A branch-and-price algorithm for a hierarchical crew scheduling problem.

We describe a real-life problem arising at a crane rental company. This problem is a generalization of the basic crew scheduling problem given in Mingozzi et al. and Beasley and Cao. We formulate the problem as an integer programming problem and establish ties with the integer multicommodity flow problem and the hierarchical interval scheduling problem. After establishing the complexity of the problem we propose a branch-and-price algorithm to solve it. We test this algorithm on a limited number of real-life instances.Scheduling;

Linearizable special cases of the QAP

We consider special cases of the quadratic assignment problem (QAP) that are linearizable in the sense of Bookhold. We provide combinatorial characterizations of the linearizable instances of the weighted feedback arc set QAP, and of the linearizable instances of the traveling salesman QAP. As a by-product, this yields a new well-solvable special case of the weighted feedback arc set problem

New special cases of the quadratic assignment problem with diagonally structured coefficient matrices

We consider new polynomially solvable cases of the well-known Quadratic Assignment Problem involving coefficient matrices with a special diagonal structure. By combining the new special cases with polynomially solvable special cases known in the literature we obtain a new and larger class of polynomially solvable special cases of the QAP where one of the two coefficient matrices involved is a Robinson matrix with an additional structural property: this matrix can be represented as a conic combination of cut matrices in a certain normal form. The other matrix is a conic combination of a monotone anti-Monge matrix and a down-benevolent Toeplitz matrix. We consider the recognition problem for the special class of Robinson matrices mentioned above and show that it can be solved in polynomial time

Universal quantum computation by discontinuous quantum walk

Quantum walks are the quantum-mechanical analog of random walks, in which a quantum `walker' evolves between initial and final states by traversing the edges of a graph, either in discrete steps from node to node or via continuous evolution under the Hamiltonian furnished by the adjacency matrix of the graph. We present a hybrid scheme for universal quantum computation in which a quantum walker takes discrete steps of continuous evolution. This `discontinuous' quantum walk employs perfect quantum state transfer between two nodes of specific subgraphs chosen to implement a universal gate set, thereby ensuring unitary evolution without requiring the introduction of an ancillary coin space. The run time is linear in the number of simulated qubits and gates. The scheme allows multiple runs of the algorithm to be executed almost simultaneously by starting walkers one timestep apart.Comment: 7 pages, revte

Polygons with inscribed circles and prescribed side lengths

AbstractWe prove NP-completeness of the following problem: For n given input numbers, decide whether there exists an n-sided, plane, convex polygon that has an inscribed circle and that has the input numbers as side lengths

Electric-dipole active two-magnon excitation in {\textit{ab}} spiral spin phase of a ferroelectric magnet Gd0.7_{\textbf{0.7}}Tb0.3_{\textbf{0.3}}MnO3_{\textbf 3}

A broad continuum-like spin excitation (1--10 meV) with a peak structure around 2.4 meV has been observed in the ferroelectric $ab$ spiral spin phase of Gd$_{0.7}$Tb$_{0.3}$MnO$_3$ by using terahertz (THz) time-domain spectroscopy. Based on a complete set of light-polarization measurements, we identify the spin excitation active for the light $E$ vector only along the a-axis, which grows in intensity with lowering temperature even from above the magnetic ordering temperature but disappears upon the transition to the $A$-type antiferromagnetic phase. Such an electric-dipole active spin excitation as observed at THz frequencies can be ascribed to the two-magnon excitation in terms of the unique polarization selection rule in a variety of the magnetically ordered phases.Comment: 11 pages including 3 figure

Relating the Time Complexity of Optimization Problems in Light of the Exponential-Time Hypothesis

Obtaining lower bounds for NP-hard problems has for a long time been an active area of research. Recent algebraic techniques introduced by Jonsson et al. (SODA 2013) show that the time complexity of the parameterized SAT($\cdot$) problem correlates to the lattice of strong partial clones. With this ordering they isolated a relation $R$ such that SAT($R$) can be solved at least as fast as any other NP-hard SAT($\cdot$) problem. In this paper we extend this method and show that such languages also exist for the max ones problem (MaxOnes($\Gamma$)) and the Boolean valued constraint satisfaction problem over finite-valued constraint languages (VCSP($\Delta$)). With the help of these languages we relate MaxOnes and VCSP to the exponential time hypothesis in several different ways.Comment: This is an extended version of Relating the Time Complexity of Optimization Problems in Light of the Exponential-Time Hypothesis, appearing in Proceedings of the 39th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science MFCS 2014 Budapest, August 25-29, 201

Travelling salesman paths on Demidenko matrices

In the path version of the Travelling Salesman Problem (Path-TSP), a salesman is looking for the shortest Hamiltonian path through a set of n cities. The salesman has to start his journey at a given city s, visit every city exactly once, and finally end his trip at another given city t. In this paper we show that a special case of the Path-TSP with a Demidenko distance matrix is solvable in polynomial time. Demidenko distance matrices fulfill a particular condition abstracted from the convex Euclidian special case by Demidenko (1979) as an extension of an earlier work of Kalmanson (1975). We identify a number of crucial combinatorial properties of the optimal solution and design a dynamic programming approach with time complexity O(n6)

The Alcuin number of a graph and its connections to the vertex cover number

We consider a planning problem that generalizes Alcuin's river crossing problem to scenarios with arbitrary conflict graphs. This generalization leads to the so-called Alcuin number of the underlying conflict graph. We derive a variety of combinatorial, structural, algorithmical, and complexity theoretical results around the Alcuin number. Our technical main result is an NP-certificate for the Alcuin number. It turns out that the Alcuin number of a graph is closely related to the size of a minimum vertex cover in the graph, and we unravel several surprising connections between these two graph parameters. We provide hardness results and a fixed parameter tractability result for computing the Alcuin number. Furthermore we demonstrate that the Alcuin number of chordal graphs, bipartite graphs, and planar graphs is substantially easier to analyze than the Alcuin number of general graphs