6 research outputs found
How many matchings cover the nodes of a graph?
Given an undirected graph, are there matchings whose union covers all of
its nodes, that is, a matching--cover? A first, easy polynomial solution
from matroid union is possible, as already observed by Wang, Song and Yuan
(Mathematical Programming, 2014). However, it was not satisfactory neither from
the algorithmic viewpoint nor for proving graphic theorems, since the
corresponding matroid ignores the edges of the graph.
We prove here, simply and algorithmically: all nodes of a graph can be
covered with matchings if and only if for every stable set we have
. When , an exception occurs: this condition is not
enough to guarantee the existence of a matching--cover, that is, the
existence of a perfect matching, in this case Tutte's famous matching theorem
(J. London Math. Soc., 1947) provides the right `good' characterization. The
condition above then guarantees only that a perfect -matching exists, as
known from another theorem of Tutte (Proc. Amer. Math. Soc., 1953).
Some results are then deduced as consequences with surprisingly simple
proofs, using only the level of difficulty of bipartite matchings. We give some
generalizations, as well as a solution for minimization if the edge-weights are
non-negative, while the edge-cardinality maximization of matching--covers
turns out to be already NP-hard.
We have arrived at this problem as the line graph special case of a model
arising for manufacturing integrated circuits with the technology called
`Directed Self Assembly'.Comment: 10 page
Wake Up and Join Me! An Energy-Efficient Algorithm for Maximal Matching in Radio Networks
We consider networks of small, autonomous devices that communicate with each
other wirelessly. Minimizing energy usage is an important consideration in
designing algorithms for such networks, as battery life is a crucial and
limited resource. Working in a model where both sending and listening for
messages deplete energy, we consider the problem of finding a maximal matching
of the nodes in a radio network of arbitrary and unknown topology.
We present a distributed randomized algorithm that produces, with high
probability, a maximal matching. The maximum energy cost per node is , where is the size of the network. The total latency of our algorithm
is time steps. We observe that there exist families of network
topologies for which both of these bounds are simultaneously optimal up to
polylog factors, so any significant improvement will require additional
assumptions about the network topology.
We also consider the related problem of assigning, for each node in the
network, a neighbor to back up its data in case of node failure. Here, a key
goal is to minimize the maximum load, defined as the number of nodes assigned
to a single node. We present a decentralized low-energy algorithm that finds a
neighbor assignment whose maximum load is at most a polylog() factor bigger
that the optimum.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures, 3 algorithm
Fairness in Graph-Theoretical Optimization Problems
There is arbitrariness in optimum solutions of graph-theoretic problems that
can give rise to unfairness. Incorporating fairness in such problems, however,
can be done in multiple ways. For instance, fairness can be defined on an
individual level, for individual vertices or edges of a given graph, or on a
group level. In this work, we analyze in detail two individual-fairness
measures that are based on finding a probability distribution over the set of
solutions. One measure guarantees uniform fairness, i.e., entities have equal
chance of being part of the solution when sampling from this probability
distribution. The other measure maximizes the minimum probability for every
entity of being selected in a solution. In particular, we reveal that computing
these individual-fairness measures is in fact equivalent to computing the
fractional covering number and the fractional partitioning number of a
hypergraph. In addition, we show that for a general class of problems that we
classify as independence systems, these two measures coincide. We also analyze
group fairness and how this can be combined with the individual-fairness
measures. Finally, we establish the computational complexity of determining
group-fair solutions for matching
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Combinatorial Optimization (hybrid meeting)
Combinatorial Optimization deals with optimization problems defined on combinatorial structures such as graphs and networks. Motivated by diverse practical problem setups, the topic has developed into a rich mathematical discipline with many connections to other fields of Mathematics (such as, e.g., Combinatorics, Convex Optimization and Geometry, and Real Algebraic Geometry). It also has strong ties to Theoretical Computer Science and Operations Research. A series of Oberwolfach Workshops have been crucial for establishing and developing the field. The workshop we report about was a particularly exciting event - due to the depth of results that were presented, the spectrum of developments that became apparent from the talks, the breadth of the connections to other mathematical fields that were explored, and last but not least because for many of the particiants it was the first opportunity to exchange ideas and to collaborate during an on-site workshop since almost two years
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Computational and Analytical Tools for Resilient and Secure Power Grids
Enhancing power grids' performance and resilience has been one of the greatest challenges in engineering and science over the past decade. A recent report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine along with other studies emphasizes the necessity of deploying new ideas and mathematical tools to address the challenges facing the power grids now and in the future. To full this necessity, numerous grid modernization programs have been initiated in recent years. This thesis focuses on one of the most critical challenges facing power grids which is their vulnerability against failures and attacks. Our approach bridges concepts in power engineering and computer science to improve power grids resilience and security. We analyze the vulnerability of power grids to cyber and physical attacks and failures, design efficient monitoring schemes for robust state estimation, develop algorithms to control the grid under tension, and introduce methods to generate realistic power grid test cases. Our contributions can be divided into four major parts:
Power Grid State Prediction: Large scale power outages in Australia (2016), Ukraine (2015), Turkey (2015), India (2013), and the U.S. (2011, 2003) have demonstrated the vulnerability of power grids to cyber and physical attacks and failures. Power grid outages have devastating effects on almost every aspect of modern life as well as on interdependent systems. Despite their inevitability, the effects of failures on power grids' performance can be limited if the system operator can predict and understand the consequences of an initial failure and can immediately detect the problematic failures. To enable these capabilities, we study failures in power grids using computational and analytical tools based on the DC power flow model. We introduce new metrics to efficiently evaluate the severity of an initial failure and develop efficient algorithms to predict its consequences. We further identify power grids' vulnerabilities using these metrics and algorithms.
Power Grid State Estimation: In order to obtain an accurate prediction of the subsequent effects of an initial failure on the performance of the grid, the system operator needs to exactly know when and where the initial failure has happened. However, due to lack of enough measurement devices or a cyber attack on the grid, such information may not be available directly to the grid operator via measurements. To address this problem, we develop efficient methods to estimate the state of the grid and detect failures (if any) from partial available information.
Power Grid Control: Once an initial failure is detected, prediction methods can be used to predict the subsequent effects of that failure. If the initial failure is causing a cascade of failures in the grid, a control mechanism needs to be applied in order to mitigate its further effects. Power Grid Islanding is an effective method to mitigate cascading failures. The challenge is to partition the network into smaller connected components, called islands, so that each island can operate independently for a short period of time. This is to prevent the system to be separated into unbalanced parts due to cascading failures. To address this problem, we introduce and study the Doubly Balanced Connected graph Partitioning (DBCP) problem and provide an efficient algorithm to partition the power grid into two operating islands.
Power Grid Test Cases for Evaluation: In order to evaluate algorithms that are developed for enhancing power grids resilience, one needs to study their performance on the real grid data. However, due to security reasons, such data sets are not publicly available and are very hard to obtain. Therefore, we study the structural properties of the U.S. Western Interconnection grid (WI), and based on the results we present the Network Imitating Method Based on LEarning (NIMBLE) for generating synthetic spatially embedded networks with similar properties to a given grid. We apply NIMBLE to the WI and show that the generated network has similar structural and spatial properties as well as the same level of robustness to cascading failures.
Overall, the results provided in this thesis advance power grids' resilience and security by providing a better understanding of the system and by developing efficient algorithms to protect it at the time of failure