@misc{SchielaWachsmuth2011, author = {Schiela, Anton and Wachsmuth, Daniel}, title = {Convergence Analysis of Smoothing Methods for Optimal Control of Stationary Variational Inequalities}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-13125}, number = {11-23}, year = {2011}, abstract = {In the article an optimal control problem subject to a stationary variational inequality is investigated. The optimal control problem is complemented with pointwise control constraints. The convergence of a smoothing scheme is analyzed. There, the variational inequality is replaced by a semilinear elliptic equation. It is shown that solutions of the regularized optimal control problem converge to solutions of the original one. Passing to the limit in the optimality system of the regularized problem allows to prove C-stationarity of local solutions of the original problem. Moreover, convergence rates with respect to the regularization parameter for the error in the control are obtained. These rates coincide with rates obtained by numerical experiments, which are included in the paper.}, language = {en} } @misc{Harks2006, author = {Harks, Tobias}, title = {Nash Equilibria in Online Sequential Routing Games}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-9376}, number = {06-43}, year = {2006}, abstract = {In this paper, we study the efficiency of Nash equilibria for a sequence of nonatomic routing games. We assume that the games are played consecutively in time in an online fashion: by the time of playing game \$i\$, future games \$i+1,\dots,n\$ are not known, and, once players of game \$i\$ are in equilibrium, their corresponding strategies and costs remain fixed. Given a sequence of games, the cost for the sequence of Nash equilibria is defined as the sum of the cost of each game. We analyze the efficiency of a sequence of Nash equilibria in terms of competitive analysis arising in the online optimization field. Our main result states that the online algorithm \$\sl {SeqNash}\$ consisting of the sequence of Nash equilibria is \$\frac{4n}{2+n}\$-competitive for affine linear latency functions. For \$n=1\$, this result contains the bound on the price of anarchy of \$\frac{4}{3}\$ for affine linear latency functions of Roughgarden and Tardos [2002] as a special case. Furthermore, we analyze a problem variant with a modified cost function that reflects the total congestion cost, when all games have been played. In this case, we prove an upper bound of \$\frac{4n}{2+n}\$ on the competitive ratio of \$\sl {SeqNash}\$. We further prove a lower bound of \$\frac{3n-2}{n}\$ of \$\sl {SeqNash}\$ showing that for \$n=2\$ our upper bound is tight.}, language = {en} } @misc{EiflerGleixner2021, author = {Eifler, Leon and Gleixner, Ambros}, title = {A Computational Status Update for Exact Rational Mixed Integer Programming}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-81298}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The last milestone achievement for the roundoff-error-free solution of general mixed integer programs over the rational numbers was a hybrid-precision branch-and-bound algorithm published by Cook, Koch, Steffy, and Wolter in 2013. We describe a substantial revision and extension of this framework that integrates symbolic presolving, features an exact repair step for solutions from primal heuristics, employs a faster rational LP solver based on LP iterative refinement, and is able to produce independently verifiable certificates of optimality. We study the significantly improved performance and give insights into the computational behavior of the new algorithmic components. On the MIPLIB 2017 benchmark set, we observe an average speedup of 6.6x over the original framework and 2.8 times as many instances solved within a time limit of two hours.}, language = {en} } @misc{PedersenLindnerRehfeldtetal.2025, author = {Pedersen, Jaap and Lindner, Niels and Rehfeldt, Daniel and Koch, Thorsten}, title = {Comparing Branching Rules for the Quota Steiner Tree Problem with Interference}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-101250}, year = {2025}, abstract = {Branching decisions play a crucial role in branch-and-bound algorithms for solving combinatorial optimization problems. In this paper, we investigate several branching rules applied to the Quota Steiner Tree Problem with Interference (QSTPI). The Quota Steiner Tree Problem (QSTP) generalizes the classical Steiner Tree Problem (STP) in graphs by seeking a minimum-cost tree that connects a subset of profit-associated vertices to meet a given quota. The extended version, QSTPI, introduces interference among vertices: Selecting certain vertices simultaneously reduces their individual contributions to the overall profit. This problem arises, for example, in positioning and connecting wind turbines, where turbines possibly shadow other turbines, reducing their energy yield. While exact solvers for standard STP-related problems often rely heavily on reduction techniques and cutting-plane methods - rarely generating large branch-and-bound trees - experiments reveal that large instances of QSTPI require significantly more branching to compute provably optimal solutions. In contrast to branching on variables, we utilize the combinatorial structure of the QSTPI by branching on the graph's vertices. We adapt classical and problem-specific branching rules and present a comprehensive computational study comparing the effectiveness of these branching strategies.}, language = {en} } @misc{KempkeKoch2025, author = {Kempke, Nils-Christian and Koch, Thorsten}, title = {A GPU accelerated variant of Schroeppel-Shamir's algorithm for solving the market split problem}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-100554}, year = {2025}, abstract = {The market split problem (MSP), introduced by Cornu{\´e}jols and Dawande (1998), is a challenging binary optimization problem that performs poorly on state-of-the-art linear programming-based branch-and-cut solvers. We present a novel algorithm for solving the feasibility version of this problem, derived from Schroeppel-Shamir's algorithm for the one-dimensional subset sum problem. Our approach is based on exhaustively enumerating one-dimensional solutions of MSP and utilizing GPUs to evaluate candidate solutions across the entire problem. The resulting hybrid CPU-GPU implementation efficiently solves instances with up to 10 constraints and 90 variables. We demonstrate the algorithm's performance on benchmark problems, solving instances of size (9, 80) in less than fifteen minutes and (10, 90) in up to one day.}, language = {en} } @misc{MehlLindnerBartoszuketal.2025, author = {Mehl, Lukas and Lindner, Niels and Bartoszuk, Karolina and Zittel, Janina}, title = {Prototypical warm-starts for demand-robust LP-based energy system optimization}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-101242}, year = {2025}, abstract = {The expressiveness of energy system optimization models (ESOMs) depends on a multitude of exogenous parameters. For example, sound estimates of the future energy demand are essential to enable qualified decisions on long-term investments. However, the enormous demand fluctuations even on a fine-grained scale diminish the computational performance of large-scale ESOMs. We therefore propose a clustering-and-decomposition method for linear programming based ESOMs that first identifies and solves prototypical demand scenarios with the dual simplex algorithm, and then composes dual optimal prototype bases to a warm-start basis for the full model. We evaluate the feasibility and computational efficiency our approach on a real-world case study, using a sector-coupled ESOM with hourly resolution for the Berlin-Brandenburg area in Germany, based on the oemof framework.}, language = {en} } @misc{GamrathAndersonBestuzhevaetal.2020, author = {Gamrath, Gerald and Anderson, Daniel and Bestuzheva, Ksenia and Chen, Wei-Kun and Eifler, Leon and Gasse, Maxime and Gemander, Patrick and Gleixner, Ambros and Gottwald, Leona and Halbig, Katrin and Hendel, Gregor and Hojny, Christopher and Koch, Thorsten and Le Bodic, Pierre and Maher, Stephen J. and Matter, Frederic and Miltenberger, Matthias and M{\"u}hmer, Erik and M{\"u}ller, Benjamin and Pfetsch, Marc and Schl{\"o}sser, Franziska and Serrano, Felipe and Shinano, Yuji and Tawfik, Christine and Vigerske, Stefan and Wegscheider, Fabian and Weninger, Dieter and Witzig, Jakob}, title = {The SCIP Optimization Suite 7.0}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-78023}, year = {2020}, abstract = {The SCIP Optimization Suite provides a collection of software packages for mathematical optimization centered around the constraint integer programming frame- work SCIP. This paper discusses enhancements and extensions contained in version 7.0 of the SCIP Optimization Suite. The new version features the parallel presolving library PaPILO as a new addition to the suite. PaPILO 1.0 simplifies mixed-integer linear op- timization problems and can be used stand-alone or integrated into SCIP via a presolver plugin. SCIP 7.0 provides additional support for decomposition algorithms. Besides im- provements in the Benders' decomposition solver of SCIP, user-defined decomposition structures can be read, which are used by the automated Benders' decomposition solver and two primal heuristics. Additionally, SCIP 7.0 comes with a tree size estimation that is used to predict the completion of the overall solving process and potentially trigger restarts. Moreover, substantial performance improvements of the MIP core were achieved by new developments in presolving, primal heuristics, branching rules, conflict analysis, and symmetry handling. Last, not least, the report presents updates to other components and extensions of the SCIP Optimization Suite, in particular, the LP solver SoPlex and the mixed-integer semidefinite programming solver SCIP-SDP.}, language = {en} } @misc{HendelAndersonLeBodicetal.2020, author = {Hendel, Gregor and Anderson, Daniel and Le Bodic, Pierre and Pfetsch, Marc}, title = {Estimating the Size of Branch-And-Bound Trees}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-78144}, year = {2020}, abstract = {This paper investigates the estimation of the size of Branch-and-Bound (B\&B) trees for solving mixed-integer programs. We first prove that the size of the B\&B tree cannot be approximated within a factor of~2 for general binary programs, unless P equals NP. Second, we review measures of the progress of the B\&B search, such as the gap, and propose a new measure, which we call leaf frequency. We study two simple ways to transform these progress measures into B\&B tree size estimates, either as a direct projection, or via double-exponential smoothing, a standard time-series forecasting technique. We then combine different progress measures and their trends into nontrivial estimates using Machine Learning techniques, which yields more precise estimates than any individual measure. The best method we have identified uses all individual measures as features of a random forest model. In a large computational study, we train and validate all methods on the publicly available MIPLIB and Coral general purpose benchmark sets. On average, the best method estimates B\&B tree sizes within a factor of 3 on the set of unseen test instances even during the early stage of the search, and improves in accuracy as the search progresses. It also achieves a factor 2 over the entire search on each out of six additional sets of homogeneous instances we have tested. All techniques are available in version 7 of the branch-and-cut framework SCIP.}, language = {en} } @misc{BorndoerferGrimmReutheretal.2016, author = {Bornd{\"o}rfer, Ralf and Grimm, Boris and Reuther, Markus and Schlechte, Thomas}, title = {Optimization of Handouts for Rolling Stock Rotations Visualization}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-61430}, year = {2016}, abstract = {A railway operator creates (rolling stock) rotations in order to have a precise master plan for the operation of a timetable by railway vehicles. A rotation is considered as a cycle that multiply traverses a set of operational days while covering trips of the timetable. As it is well known, the proper creation of rolling stock rotations by, e.g., optimization algorithms is challenging and still a topical research subject. Nevertheless, we study a completely different but strongly related question in this paper, i.e.: How to visualize a rotation? For this purpose, we introduce a basic handout concept, which directly leads to the visualization, i.e., handout of a rotation. In our industrial application at DB Fernverkehr AG, the handout is exactly as important as the rotation itself. Moreover, it turns out that also other European railway operators use exactly the same methodology (but not terminology). Since a rotation can have many handouts of different quality, we show how to compute optimal ones through an integer program (IP) by standard software. In addition, a construction as well as an improvement heuristic are presented. Our computational results show that the heuristics are a very reliable standalone approach to quickly find near-optimal and even optimal handouts. The efficiency of the heuristics is shown via a computational comparison to the IP approach.}, language = {en} } @misc{KempkeRehfeldtKoch2024, author = {Kempke, Nils-Christian and Rehfeldt, Daniel and Koch, Thorsten}, title = {A Massively Parallel Interior-Point-Method for Arrowhead Linear Programs}, issn = {1438-0064}, arxiv = {http://arxiv.org/abs/2412.07731}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-98829}, year = {2024}, abstract = {In practice, non-specialized interior point algorithms often cannot utilize the massively parallel compute resources offered by modern many- and multi-core compute platforms. However, efficient distributed solution techniques are required, especially for large-scale linear programs. This article describes a new decomposition technique for systems of linear equations implemented in the parallel interior-point solver PIPS-IPM++. The algorithm exploits a matrix structure commonly found in optimization problems: a doubly-bordered block-diagonal or arrowhead structure. This structure is preserved in the linear KKT systems solved during each iteration of the interior-point method. We present a hierarchical Schur complement decomposition that distributes and solves the linear optimization problem; it is designed for high-performance architectures and scales well with the availability of additional computing resources. The decomposition approach uses the border constraints' locality to decouple the factorization process. Our approach is motivated by large-scale unit-commitment problems. We demonstrate the performance of our method on a set of mid-to large-scale instances, some of which have more than 10^9 nonzeros in their constraint matrix.}, language = {en} } @misc{LindnerBartoszukDebguptaetal.2024, author = {Lindner, Niels and Bartoszuk, Karolina and Debgupta, Srinwanti and Gering, Marie-Claire and Muschner, Christoph and Zittel, Janina}, title = {Warm-starting modeling to generate alternatives for energy transition paths in the Berlin-Brandenburg area}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-97835}, year = {2024}, abstract = {Energy system optimization models are key to investigate energy transition paths towards a decarbonized future. Since this approach comes with intrinsic uncertainties, it is insufficient to compute a single optimal solution assuming perfect foresight to provide a profound basis for decision makers. The paradigm of modeling to generate alternatives enables to explore the near-optimal solution space to a certain extent. However, large-scale energy models require a non-negligible computation time to be solved. We propose to use warm start methods to accelerate the process of finding close-to-optimal alternatives. In an extensive case study for the energy transition of the Berlin-Brandenburg area, we make use of the sector-coupled linear programming oemof-B3 model to analyze a scenario for the year 2050 with a resolution of one hour and 100\% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. We demonstrate that we can actually achieve a significant computational speedup.}, language = {en} } @misc{Eifler2017, type = {Master Thesis}, author = {Eifler, Leon}, title = {Mixed-Integer Programming for Clustering in Non-reversible Markov Processes}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-66486}, pages = {74}, year = {2017}, abstract = {The topic of this thesis is the examination of an optimization model which stems from the clustering process of non-reversible markov processes. We introduce the cycle clustering problem und formulate it as a mixed integer program (MIP). We prove that this problem is N P-hard and discuss polytopal aspects such as facets and dimension. The focus of this thesis is the development of solving methods for this clustering problem. We develop problem specific primal heuristics, as well as separation methods and an approximation algorithm. These techniques are implemented in practice as an application for the MIP solver SCIP. Our computational experiments show that these solving methods result in an average speedup of ×4 compared to generic solvers and that our application is able to solve more instances to optimality within the given time limit of one hour.}, language = {en} } @misc{EiflerGleixnerPulaj2018, author = {Eifler, Leon and Gleixner, Ambros and Pulaj, Jonad}, title = {Chv{\´a}tal's Conjecture Holds for Ground Sets of Seven Elements}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-70240}, year = {2018}, abstract = {We establish a general computational framework for Chv{\´a}tal's conjecture based on exact rational integer programming. As a result we prove Chv{\´a}tal's conjecture holds for all downsets whose union of sets contains seven elements or less. The computational proof relies on an exact branch-and-bound certificate that allows for elementary verification and is independent of the integer programming solver used.}, language = {en} } @misc{GroetschelRaackWerner2013, author = {Gr{\"o}tschel, Martin and Raack, Christian and Werner, Axel}, title = {Towards optimizing the deployment of optical access networks}, issn = {1438-0064}, doi = {10.1007/s13675-013-0016-x}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-18627}, year = {2013}, abstract = {In this paper we study the cost-optimal deployment of optical access networks considering variants of the problem such as fiber to the home (FTTH), fiber to the building (FTTB), fiber to the curb (FTTC), or fiber to the neighborhood (FTTN). We identify the combinatorial structures of the most important sub-problems arising in this area and model these, e.g., as capacitated facility location, concentrator location, or Steiner tree problems. We discuss modeling alternatives as well. We finally construct a "unified" integer programming model that combines all sub-models and provides a global view of all these FTTx problems. We also summarize computational studies of various special cases.}, language = {en} } @misc{Lenz2021, author = {Lenz, Ralf}, title = {Pipe Merging for Transient Gas Network Problems}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-82116}, year = {2021}, abstract = {In practice, transient gas transport problems frequently have to be solved for large-scale gas networks. Gas network optimization problems typically belong to the class of Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Programming Problems (MINLP). However current state-of-the-art MINLP solvers are not yet mature enough to solve large-scale real-world instances. Therefore, an established approach in practice is to solve the problems with respect to a coarser representation of the network and thereby reducing the size of the underlying model. Two well-known aggregation methods that effectively reduce the network size are parallel and serial pipe merges. However, these methods have only been studied in stationary gas transport problems so far. This paper closes this gap and presents parallel and serial pipe merging methods in the context of transient gas transport. To this end, we introduce the concept of equivalent and heuristic subnetwork replacements. For the heuristic methods, we conduct a huge empirical evaluation based on real-world data taken from one of the largest gas networks in Europe. It turns out that both, parallel and serial pipe merging can be considered as appropriate aggregation methods for real-world transient gas flow problems.}, language = {en} } @misc{BreugemBorndoerferSchlechteetal.2019, author = {Breugem, Thomas and Bornd{\"o}rfer, Ralf and Schlechte, Thomas and Schulz, Christof}, title = {A Three-Phase Heuristic for Cyclic Crew Rostering with Fairness Requirements}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-74297}, year = {2019}, abstract = {In this paper, we consider the Cyclic Crew Rostering Problem with Fairness Requirements (CCRP-FR). In this problem, attractive cyclic rosters have to be constructed for groups of employees, considering multiple, a priori determined, fairness levels. The attractiveness follows from the structure of the rosters (e.g., sufficient rest times and variation in work), whereas fairness is based on the work allocation among the different roster groups. We propose a three-phase heuristic for the CCRP-FR, which combines the strength of column generation techniques with a large-scale neighborhood search algorithm. The design of the heuristic assures that good solutions for all fairness levels are obtained quickly, and can still be further improved if additional running time is available. We evaluate the performance of the algorithm using real-world data from Netherlands Railways, and show that the heuristic finds close to optimal solutions for many of the considered instances. In particular, we show that the heuristic is able to quickly find major improvements upon the current sequential practice: For most instances, the heuristic is able to increase the attractiveness by at least 20\% in just a few minutes.}, language = {en} } @misc{SahinAhmadiBorndoerferetal.2019, author = {Sahin, Guvenc and Ahmadi, Amin and Bornd{\"o}rfer, Ralf and Schlechte, Thomas}, title = {Multi-Period Line Planning with Resource Transfers}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-74662}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Urban transportation systems are subject to a high level of variation and fluctuation in demand over the day. When this variation and fluctuation are observed in both time and space, it is crucial to develop line plans that are responsive to demand. A multi-period line planning approach that considers a changing demand during the planning horizon is proposed. If such systems are also subject to limitations of resources, a dynamic transfer of resources from one line to another throughout the planning horizon should also be considered. A mathematical modelling framework is developed to solve the line planning problem with transfer of resources during a finite length planning horizon of multiple periods. We analyze whether or not multi-period solutions outperform single period solutions in terms of feasibility and relevant costs. The importance of demand variation on multi-period solutions is investigated. We evaluate the impact of resource transfer constraints on the effectiveness of solutions. We also study the effect of line type designs and question the choice of period lengths along with the problem parameters that are significant for and sensitive to the optimality of solutions.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Beckenbach2019, author = {Beckenbach, Isabel}, title = {Matchings and Flows in Hypergraphs}, year = {2019}, abstract = {In this dissertation, we study matchings and flows in hypergraphs using combinatorial methods. These two problems are among the best studied in the field of combinatorial optimization. As hypergraphs are a very general concept, not many results on graphs can be generalized to arbitrary hypergraphs. Therefore, we consider special classes of hypergraphs, which admit more structure, to transfer results from graph theory to hypergraph theory. In Chapter 2, we investigate the perfect matching problem on different classes of hypergraphs generalizing bipartite graphs. First, we give a polynomial time approximation algorithm for the maximum weight matching problem on so-called partitioned hypergraphs, whose approximation factor is best possible up to a constant. Afterwards, we look at the theorems of K{\"o}nig and Hall and their relation. Our main result is a condition for the existence of perfect matchings in normal hypergraphs that generalizes Hall's condition for bipartite graphs. In Chapter 3, we consider perfect f-matchings, f-factors, and (g,f)-matchings. We prove conditions for the existence of (g,f)-matchings in unimodular hypergraphs, perfect f-matchings in uniform Mengerian hypergraphs, and f-factors in uniform balanced hypergraphs. In addition, we give an overview about the complexity of the (g,f)-matching problem on different classes of hypergraphs generalizing bipartite graphs. In Chapter 4, we study the structure of hypergraphs that admit a perfect matching. We show that these hypergraphs can be decomposed along special cuts. For graphs it is known that the resulting decomposition is unique, which does not hold for hypergraphs in general. However, we prove the uniqueness of this decomposition (up to parallel hyperedges) for uniform hypergraphs. In Chapter 5, we investigate flows on directed hypergraphs, where we focus on graph-based directed hypergraphs, which means that every hyperarc is the union of a set of pairwise disjoint ordinary arcs. We define a residual network, which can be used to decide whether a given flow is optimal or not. Our main result in this chapter is an algorithm that computes a minimum cost flow on a graph-based directed hypergraph. This algorithm is a generalization of the network simplex algorithm.}, language = {en} } @misc{LindnerLiebchen2019, author = {Lindner, Niels and Liebchen, Christian}, title = {New Perspectives on PESP: T-Partitions and Separators}, issn = {1438-0064}, doi = {10.4230/OASIcs.ATMOS.2019.2}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-73853}, year = {2019}, abstract = {In the planning process of public transportation companies, designing the timetable is among the core planning steps. In particular in the case of periodic (or cyclic) services, the Periodic Event Scheduling Problem (PESP) is well-established to compute high-quality periodic timetables. We are considering algorithms for computing good solutions for the very basic PESP with no additional extra features as add-ons. The first of these algorithms generalizes several primal heuristics that had been proposed in the past, such as single-node cuts and the modulo network simplex algorithm. We consider partitions of the graph, and identify so-called delay cuts as a structure that allows to generalize several previous heuristics. In particular, when no more improving delay cut can be found, we already know that the other heuristics could not improve either. The second of these algorithms turns a strategy, that had been discussed in the past, upside-down: Instead of gluing together the network line-by-line in a bottom-up way, we develop a divide-and-conquer-like top-down approach to separate the initial problem into two easier subproblems such that the information loss along their cutset edges is as small as possible. We are aware that there may be PESP instances that do not fit well the separator setting. Yet, on the RxLy-instances of PESPlib in our experimental computations, we come up with good primal solutions and dual bounds. In particular, on the largest instance (R4L4), this new separator approach, which applies a state-of-the-art solver as subroutine, is able to come up with better dual bounds than purely applying this state-of-the-art solver in the very same time.}, language = {en} } @misc{Serrano2019, author = {Serrano, Felipe}, title = {Visible points, the separation problem, and applications to MINLP}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-74016}, year = {2019}, abstract = {In this paper we introduce a technique to produce tighter cutting planes for mixed-integer non-linear programs. Usually, a cutting plane is generated to cut off a specific infeasible point. The underlying idea is to use the infeasible point to restrict the feasible region in order to obtain a tighter domain. To ensure validity, we require that every valid cut separating the infeasible point from the restricted feasible region is still valid for the original feasible region. We translate this requirement in terms of the separation problem and the reverse polar. In particular, if the reverse polar of the restricted feasible region is the same as the reverse polar of the feasible region, then any cut valid for the restricted feasible region that \emph{separates} the infeasible point, is valid for the feasible region. We show that the reverse polar of the \emph{visible points} of the feasible region from the infeasible point coincides with the reverse polar of the feasible region. In the special where the feasible region is described by a single non-convex constraint intersected with a convex set we provide a characterization of the visible points. Furthermore, when the non-convex constraint is quadratic the characterization is particularly simple. We also provide an extended formulation for a relaxation of the visible points when the non-convex constraint is a general polynomial. Finally, we give some conditions under which for a given set there is an inclusion-wise smallest set, in some predefined family of sets, whose reverse polars coincide.}, language = {en} }