Finding Biclique Partitions of Co-Chordal Graphs

The biclique partition number $(\text{bp})$ of a graph $G$ is referred to as the least number of complete bipartite (biclique) subgraphs that are required to cover the edges of the graph exactly once. In this paper, we show that the biclique partition number ($\text{bp}$) of a co-chordal (complementary graph of chordal) graph $G = (V, E)$ is less than the number of maximal cliques ($\text{mc}$) of its complementary graph: a chordal graph $G^c = (V, E^c)$. We first provide a general framework of the ``divide and conquer" heuristic of finding minimum biclique partitions of co-chordal graphs based on clique trees. Furthermore, a heuristic of complexity $O[|V|(|V|+|E^c|)]$ is proposed by applying lexicographic breadth-first search to find structures called moplexes. Either heuristic gives us a biclique partition of $G$ with size $\text{mc}(G^c)-1$. In addition, we prove that both of our heuristics can solve the minimum biclique partition problem on $G$ exactly if its complement $G^c$ is chordal and clique vertex irreducible. We also show that $\text{mc}(G^c) - 2 \leq \text{bp}(G) \leq \text{mc}(G^c) - 1$ if $G$ is a split graph

On relaxations of the max kk-cut problem formulations

A tight continuous relaxation is a crucial factor in solving mixed integer formulations of many NP-hard combinatorial optimization problems. The (weighted) max $k$-cut problem is a fundamental combinatorial optimization problem with multiple notorious mixed integer optimization formulations. In this paper, we explore four existing mixed integer optimization formulations of the max $k$-cut problem. Specifically, we show that the continuous relaxation of a binary quadratic optimization formulation of the problem is: (i) stronger than the continuous relaxation of two mixed integer linear optimization formulations and (ii) at least as strong as the continuous relaxation of a mixed integer semidefinite optimization formulation. We also conduct a set of experiments on multiple sets of instances of the max $k$-cut problem using state-of-the-art solvers that empirically confirm the theoretical results in item (i). Furthermore, these numerical results illustrate the advances in the efficiency of global non-convex quadratic optimization solvers and more general mixed integer nonlinear optimization solvers. As a result, these solvers provide a promising option to solve combinatorial optimization problems. Our codes and data are available on GitHub

Study of forward Z + jet production in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

A measurement of the $Z(\rightarrow\mu^+\mu^-)$+jet production cross-section in $pp$ collisions at a centre-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s} = 7$ TeV is presented. The analysis is based on an integrated luminosity of $1.0\,\text{fb}^{-1}$ recorded by the LHCb experiment. Results are shown with two jet transverse momentum thresholds, 10 and 20 GeV, for both the overall cross-section within the fiducial volume, and for six differential cross-section measurements. The fiducial volume requires that both the jet and the muons from the Z boson decay are produced in the forward direction ($2.0<\eta<4.5$). The results show good agreement with theoretical predictions at the second-order expansion in the coupling of the strong interaction.A measurement of the $Z(\rightarrow\mu^+\mu^-)$+jet production cross-section in $pp$ collisions at a centre-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s} = 7$ TeV is presented. The analysis is based on an integrated luminosity of $1.0\,\text{fb}^{-1}$ recorded by the LHCb experiment. Results are shown with two jet transverse momentum thresholds, 10 and 20 GeV, for both the overall cross-section within the fiducial volume, and for six differential cross-section measurements. The fiducial volume requires that both the jet and the muons from the Z boson decay are produced in the forward direction ($2.0<\eta<4.5$). The results show good agreement with theoretical predictions at the second-order expansion in the coupling of the strong interaction