Max-plus (A,B)-invariant spaces and control of timed discrete event systems

The concept of (A,B)-invariant subspace (or controlled invariant) of a linear dynamical system is extended to linear systems over the max-plus semiring. Although this extension presents several difficulties, which are similar to those encountered in the same kind of extension to linear dynamical systems over rings, it appears capable of providing solutions to many control problems like in the cases of linear systems over fields or rings. Sufficient conditions are given for computing the maximal (A,B)-invariant subspace contained in a given space and the existence of linear state feedbacks is discussed. An application to the study of transportation networks which evolve according to a timetable is considered.Comment: 24 pages, 1 Postscript figure, proof of Lemma 1 and some references adde

Cyclic classes and attraction cones in max algebra

In max algebra it is well-known that the sequence A^k, with A an irreducible square matrix, becomes periodic at sufficiently large k. This raises a number of questions on the periodic regime of A^k and A^k x, for a given vector x. Also, this leads to the concept of attraction cones in max algebra, by which we mean sets of vectors whose ultimate orbit period does not exceed a given number. This paper shows that some of these questions can be solved by matrix squaring (A,A^2,A^4, ...), analogously to recent findings concerning the orbit period in max-min algebra. Hence the computational complexity of such problems is of the order O(n^3 log n). The main idea is to apply an appropriate diagonal similarity scaling A -> X^{-1}AX, called visualization scaling, and to study the role of cyclic classes of the critical graph. For powers of a visualized matrix in the periodic regime, we observe remarkable symmetry described by circulants and their rectangular generalizations. We exploit this symmetry to derive a concise system of equations for attraction cpne, and we present an algorithm which computes the coefficients of the system.Comment: 38 page

The level set method for the two-sided eigenproblem

We consider the max-plus analogue of the eigenproblem for matrix pencils Ax=lambda Bx. We show that the spectrum of (A,B) (i.e., the set of possible values of lambda), which is a finite union of intervals, can be computed in pseudo-polynomial number of operations, by a (pseudo-polynomial) number of calls to an oracle that computes the value of a mean payoff game. The proof relies on the introduction of a spectral function, which we interpret in terms of the least Chebyshev distance between Ax and lambda Bx. The spectrum is obtained as the zero level set of this function.Comment: 34 pages, 4 figures. Changes with respect to the previous version: we explain relation to mean-payoff games and discrete event systems, and show that the reconstruction of spectrum is pseudopolynomia

The Analytic Hierarchy Process, Max Algebra and Multi-objective Optimisation

The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is widely used for decision making involving multiple criteria. Elsner and van den Driessche introduced a max-algebraic approach to the single criterion AHP. We extend this to the multi-criteria AHP, by considering multi-objective generalisations of the single objective optimisation problem solved in these earlier papers. We relate the existence of globally optimal solutions to the commutativity properties of the associated matrices; we relate min-max optimal solutions to the generalised spectral radius; and we prove that Pareto optimal solutions are guaranteed to exist.Comment: 1 figur

Multiorder, Kleene stars and cyclic projectors in the geometry of max cones

This paper summarizes results on some topics in the max-plus convex geometry, mainly concerning the role of multiorder, Kleene stars and cyclic projectors, and relates them to some topics in max algebra. The multiorder principle leads to max-plus analogues of some statements in the finite-dimensional convex geometry and is related to the set covering conditions in max algebra. Kleene stars are fundamental for max algebra, as they accumulate the weights of optimal paths and describe the eigenspace of a matrix. On the other hand, the approach of tropical convexity decomposes a finitely generated semimodule into a number of convex regions, and these regions are column spans of uniquely defined Kleene stars. Another recent geometric result, that several semimodules with zero intersection can be separated from each other by max-plus halfspaces, leads to investigation of specific nonlinear operators called cyclic projectors. These nonlinear operators can be used to find a solution to homogeneous multi-sided systems of max-linear equations. The results are presented in the setting of max cones, i.e., semimodules over the max-times semiring.Comment: 26 pages, a minor revisio

Tropical polar cones, hypergraph transversals, and mean payoff games

We discuss the tropical analogues of several basic questions of convex duality. In particular, the polar of a tropical polyhedral cone represents the set of linear inequalities that its elements satisfy. We characterize the extreme rays of the polar in terms of certain minimal set covers which may be thought of as weighted generalizations of minimal transversals in hypergraphs. We also give a tropical analogue of Farkas lemma, which allows one to check whether a linear inequality is implied by a finite family of linear inequalities. Here, the certificate is a strategy of a mean payoff game. We discuss examples, showing that the number of extreme rays of the polar of the tropical cyclic polyhedral cone is polynomially bounded, and that there is no unique minimal system of inequalities defining a given tropical polyhedral cone.Comment: 27 pages, 6 figures, revised versio

Quasi-cluster algebras from non-orientable surfaces

With any non necessarily orientable unpunctured marked surface (S,M) we associate a commutative algebra, called quasi-cluster algebra, equipped with a distinguished set of generators, called quasi-cluster variables, in bijection with the set of arcs and one-sided simple closed curves in (S,M). Quasi-cluster variables are naturally gathered into possibly overlapping sets of fixed cardinality, called quasi-clusters, corresponding to maximal non-intersecting families of arcs and one-sided simple closed curves in (S,M). If the surface S is orientable, then the quasi-cluster algebra is the cluster algebra associated with the marked surface (S,M) in the sense of Fomin, Shapiro and Thurston. We classify quasi-cluster algebras with finitely many quasi-cluster variables and prove that for these quasi-cluster algebras, quasi-cluster monomials form a linear basis. Finally, we attach to (S,M) a family of discrete integrable systems satisfied by quasi-cluster variables associated to arcs in the quasi-cluster algebra and we prove that solutions of these systems can be expressed in terms of cluster variables of type A.Comment: 38 pages, 14 figure