms w.r.t. the standard cut-LP relaxation. The problem is equivalent to the problem of covering a laminar set family. Laminar set families play an important role in the design of approximation algorithms for connectivity network design problems. In fact, Weighted TAP is the simplest connectivity network design problem for which a ratio better than 2 is not known. Improving this "natural" ratio is a major open problem, which may have implications on many other network design problems. It seems that achieving this goal requires finding an LP-relaxation with integrality gap better than 2, which is an old open problem even for TAP. In this paper we introduce two different LP-relaxations, and for each of them give a simple algorithm that computes a feasible solution for TAP of size at most 7/4 times the optimal LP value. This gives some hope to break the ratio 2 for the weighted case
Non-Uniform Robust Network Design in Planar Graphs
Robust optimization is concerned with constructing solutions that remain
feasible also when a limited number of resources is removed from the solution.
Most studies of robust combinatorial optimization to date made the assumption
that every resource is equally vulnerable, and that the set of scenarios is
implicitly given by a single budget constraint. This paper studies a robustness
model of a different kind. We focus on \textbf{bulk-robustness}, a model
recently introduced~\cite{bulk} for addressing the need to model non-uniform
failure patterns in systems.
We significantly extend the techniques used in~\cite{bulk} to design
approximation algorithm for bulk-robust network design problems in planar
graphs. Our techniques use an augmentation framework, combined with linear
programming (LP) rounding that depends on a planar embedding of the input
graph. A connection to cut covering problems and the dominating set problem in
circle graphs is established. Our methods use few of the specifics of
bulk-robust optimization, hence it is conceivable that they can be adapted to
solve other robust network design problems.Comment: 17 pages, 2 figure
A LP approximation for the Tree Augmentation Problem
In the Tree Augmentation Problem (TAP) the goal is to augment a tree by a
minimum size edge set from a given edge set such that is
-edge-connected. The best approximation ratio known for TAP is . In the
more general Weighted TAP problem, should be of minimum weight. Weighted
TAP admits several -approximation algorithms w.r.t. to the standard cut
LP-relaxation, but for all of them the performance ratio of is tight even
for TAP. The problem is equivalent to the problem of covering a laminar set
family. Laminar set families play an important role in the design of
approximation algorithms for connectivity network design problems. In fact,
Weighted TAP is the simplest connectivity network design problem for which a
ratio better than is not known. Improving this "natural" ratio is a major
open problem, which may have implications on many other network design
problems. It seems that achieving this goal requires finding an LP-relaxation
with integrality gap better than , which is a long time open problem even
for TAP. In this paper we introduce such an LP-relaxation and give an algorithm
that computes a feasible solution for TAP of size at most times the
optimal LP value. This gives some hope to break the ratio for the weighted
case. Our algorithm computes some initial edge set by solving a partial system
of constraints that form the integral edge-cover polytope, and then applies
local search on -leaf subtrees to exchange some of the edges and to add
additional edges. Thus we do not need to solve the LP, and the algorithm runs
roughly in time required to find a minimum weight edge-cover in a general
graph.Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1507.0279
Spider covers for prize-collecting network activation problem
In the network activation problem, each edge in a graph is associated with an
activation function, that decides whether the edge is activated from
node-weights assigned to its end-nodes. The feasible solutions of the problem
are the node-weights such that the activated edges form graphs of required
connectivity, and the objective is to find a feasible solution minimizing its
total weight. In this paper, we consider a prize-collecting version of the
network activation problem, and present first non- trivial approximation
algorithms. Our algorithms are based on a new LP relaxation of the problem.
They round optimal solutions for the relaxation by repeatedly computing
node-weights activating subgraphs called spiders, which are known to be useful
for approximating the network activation problem
Lagrangian Relaxation for MAP Estimation in Graphical Models
We develop a general framework for MAP estimation in discrete and Gaussian
graphical models using Lagrangian relaxation techniques. The key idea is to
reformulate an intractable estimation problem as one defined on a more
tractable graph, but subject to additional constraints. Relaxing these
constraints gives a tractable dual problem, one defined by a thin graph, which
is then optimized by an iterative procedure. When this iterative optimization
leads to a consistent estimate, one which also satisfies the constraints, then
it corresponds to an optimal MAP estimate of the original model. Otherwise
there is a ``duality gap'', and we obtain a bound on the optimal solution.
Thus, our approach combines convex optimization with dynamic programming
techniques applicable for thin graphs. The popular tree-reweighted max-product
(TRMP) method may be seen as solving a particular class of such relaxations,
where the intractable graph is relaxed to a set of spanning trees. We also
consider relaxations to a set of small induced subgraphs, thin subgraphs (e.g.
loops), and a connected tree obtained by ``unwinding'' cycles. In addition, we
propose a new class of multiscale relaxations that introduce ``summary''
variables. The potential benefits of such generalizations include: reducing or
eliminating the ``duality gap'' in hard problems, reducing the number or
Lagrange multipliers in the dual problem, and accelerating convergence of the
iterative optimization procedure.Comment: 10 pages, presented at 45th Allerton conference on communication,
control and computing, to appear in proceeding
- …