Nonlinear Integer Programming

Research efforts of the past fifty years have led to a development of linear integer programming as a mature discipline of mathematical optimization. Such a level of maturity has not been reached when one considers nonlinear systems subject to integrality requirements for the variables. This chapter is dedicated to this topic. The primary goal is a study of a simple version of general nonlinear integer problems, where all constraints are still linear. Our focus is on the computational complexity of the problem, which varies significantly with the type of nonlinear objective function in combination with the underlying combinatorial structure. Numerous boundary cases of complexity emerge, which sometimes surprisingly lead even to polynomial time algorithms. We also cover recent successful approaches for more general classes of problems. Though no positive theoretical efficiency results are available, nor are they likely to ever be available, these seem to be the currently most successful and interesting approaches for solving practical problems. It is our belief that the study of algorithms motivated by theoretical considerations and those motivated by our desire to solve practical instances should and do inform one another. So it is with this viewpoint that we present the subject, and it is in this direction that we hope to spark further research.Comment: 57 pages. To appear in: M. J\"unger, T. Liebling, D. Naddef, G. Nemhauser, W. Pulleyblank, G. Reinelt, G. Rinaldi, and L. Wolsey (eds.), 50 Years of Integer Programming 1958--2008: The Early Years and State-of-the-Art Surveys, Springer-Verlag, 2009, ISBN 354068274

Optimization and Applications

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Equivalent relaxations of optimal power flow

Several convex relaxations of the optimal power flow (OPF) problem have recently been developed using both bus injection models and branch flow models. In this paper, we prove relations among three convex relaxations: a semidefinite relaxation that computes a full matrix, a chordal relaxation based on a chordal extension of the network graph, and a second-order cone relaxation that computes the smallest partial matrix. We prove a bijection between the feasible sets of the OPF in the bus injection model and the branch flow model, establishing the equivalence of these two models and their second-order cone relaxations. Our results imply that, for radial networks, all these relaxations are equivalent and one should always solve the second-order cone relaxation. For mesh networks, the semidefinite relaxation is tighter than the second-order cone relaxation but requires a heavier computational effort, and the chordal relaxation strikes a good balance. Simulations are used to illustrate these results.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure

An SDP Approach For Solving Quadratic Fractional Programming Problems

This paper considers a fractional programming problem (P) which minimizes a ratio of quadratic functions subject to a two-sided quadratic constraint. As is well-known, the fractional objective function can be replaced by a parametric family of quadratic functions, which makes (P) highly related to, but more difficult than a single quadratic programming problem subject to a similar constraint set. The task is to find the optimal parameter $\lambda^*$ and then look for the optimal solution if $\lambda^*$ is attained. Contrasted with the classical Dinkelbach method that iterates over the parameter, we propose a suitable constraint qualification under which a new version of the S-lemma with an equality can be proved so as to compute $\lambda^*$ directly via an exact SDP relaxation. When the constraint set of (P) is degenerated to become an one-sided inequality, the same SDP approach can be applied to solve (P) {\it without any condition}. We observe that the difference between a two-sided problem and an one-sided problem lies in the fact that the S-lemma with an equality does not have a natural Slater point to hold, which makes the former essentially more difficult than the latter. This work does not, either, assume the existence of a positive-definite linear combination of the quadratic terms (also known as the dual Slater condition, or a positive-definite matrix pencil), our result thus provides a novel extension to the so-called "hard case" of the generalized trust region subproblem subject to the upper and the lower level set of a quadratic function.Comment: 26 page