188 research outputs found
Assessing non-Markovian dynamics
We investigate what a snapshot of a quantum evolution - a quantum channel
reflecting open system dynamics - reveals about the underlying continuous time
evolution. Remarkably, from such a snapshot, and without imposing additional
assumptions, it can be decided whether or not a channel is consistent with a
time (in)dependent Markovian evolution, for which we provide computable
necessary and sufficient criteria. Based on these, a computable measure of
`Markovianity' is introduced. We discuss how the consistency with Markovian
dynamics can be checked in quantum process tomography. The results also clarify
the geometry of the set of quantum channels with respect to being solutions of
time (in)dependent master equations.Comment: 5 pages, RevTex, 2 figures. (Except from typesetting) version to be
published in the Physical Review Letter
On the Solution of Linear Programming Problems in the Age of Big Data
The Big Data phenomenon has spawned large-scale linear programming problems.
In many cases, these problems are non-stationary. In this paper, we describe a
new scalable algorithm called NSLP for solving high-dimensional, non-stationary
linear programming problems on modern cluster computing systems. The algorithm
consists of two phases: Quest and Targeting. The Quest phase calculates a
solution of the system of inequalities defining the constraint system of the
linear programming problem under the condition of dynamic changes in input
data. To this end, the apparatus of Fejer mappings is used. The Targeting phase
forms a special system of points having the shape of an n-dimensional
axisymmetric cross. The cross moves in the n-dimensional space in such a way
that the solution of the linear programming problem is located all the time in
an "-vicinity of the central point of the cross.Comment: Parallel Computational Technologies - 11th International Conference,
PCT 2017, Kazan, Russia, April 3-7, 2017, Proceedings (to be published in
Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol. 753
On Relevant Equilibria in Reachability Games
We study multiplayer reachability games played on a finite directed graph
equipped with target sets, one for each player. In those reachability games, it
is known that there always exists a Nash equilibrium (NE) and a subgame perfect
equilibrium (SPE). But sometimes several equilibria may coexist such that in
one equilibrium no player reaches his target set whereas in another one several
players reach it. It is thus very natural to identify "relevant" equilibria. In
this paper, we consider different notions of relevant equilibria including
Pareto optimal equilibria and equilibria with high social welfare. We provide
complexity results for various related decision problems
On the Number of Iterations for Dantzig-Wolfe Optimization and Packing-Covering Approximation Algorithms
We give a lower bound on the iteration complexity of a natural class of
Lagrangean-relaxation algorithms for approximately solving packing/covering
linear programs. We show that, given an input with random 0/1-constraints
on variables, with high probability, any such algorithm requires
iterations to compute a
-approximate solution, where is the width of the input.
The bound is tight for a range of the parameters .
The algorithms in the class include Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition, Benders'
decomposition, Lagrangean relaxation as developed by Held and Karp [1971] for
lower-bounding TSP, and many others (e.g. by Plotkin, Shmoys, and Tardos [1988]
and Grigoriadis and Khachiyan [1996]). To prove the bound, we use a discrepancy
argument to show an analogous lower bound on the support size of
-approximate mixed strategies for random two-player zero-sum
0/1-matrix games
Mirror-Descent Methods in Mixed-Integer Convex Optimization
In this paper, we address the problem of minimizing a convex function f over
a convex set, with the extra constraint that some variables must be integer.
This problem, even when f is a piecewise linear function, is NP-hard. We study
an algorithmic approach to this problem, postponing its hardness to the
realization of an oracle. If this oracle can be realized in polynomial time,
then the problem can be solved in polynomial time as well. For problems with
two integer variables, we show that the oracle can be implemented efficiently,
that is, in O(ln(B)) approximate minimizations of f over the continuous
variables, where B is a known bound on the absolute value of the integer
variables.Our algorithm can be adapted to find the second best point of a
purely integer convex optimization problem in two dimensions, and more
generally its k-th best point. This observation allows us to formulate a
finite-time algorithm for mixed-integer convex optimization
An Exponential Lower Bound for the Latest Deterministic Strategy Iteration Algorithms
This paper presents a new exponential lower bound for the two most popular
deterministic variants of the strategy improvement algorithms for solving
parity, mean payoff, discounted payoff and simple stochastic games. The first
variant improves every node in each step maximizing the current valuation
locally, whereas the second variant computes the globally optimal improvement
in each step. We outline families of games on which both variants require
exponentially many strategy iterations
Non-Zero Sum Games for Reactive Synthesis
In this invited contribution, we summarize new solution concepts useful for
the synthesis of reactive systems that we have introduced in several recent
publications. These solution concepts are developed in the context of non-zero
sum games played on graphs. They are part of the contributions obtained in the
inVEST project funded by the European Research Council.Comment: LATA'16 invited pape
Tropically convex constraint satisfaction
A semilinear relation S is max-closed if it is preserved by taking the
componentwise maximum. The constraint satisfaction problem for max-closed
semilinear constraints is at least as hard as determining the winner in Mean
Payoff Games, a notorious problem of open computational complexity. Mean Payoff
Games are known to be in the intersection of NP and co-NP, which is not known
for max-closed semilinear constraints. Semilinear relations that are max-closed
and additionally closed under translations have been called tropically convex
in the literature. One of our main results is a new duality for open tropically
convex relations, which puts the CSP for tropically convex semilinaer
constraints in general into NP intersected co-NP. This extends the
corresponding complexity result for scheduling under and-or precedence
constraints, or equivalently the max-atoms problem. To this end, we present a
characterization of max-closed semilinear relations in terms of syntactically
restricted first-order logic, and another characterization in terms of a finite
set of relations L that allow primitive positive definitions of all other
relations in the class. We also present a subclass of max-closed constraints
where the CSP is in P; this class generalizes the class of max-closed
constraints over finite domains, and the feasibility problem for max-closed
linear inequalities. Finally, we show that the class of max-closed semilinear
constraints is maximal in the sense that as soon as a single relation that is
not max-closed is added to L, the CSP becomes NP-hard.Comment: 29 pages, 2 figure
Optimal Reachability in Divergent Weighted Timed Games
Weighted timed games are played by two players on a timed automaton equipped
with weights: one player wants to minimise the accumulated weight while
reaching a target, while the other has an opposite objective. Used in a
reactive synthesis perspective, this quantitative extension of timed games
allows one to measure the quality of controllers. Weighted timed games are
notoriously difficult and quickly undecidable, even when restricted to
non-negative weights. Decidability results exist for subclasses of one-clock
games, and for a subclass with non-negative weights defined by a semantical
restriction on the weights of cycles. In this work, we introduce the class of
divergent weighted timed games as a generalisation of this semantical
restriction to arbitrary weights. We show how to compute their optimal value,
yielding the first decidable class of weighted timed games with negative
weights and an arbitrary number of clocks. In addition, we prove that
divergence can be decided in polynomial space. Last, we prove that for untimed
games, this restriction yields a class of games for which the value can be
computed in polynomial time
Polynomial-Time Amoeba Neighborhood Membership and Faster Localized Solving
We derive efficient algorithms for coarse approximation of algebraic
hypersurfaces, useful for estimating the distance between an input polynomial
zero set and a given query point. Our methods work best on sparse polynomials
of high degree (in any number of variables) but are nevertheless completely
general. The underlying ideas, which we take the time to describe in an
elementary way, come from tropical geometry. We thus reduce a hard algebraic
problem to high-precision linear optimization, proving new upper and lower
complexity estimates along the way.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures. Submitted to a conference proceeding
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