A Primal-Dual Approach for Large Scale Integer Problems

This paper presents a refined approach to using column generation to solve specific type of large integer problems. A primal-dual approach is presented to solve the Restricted Master problem belonging to the original optimization task. Firstly, this approach allows a faster convergence to the optimum of the LP relaxation of the problem. Secondly, the existence of both an upper and lower bound of the LP optimum at each iteration allows a faster searching of the Branch-and-Bound tree. To achieve this an early termination approach is presented. The technique is demonstrated on the Generalized Assignment problem and Parallel Machine Scheduling problem as two reference applications

A graph isomorphism invariant based on neighborhood aggregation

This paper presents a new graph isomorphism invariant, called $\mathfrak{w}$-labeling, that can be used to design a polynomial-time algorithm for solving the graph isomorphism problem for various graph classes. For example, all non-cospectral graph pairs are distinguished by the proposed combinatorial method, furthermore, even non-isomorphic cospectral graphs can be distinguished assuming certain properties of their eigenspaces. We also investigate a refinement of the aforementioned labeling, called $\mathfrak{s}^k$-labeling, which has both theoretical and practical applications. Among others, it can be used to generate graph fingerprints, which uniquely identify all graphs in the considered databases, including all strongly regular graphs on at most 64 nodes and all graphs on at most 12 nodes. It provably identifies all trees and 3-connected planar graphs up to isomorphism, which -- as a byproduct -- gives a new isomorphism algorithm for both graph classes. The practical importance of this fingerprint lies in significantly speeding up searching in graph databases, which is a commonly required task in biological and chemical applications

Balanced Submodular Flows

This paper examines the Balanced Submodular Flow Problem, that is the problem of finding a feasible submodular flow minimizing the difference between the flow values along the edges. A min-max formula is given to the problem and an algorithm is presented to solve it using $O(m^2)$ submodular function minimizations. Then, these result are extended to the weighted version of the problem. Finally, the Balanced Integer Submodular Flow Problem is discussed.Comment: 22 pages, 1 figur

Optimizations of a Multi-Agent System for a Real-World Warehouse Problem

In recent years, many warehouses applied mobile robots to move products from one location to another. We focus on a traditional warehouse where agents are humans, and they are engaged with tasks to navigate to the next destination one after the other. The possible destinations are determined at the beginning of the daily shift. Our real-world warehouse client asked us to minimize the total wage cost, and to minimize the irritation of the workers because of conflicts in their tasks. We define a heuristic for the optimizations for splitting the orders into warehouse carts, defining the sequence of the products within the carts, and the assignment of the carts to workers. We extend Multi-Agent Path Finding (MAPF) solution techniques. Furthermore, we have implemented our proposal in a simulation software, and we have run several experiments. According to the experiments, the make-span and the wage cost cannot be reduced with the heuristic optimization, however the heuristic optimization considerably reduces the irritation of the workers. We conclude our work with a guideline for the warehouse

Shortest Odd Paths in Undirected Graphs with Conservative Weight Functions

We consider the Shortest Odd Path problem, where given an undirected graph $G$, a weight function on its edges, and two vertices $s$ and $t$ in $G$, the aim is to find an $(s,t)$-path with odd length and, among all such paths, of minimum weight. For the case when the weight function is conservative, i.e., when every cycle has non-negative total weight, the complexity of the Shortest Odd Path problem had been open for 20 years, and was recently shown to be NP-hard. We give a polynomial-time algorithm for the special case when the weight function is conservative and the set $E^-$ of negative-weight edges forms a single tree. Our algorithm exploits the strong connection between Shortest Odd Path and the problem of finding two internally vertex-disjoint paths between two terminals in an undirected edge-weighted graph. It also relies on solving an intermediary problem variant called Shortest Parity-Constrained Odd Path where for certain edges we have parity constraints on their position along the path. Also, we exhibit two FPT algorithms for solving Shortest Odd Path in graphs with conservative weight functions. The first FPT algorithm is parameterized by $|E^-|$, the number of negative edges, or more generally, by the maximum size of a matching in the subgraph of $G$ spanned by $E^-$. Our second FPT algorithm is parameterized by the treewidth of $G$

Parameterized searching with mismatches for run-length encoded strings

Parameterized matching between two strings occurs when it is possible to reduce the first one to the second by a renaming of the alphabet symbols. We present an algorithm for searching for parameterized occurrences of a patten in a textstring when both are given in run-length encoded form. The proposed method extends to alphabets of arbitrary yet constant size with O(| rp|×| rt|) time bounds, previously achieved only with binary alphabets. Here rp and rt denote the number of runs in the corresponding encodings for p and t. For general alphabets, the time bound obtained by the present method exhibits a polynomial dependency on the alphabet size. Such a performance is better than applying convolution to the cleartext, but leaves the problem still open of designing an alphabet independent O(| rp|×| rt|) time algorithm for this problem. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Worst case bin packing for OTN electrical layer networks dimensioning

The OTN (Optical Transport Network) standard, defined by ITU-T Recommendation G.709 and G.872, contains a flexible digital hierarchy of ODU (Optical Data Unit) signals. The ODU hierarchy provides sub-wavelength grooming in OTN networks, which is necessary for efficient utilization of the high bit rates of optical channels. When dimensioning the links of a transport network consisting of ODU switches, the packing of lower order ODU signals into higher order ODU signals needs to be taken into account. These networks are expected to be controlled by GMPLS (Generalized MPLS) , which puts specific constraints on the dimensioning. We assume that there is no explicit label control and that the GMPLS control plane is using first-fit strategy for making reservations on a link . With these assumptions the link dimensioning problem is defined as deciding how many higher order ODU component links are required on an OTN GMPLS bundled link for first-fit packing of a given set of lower order ODU demands, in any order of arrival. The paper provides strict bounds for ODU hierarchy-specific item and bin sizes. Then, it introduces an extended variant of the dimensioning problem, when lower order ODU connections which are not controlled by GMPLS are also present

Kombinatorikus Optimalizálás: Algoritmusok, Strukturák, Alkalmazások = Combinatorial optimization: algorithms, structures, applications

Mint azt az OTKA-pályázat munkaterve tartalmazza, a pályázatban résztvevő kutatók alkotják a témavezető irányításával működő Egerváry Jenő Kombinatorikus Optimalizálási Kutatócsoportot. A csoport a kutatási tervben szereplő több témában jelentős eredményeket ért el az elmúlt 4 évben, ezekről a pályázat résztvevőinek több mint 50 folyóiratcikke jelent meg, és számos rangos nemzetközi konferencián ismertetésre kerültek. Néhány kiemelendő eredmény: sikerült polinomiális kombinatorikus algoritmust adni irányított gráf pont-összefüggőségének növelésére; jelentős előrelépés történt a háromdimenziós térben merev gráfok jellemzésével és a molekuláris sejtéssel kapcsolatban; 2 dimenzióban sikerült bizonyítani Hendrickson sejtését; a párosításelméletben egy újdonságnak számító módszerrel számos új algoritmikus eredmény született; több, gráfok élösszefüggőségét jellemző tételt sikerült hipergráfokra általánosítani. | As the research plan indicates, the researchers participating in the project are the members of the Egerváry Research Group, led by the coordinator. The group has made important progress in the past 4 years in the research topics declared in the research plan. The results have been published in more than 50 journal papers, and have been presented at several prestigious international conferences. The most significant results are the following: a polynomial algorithm has been found for the node-connectivity augmentation problem of directed graphs; considerable progress has been made towards the characterization of 3-dimensional rigid graphs and towards the proof of the molecular conjecture; Hendrickson's conjecture has been proved in 2 dimensions; several new algorithmic results were obtained in matching theory using a novel approach; several theorems characterizing connectivity properties of graphs have been generalized to hypergraphs

Optimization with additional variables and constraints

Optimization with additional variables and constraints