@inproceedings{StomporZittelKochetal.2025, author = {Stompor, Tomasz and Zittel, Janina and Koch, Thorsten and Rusch, Beate}, title = {Fully Algorithmic Librarian: Large-Scale Citation Experiments}, booktitle = {20th International Society of Scientometrics and Informetrics Conference 2025, June 23-27, 2025 | Yerevan, Armenia}, doi = {10.51408/issi2025_204}, year = {2025}, abstract = {The Fully Algorithmic Librarian (FAN) project explores application scenarios for algorithmic-intelligence(AI)-supported methods in academic libraries as central institutions for research support. To this end, the study builds on two algorithmic approaches for analyzing large-scale citation networks. A comparison of Web of Science (WoS) and OpenAlex structures using the PageRank algorithm reveals key differences. Additionally, a multi-label clustering technique designed for large-scale citation networks accounts for disciplinary variations in publication practices.}, language = {en} } @article{ChenKochPengetal.2025, author = {Chen, Ying and Koch, Thorsten and Peng, Hanqui and Zhang, Hongrui}, title = {Benchmarking of Quantum and Classical Computing in Large-Scale Dynamic Portfolio Optimization Under Market Frictions}, arxiv = {http://arxiv.org/abs/2502.05226}, year = {2025}, language = {en} } @article{ChenXuKoch2020, author = {Chen, Ying and Xu, Xiuqin and Koch, Thorsten}, title = {Day-ahead high-resolution forecasting of natural gas demand and supply in Germany with a hybrid model}, volume = {262}, journal = {Applied Energy}, number = {114486}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.114486}, year = {2020}, abstract = {As the natural gas market is moving towards short-term planning, accurate and robust short-term forecasts of the demand and supply of natural gas is of fundamental importance for a stable energy supply, a natural gas control schedule, and transport operation on a daily basis. We propose a hybrid forecast model, Functional AutoRegressive and Convolutional Neural Network model, based on state-of-the-art statistical modeling and artificial neural networks. We conduct short-term forecasting of the hourly natural gas flows of 92 distribution nodes in the German high-pressure gas pipeline network, showing that the proposed model provides nice and stable accuracy for different types of nodes. It outperforms all the alternative models, with an improved relative accuracy up to twofold for plant nodes and up to fourfold for municipal nodes. For the border nodes with rather flat gas flows, it has an accuracy that is comparable to the best performing alternative model.}, language = {en} } @article{TjusilaBesanconTurneretal.2024, author = {Tjusila, Gennesaret and Besan{\c{c}}on, Mathieu and Turner, Mark and Koch, Thorsten}, title = {How Many Clues To Give? A Bilevel Formulation For The Minimum Sudoku Clue Problem}, volume = {54}, journal = {Operations Research Letters}, doi = {10.1016/j.orl.2024.107105}, pages = {107105}, year = {2024}, abstract = {It has been shown that any 9 by 9 Sudoku puzzle must contain at least 17 clues to have a unique solution. This paper investigates the more specific question: given a particular completed Sudoku grid, what is the minimum number of clues in any puzzle whose unique solution is the given grid? We call this problem the Minimum Sudoku Clue Problem (MSCP). We formulate MSCP as a binary bilevel linear program, present a class of globally valid inequalities, and provide a computational study on 50 MSCP instances of 9 by 9 Sudoku grids. Using a general bilevel solver, we solve 95\% of instances to optimality, and show that the solution process benefits from the addition of a moderate amount of inequalities. Finally, we extend the proposed model to other combinatorial problems in which uniqueness of the solution is of interest.}, language = {en} } @misc{TurnerBertholdBesanconetal.2023, author = {Turner, Mark and Berthold, Timo and Besan{\c{c}}on, Mathieu and Koch, Thorsten}, title = {Branching via Cutting Plane Selection: Improving Hybrid Branching}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-91120}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Cutting planes and branching are two of the most important algorithms for solving mixed-integer linear programs. For both algorithms, disjunctions play an important role, being used both as branching candidates and as the foundation for some cutting planes. We relate branching decisions and cutting planes to each other through the underlying disjunctions that they are based on, with a focus on Gomory mixed-integer cuts and their corresponding split disjunctions. We show that selecting branching decisions based on quality measures of Gomory mixed-integer cuts leads to relatively small branch-and-bound trees, and that the result improves when using cuts that more accurately represent the branching decisions. Finally, we show how the history of previously computed Gomory mixed-integer cuts can be used to improve the performance of the state-of-the-art hybrid branching rule of SCIP. Our results show a 4\% decrease in solve time, and an 8\% decrease in number of nodes over affected instances of MIPLIB 2017.}, language = {en} } @article{LeFukumotoKoch2024, author = {Le, Thi Thai and Fukumoto, Yasuhide and Koch, Thorsten}, title = {Linear stability of a simple shear layer between two parallel streams in a shallow water flow}, volume = {493}, journal = {Physics Letters A}, publisher = {Elservier}, doi = {10.1016/j.physleta.2023.129264}, year = {2024}, abstract = {The stability of shear layers in fluid flows is a crucial factor in forming vortices and jets and plays a fundamental role in the development of turbulence. Such shear layer instabilities are ubiquitous in natural phenomena, such as atmospheric and oceanic flows, contributing to the formation of weather systems and predicting tsunamis. This study specifically focuses on the stability of a shear layer sandwiched between two semi-infinite layers within a two-dimensional flow. The velocity profile of the shear layer is assumed to be linearly dependent on the vertical coordinate, while the velocity of the other layers remains uniform with differing strengths. The effect of viscosity and surface tension is ignored to simplify the analysis. The shallow water equations are used to analyze the interface stability of the shear layer, and the resulting dispersion relation between wave frequency and other wave characteristics is obtained. This relation incorporates Whittaker functions and their first derivatives and is used to derive appropriate limits corresponding to various physical conditions. Our study thus contributes to a deeper understanding of the stability of shear layers and their implications for natural phenomena.}, language = {en} } @misc{TjusilaBesanconTurneretal.2023, author = {Tjusila, Gennesaret and Besancon, Mathieu and Turner, Mark and Koch, Thorsten}, title = {How Many Clues To Give? A Bilevel Formulation For The Minimum Sudoku Clue Problem}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-90902}, year = {2023}, abstract = {It has been shown that any 9 by 9 Sudoku puzzle must contain at least 17 clues to have a unique solution. This paper investigates the more specific question: given a particular completed Sudoku grid, what is the minimum number of clues in any puzzle whose unique solution is the given grid? We call this problem the Minimum Sudoku Clue Problem (MSCP). We formulate MSCP as a binary bilevel linear program, present a class of globally valid inequalities, and provide a computational study on 50 MSCP instances of 9 by 9 Sudoku grids. Using a general bilevel solver, we solve 95\\% of instances to optimality, and show that the solution process benefits from the addition of a moderate amount of inequalities. Finally, we extend the proposed model to other combinatorial problems in which uniqueness of the solution is of interest.}, language = {en} } @misc{PrauseHoppmannBaumDefournyetal.2020, author = {Prause, Felix and Hoppmann-Baum, Kai and Defourny, Boris and Koch, Thorsten}, title = {The Maximum Diversity Assortment Selection Problem}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-81039}, year = {2020}, abstract = {In this paper, we introduce the Maximum Diversity Assortment Selection Problem (MADASS), which is a generalization of the 2-dimensional Cutting Stock Problem (2CSP). Given a set of rectangles and a rectangular container, the goal of 2CSP is to determine a subset of rectangles that can be placed in the container without overlapping, i.e., a feasible assortment, such that a maximum area is covered. In MADASS, we need to determine a set of feasible assortments, each of them covering a certain minimum threshold of the container, such that the diversity among them is maximized. Thereby, diversity is defined as minimum or average normalized Hamming-Distance of all assortment pairs. The MADASS Problem was used in the 11th AIMMS-MOPTA Competition in 2019. The methods we describe in this article and the computational results won the contest. In the following, we give a definition of the problem, introduce a mathematical model and solution approaches, determine upper bounds on the diversity, and conclude with computational experiments conducted on test instances derived from the 2CSP literature.}, language = {en} } @misc{AndersonTurnerKoch2020, author = {Anderson, Lovis and Turner, Mark and Koch, Thorsten}, title = {Generative deep learning for decision making in gas networks}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-81103}, year = {2020}, abstract = {A decision support system relies on frequent re-solving of similar problem instances. While the general structure remains the same in corresponding applications, the input parameters are updated on a regular basis. We propose a generative neural network design for learning integer decision variables of mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) formulations of these problems. We utilise a deep neural network discriminator and a MILP solver as our oracle to train our generative neural network. In this article, we present the results of our design applied to the transient gas optimisation problem. With the trained network we produce a feasible solution in 2.5s, use it as a warm-start solution, and thereby decrease global optimal solution solve time by 60.5\%.}, language = {en} } @misc{PetkovicKochZittel2021, author = {Petkovic, Milena and Koch, Thorsten and Zittel, Janina}, title = {Deep learning for spatio-temporal supply and demand forecasting in natural gas transmission networks}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-81221}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Germany is the largest market for natural gas in the European Union, with an annual consumption of approx. 95 billion cubic meters. Germany's high-pressure gas pipeline network is roughly 40,000 km long, which enables highly fluctuating quantities of gas to be transported safely over long distances. Considering that similar amounts of gas are also transshipped through Germany to other EU states, it is clear that Germany's gas transport system is essential to the European energy supply. Since the average velocity of gas in a pipeline is only 25km/h, an adequate high-precision, high-frequency forecasting of supply and demand is crucial for efficient control and operation of such a transmission network. We propose a deep learning model based on spatio-temporal convolutional neural networks (DLST) to tackle the problem of gas flow forecasting in a complex high-pressure transmission network. Experiments show that our model effectively captures comprehensive spatio-temporal correlations through modeling gas networks and consistently outperforms state-of-the-art benchmarks on real-world data sets by at least 21\$\\%\$. The results demonstrate that the proposed model can deal with complex nonlinear gas network flow forecasting with high accuracy and effectiveness.}, language = {en} } @article{LeKoch2021, author = {Le, Thi Thai and Koch, Thorsten}, title = {Instability of a tangential discontinuity surface in a three-dimensional compressible medium}, volume = {33}, journal = {Physics of Fluids}, number = {1}, doi = {10.1063/5.0033753}, pages = {016106}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Compressible flows appear in many natural and technological processes, for instance, the flow of natural gases in a pipe system. Thus, a detailed study of the stability of tangential velocity discontinuity in compressible media is relevant and necessary. The first early investigation in two-dimensional (2D) media was given more than 70 years ago. In this article, we continue investigating the stability in three-dimensional (3D) media. The idealized statement of this problem in an infinite spatial space was studied by Syrovatskii in 1954. However, the omission of the absolute sign of cos θ with θ being the angle between vectors of velocity and wave number in a certain inequality produced the inaccurate conclusion that the flow is always unstable for entire values of the Mach number M. First, we revisit this case to arrive at the correct conclusion, namely that the discontinuity surface is stabilized for a large Mach number with a given value of the angle θ. Next, we introduce a real finite spatial system such that it is bounded by solid walls along the flow direction. We show that the discontinuity surface is stable if and only if the dispersion relation equation has only real roots, with a large value of the Mach number; otherwise, the surface is always unstable. In particular, we show that a smaller critical value of the Mach number is required to make the flow in a narrow channel stable.}, language = {en} } @article{HoppmannBaumHenningsZitteletal.2021, author = {Hoppmann-Baum, Kai and Hennings, Felix and Zittel, Janina and Gotzes, Uwe and Spreckelsen, Eva-Maria and Spreckelsen, Klaus and Koch, Thorsten}, title = {An Optimization Approach for the Transient Control of Hydrogen Transport Networks}, journal = {Mathematical Methods of Operations Research}, number = {Special Issue on Energy Networks}, year = {2021}, language = {en} } @misc{HoppmannBaumMexiBurdakovetal.2020, author = {Hoppmann-Baum, Kai and Mexi, Gioni and Burdakov, Oleg and Casselgren, Carl Johan and Koch, Thorsten}, title = {Length-Constrained Cycle Partition with an Application to UAV Routing}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-80489}, year = {2020}, abstract = {In this article, we discuss the Length-Constrained Cycle Partition Problem (LCCP). Besides edge weights, the undirected graph in LCCP features an individual critical weight value for each vertex. A cycle partition, i.e., a vertex disjoint cycle cover, is a feasible solution if the length of each cycle is not greater than the critical weight of each of the vertices in the cycle. The goal is to find a feasible partition with the minimum number of cycles. In this article, we discuss theoretical properties, preprocessing techniques, and two mixed-integer programming models (MIP) for LCCP both inspired by formulations for the closely related Travelling Salesperson Problem (TSP). Further, we introduce conflict hypergraphs, whose cliques yield valid constraints for the MIP models. We conclude with a report on computational experiments conducted on (A)TSPLIB-based instances. As an example, we use a routing problem in which a fleet of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) patrols a set of areas.}, language = {en} } @article{KochSchmidtHilleretal.2020, author = {Koch, Thorsten and Schmidt, Martin and Hiller, Benjamin and Pfetsch, Marc and Geißler, Bj{\"o}rn and Henrion, Ren{\´e} and Joormann, Imke and Martin, Alexander and Morsi, Antonio and R{\"o}misch, Werner and Schewe, Lars and Schultz, R{\"u}diger}, title = {Capacity Evaluation for Large-Scale Gas Networks}, volume = {35}, journal = {German Success Stories in Industrial Mathematics}, isbn = {978-3-030-81454-0}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-030-81455-7}, pages = {23 -- 28}, year = {2020}, language = {en} } @article{ChenZakiyevaZhuetal.2020, author = {Chen, Ying and Zakiyeva, Nazgul and Zhu, Bangzhu and Koch, Thorsten}, title = {Modeling and Forecasting the Dynamics of the Natural Gas Transmission Network in Germany with the Demand and Supply Balance Constraint}, journal = {Applied Energy}, number = {278}, doi = {10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.115597}, year = {2020}, language = {en} } @article{KochChenLimetal.2020, author = {Koch, Thorsten and Chen, Ying and Lim, Kian Guan and Xu, Xiaofei and Zakiyeva, Nazgul}, title = {A review study of functional autoregressive models with application to energy forecasting}, journal = {WIREs Computational Statistics}, doi = {10.1002/wics.1525}, year = {2020}, language = {en} } @incollection{KochRehfeldtShinano2020, author = {Koch, Thorsten and Rehfeldt, Daniel and Shinano, Yuji}, title = {An exact high performance solver for Steiner tree problems in graphs and related problems}, booktitle = {Modeling, Simulation and Optimization of Complex Processes HPSC 2018}, publisher = {Springer}, year = {2020}, language = {en} } @misc{RehfeldtKoch2020, author = {Rehfeldt, Daniel and Koch, Thorsten}, title = {Implications, conflicts, and reductions for Steiner trees}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-80039}, year = {2020}, language = {en} } @misc{HoppmannBaumHenningsZitteletal.2020, author = {Hoppmann-Baum, Kai and Hennings, Felix and Zittel, Janina and Gotzes, Uwe and Spreckelsen, Eva-Maria and Spreckelsen, Klaus and Koch, Thorsten}, title = {From Natural Gas towards Hydrogen - A Feasibility Study on Current Transport Network Infrastructure and its Technical Control}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-79901}, year = {2020}, abstract = {This study examines the usability of a real-world, large-scale natural gas transport infrastructure for hydrogen transport. We investigate whether a converted network can transport the amounts of hydrogen necessary to satisfy current energy demands. After introducing an optimization model for the robust transient control of hydrogen networks, we conduct computational experiments based on real-world demand scenarios. Using a representative network, we demonstrate that replacing each turbo compressor unit by four parallel hydrogen compressors, each of them comprising multiple serial compression stages, and imposing stricter rules regarding the balancing of in- and outflow suffices to realize transport in a majority of scenarios. However, due to the reduced linepack there is an increased need for technical and non-technical measures leading to a more dynamic network control. Furthermore, the amount of energy needed for compression increases by 364\% on average.}, language = {en} } @article{HoppmannBaumHenningsLenzetal.2021, author = {Hoppmann-Baum, Kai and Hennings, Felix and Lenz, Ralf and Gotzes, Uwe and Heinecke, Nina and Spreckelsen, Klaus and Koch, Thorsten}, title = {Optimal Operation of Transient Gas Transport Networks}, volume = {22}, journal = {Optimization and Engineering}, doi = {10.1007/s11081-020-09584-x}, pages = {735 -- 781}, year = {2021}, abstract = {In this paper, we describe an algorithmic framework for the optimal operation of transient gas transport networks consisting of a hierarchical MILP formulation together with a sequential linear programming inspired post-processing routine. Its implementation is part of the KOMPASS decision support system, which is currently used in an industrial setting. Real-world gas transport networks are controlled by operating complex pipeline intersection areas, which comprise multiple compressor units, regulators, and valves. In the following, we introduce the concept of network stations to model them. Thereby, we represent the technical capabilities of a station by hand-tailored artificial arcs and add them to network. Furthermore, we choose from a predefined set of flow directions for each network station and time step, which determines where the gas enters and leaves the station. Additionally, we have to select a supported simple state, which consists of two subsets of artificial arcs: Arcs that must and arcs that cannot be used. The goal is to determine a stable control of the network satisfying all supplies and demands. The pipeline intersections, that are represented by the network stations, were initially built centuries ago. Subsequently, due to updates, changes, and extensions, they evolved into highly complex and involved topologies. To extract their basic properties and to model them using computer-readable and optimizable descriptions took several years of effort. To support the dispatchers in controlling the network, we need to compute a continuously updated list of recommended measures. Our motivation for the model presented here is to make fast decisions on important transient global control parameters, i.e., how to route the flow and where to compress the gas. Detailed continuous and discrete technical control measures realizing them, which take all hardware details into account, are determined in a subsequent step. In this paper, we present computational results from the KOMPASS project using detailed real-world data.}, language = {en} } @incollection{HoppmannBaumMexiBurdakovetal.2020, author = {Hoppmann-Baum, Kai and Mexi, Gioni and Burdakov, Oleg and Casselgren, Carl Johan and Koch, Thorsten}, title = {Minimum Cycle Partition with Length Requirements}, volume = {12296}, booktitle = {Integration of Constraint Programming, Artificial Intelligence, and Operations Research}, editor = {Hebrard, Emmanuel and Musliu, Nysret}, publisher = {Springer International Publishing}, address = {Cham}, isbn = {978-3-030-58941-7}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-030-58942-4_18}, pages = {273 -- 282}, year = {2020}, abstract = {In this article we introduce a Minimum Cycle Partition Problem with Length Requirements (CPLR). This generalization of the Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) originates from routing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Apart from nonnegative edge weights, CPLR has an individual critical weight value associated with each vertex. A cycle partition, i.e., a vertex disjoint cycle cover, is regarded as a feasible solution if the length of each cycle, which is the sum of the weights of its edges, is not greater than the critical weight of each of its vertices. The goal is to find a feasible partition, which minimizes the number of cycles. In this article, a heuristic algorithm is presented together with a Mixed Integer Programming (MIP) formulation of CPLR. We furthermore introduce a conflict graph, whose cliques yield valid constraints for the MIP model. Finally, we report on computational experiments conducted on TSPLIB-based test instances.}, language = {en} } @article{PrauseHoppmannBaumDefournyetal.2021, author = {Prause, Felix and Hoppmann-Baum, Kai and Defourny, Boris and Koch, Thorsten}, title = {The maximum diversity assortment selection problem}, volume = {93}, journal = {Mathematical Methods of Operations Research}, publisher = {Mathematical Methods of Operations Research}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s00186-021-00740-2}, pages = {521 -- 554}, year = {2021}, abstract = {In this article, we introduce the Maximum Diversity Assortment Selection Problem (MDASP), which is a generalization of the two-dimensional Knapsack Problem (2D-KP). Given a set of rectangles and a rectangular container, the goal of 2D-KP is to determine a subset of rectangles that can be placed in the container without overlapping, i.e., a feasible assortment, such that a maximum area is covered. MDASP is to determine a set of feasible assortments, each of them covering a certain minimum threshold of the container, such that the diversity among them is maximized. Thereby, diversity is defined as the minimum or average normalized Hamming distance of all assortment pairs. MDASP was the topic of the 11th AIMMS-MOPTA Competition in 2019. The methods described in this article and the resulting computational results won the contest. In the following, we give a definition of the problem, introduce a mathematical model and solution approaches, determine upper bounds on the diversity, and conclude with computational experiments conducted on test instances derived from the 2D-KP literature.}, language = {en} } @misc{YuekselErguenZittelWangetal.2020, author = {Yueksel-Erguen, Inci and Zittel, Janina and Wang, Ying and Hennings, Felix and Koch, Thorsten}, title = {Lessons learned from gas network data preprocessing}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-78262}, year = {2020}, abstract = {The German high-pressure natural gas transport network consists of thousands of interconnected elements spread over more than 120,000 km of pipelines built during the last 100 years. During the last decade, we have spent many person-years to extract consistent data out of the available sources, both public and private. Based on two case studies, we present some of the challenges we encountered. Preparing consistent, high-quality data is surprisingly hard, and the effort necessary can hardly be overestimated. Thus, it is particularly important to decide which strategy regarding data curation to adopt. Which precision of the data is necessary? When is it more efficient to work with data that is just sufficiently correct on average? In the case studies we describe our experiences and the strategies we adopted to deal with the obstacles and to minimize future effort. Finally, we would like to emphasize that well-compiled data sets, publicly available for research purposes, provide the grounds for building innovative algorithmic solutions to the challenges of the future.}, language = {en} } @misc{RehfeldtFranzKoch2020, author = {Rehfeldt, Daniel and Franz, Henriette and Koch, Thorsten}, title = {Optimal Connected Subgraphs: Formulations and Algorithms}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-79094}, year = {2020}, language = {en} } @book{HadjidimitriouFrangioniLodietal.2020, author = {Hadjidimitriou, Natalia Selini and Frangioni, Antonio and Lodi, Andrea and Koch, Thorsten}, title = {Mathematical Optimization for Efficient and Robust Energy Networks}, volume = {4}, editor = {Hadjidimitriou, Natalia Selini and Frangioni, Antonio and Lodi, Andrea and Koch, Thorsten}, publisher = {Springer}, isbn = {978-3-030-57441-3}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-030-57442-0}, year = {2020}, language = {en} } @misc{ClarnerTawfikKochetal.2022, author = {Clarner, Jan-Patrick and Tawfik, Christine and Koch, Thorsten and Zittel, Janina}, title = {Network-induced Unit Commitment - A model class for investment and production portfolio planning for multi-energy systems}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-87607}, year = {2022}, abstract = {In light of the energy transition production planning of future decarbonized energy systems lead to very large and complex optimization problems. A widely used modeling paradigm for modeling and solving such problems is mathematical programming. While there are various scientific energy system models and modeling tools, most of them do not provide the necessary level of detail or the modeling flexibility to be applicable for industrial usage. Industrial modeling tools, on the other hand, provide a high level of detail and modeling flexibility. However, those models often exhibit a size and complexity that restricts their scope to a time horizon of several months, severely complicating long-term planning. As a remedy, we propose a model class that is detailed enough for real-world usage but still compact enough for long-term planning. The model class is based on a generalized unit commitment problem on a network with investment decisions. The focus lies on the topological dependency of different energy production and transportation units.}, language = {en} } @misc{PedersenLeKochetal.2022, author = {Pedersen, Jaap and Le, Thi Thai and Koch, Thorsten and Zittel, Janina}, title = {Optimal discrete pipe sizing for tree-shaped CO2 networks}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-87574}, year = {2022}, abstract = {While energy-intensive industries like the steel industry plan to switch to renewable energy sources, other industries, such as the cement industry, have to rely on carbon capture storage and utilization technologies to reduce the inevitable carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of their production processes. In this context, we investigate the problem of finding optimal pipeline diameters from a discrete set of diameters for a tree-shaped network transporting captured CO2 from multiple sources to a single sink. The general problem of optimizing arc capacities in potential-based fluid networks is a challenging mixed-integer nonlinear program. Additionally, the behaviour of CO2 is highly sensitive and nonlinear regarding temperature and pressure changes. We propose an iterative algorithm splitting the problem into two parts: a) the pipe-sizing problem under a fixed supply scenario and temperature distribution and b) the thermophysical modelling including mixing effects, the Joule-Thomson effect, and heat exchange with the surrounding environment. We show the effectiveness of our approach by applying our algorithm to a real-world network planning problem for a CO2 network in Western Germany.}, language = {en} } @article{LeKoch2022, author = {Le, Thi Thai and Koch, Thorsten}, title = {Viscosity and porosity effects on tangential-discontinuity surface stability in 3D Compressible Media}, volume = {34}, journal = {Physics of Fluids}, number = {7}, publisher = {AIP Publishing}, doi = {10.1063/5.0095970}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The stability of a flow in porous media relates to the velocity rate of injecting and withdrawing natural gases inside porous storage. We thus aim to analyze the stability of flows in porous media to accelerate the energy transition process. This research examines a flow model of a tangential--velocity discontinuity with porosity and viscosity changes in a three-dimensional (3D) compressible medium because of a co-existence of different gases in a storage. The fluids are assumed to move in a relative motion where the plane y=0 is a tangential-velocity discontinuity surface. We obtain that the critical value of the Mach number to stabilize a tangential discontinuity surface of flows via porous media is smaller than the one of flows in a plane. The critical value of the Mach number M to stabilize a discontinuity surface of the 3D flow is different by a factor |cosθ| compared to the two-dimensional (2D) flow. Here, θ is the angle between velocity and wavenumber vectors. Our results also show that the flow model with viscosity and porosity effects is stable faster than those without these terms. Our analysis is done for both infinite and finite flows. The effect of solid walls along the flow direction could suppress the instability, i.e., the tangential-discontinuity surface is stabilized faster}, language = {en} } @article{ChenKochZakiyevaetal.2022, author = {Chen, Ying and Koch, Thorsten and Zakiyeva, Nazgul and Liu, Kailiang and Xu, Zhitong and Chen, Chun-houh and Nakano, Junji and Honda, Keisuke}, title = {Article's Scientific Prestige: Measuring the Impact of Individual Articles in the Web of Science}, volume = {17}, number = {1}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joi.2023.101379}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-86380}, pages = {101379}, year = {2022}, abstract = {We performed a citation analysis on the Web of Science publications consisting of more than 63 million articles and 1.45 billion citations on 254 subjects from 1981 to 2020. We proposed the Article's Scientific Prestige (ASP) metric and compared this metric to number of citations (\#Cit) and journal grade in measuring the scientific impact of individual articles in the large-scale hierarchical and multi-disciplined citation network. In contrast to \#Cit, ASP, that is computed based on the eigenvector centrality, considers both direct and indirect citations, and provides steady-state evaluation cross different disciplines. We found that ASP and \#Cit are not aligned for most articles, with a growing mismatch amongst the less cited articles. While both metrics are reliable for evaluating the prestige of articles such as Nobel Prize winning articles, ASP tends to provide more persuasive rankings than \#Cit when the articles are not highly cited. The journal grade, that is eventually determined by a few highly cited articles, is unable to properly reflect the scientific impact of individual articles. The number of references and coauthors are less relevant to scientific impact, but subjects do make a difference.}, language = {en} } @misc{TurnerKochSerranoetal.2022, author = {Turner, Mark and Koch, Thorsten and Serrano, Felipe and Winkler, Michael}, title = {Adaptive Cut Selection in Mixed-Integer Linear Programming}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-86055}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Cut selection is a subroutine used in all modern mixed-integer linear programming solvers with the goal of selecting a subset of generated cuts that induce optimal solver performance. These solvers have millions of parameter combinations, and so are excellent candidates for parameter tuning. Cut selection scoring rules are usually weighted sums of different measurements, where the weights are parameters. We present a parametric family of mixed-integer linear programs together with infinitely many family-wide valid cuts. Some of these cuts can induce integer optimal solutions directly after being applied, while others fail to do so even if an infinite amount are applied. We show for a specific cut selection rule, that any finite grid search of the parameter space will always miss all parameter values, which select integer optimal inducing cuts in an infinite amount of our problems. We propose a variation on the design of existing graph convolutional neural networks, adapting them to learn cut selection rule parameters. We present a reinforcement learning framework for selecting cuts, and train our design using said framework over MIPLIB 2017. Our framework and design show that adaptive cut selection does substantially improve performance over a diverse set of instances, but that finding a single function describing such a rule is difficult. Code for reproducing all experiments is available at https://github.com/Opt-Mucca/Adaptive-Cutsel-MILP.}, language = {en} } @misc{RehfeldtKochShinano2022, author = {Rehfeldt, Daniel and Koch, Thorsten and Shinano, Yuji}, title = {Faster exact solution of sparse MaxCut and QUBO problems}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-85715}, year = {2022}, language = {en} } @article{HoppmannBaumBurdakovMexietal.2022, author = {Hoppmann-Baum, Kai and Burdakov, Oleg and Mexi, Gioni and Casselgren, Carl Johan and Koch, Thorsten}, title = {Length-Constrained Cycle Partition with an Application to UAV Routing}, journal = {Optimization Methods and Software}, doi = {10.1080/10556788.2022.2053972}, year = {2022}, abstract = {This article discusses the Length-Constrained Cycle Partition Problem (LCCP), which constitutes a new generalization of the Travelling Salesperson Problem (TSP). Apart from nonnegative edge weights, the undirected graph in LCCP features a nonnegative critical length parameter for each vertex. A cycle partition, i.e., a vertex-disjoint cycle cover, is a feasible solution for LCCP if the length of each cycle is not greater than the critical length of each vertex contained in it. The goal is to find a feasible partition having a minimum number of cycles. Besides analyzing theoretical properties and developing preprocessing techniques, we propose an elaborate heuristic algorithm that produces solutions of good quality even for large-size instances. Moreover, we present two exact mixed-integer programming formulations (MIPs) for LCCP, which are inspired by well-known modeling approaches for TSP. Further, we introduce the concept of conflict hypergraphs, whose cliques yield valid constraints for the MIP models. We conclude with a discussion on computational experiments that we conducted using (A)TSPLIB-based problem instances. As a motivating example application, we describe a routing problem where a fleet of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) must patrol a given set of areas.}, language = {en} } @article{TurnerKochSerranoetal.2023, author = {Turner, Mark and Koch, Thorsten and Serrano, Felipe and Winkler, Michael}, title = {Adaptive Cut Selection in Mixed-Integer Linear Programming}, volume = {4}, journal = {Open Journal of Mathematical Optimization}, doi = {10.5802/ojmo.25}, pages = {5}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Cutting plane selection is a subroutine used in all modern mixed-integer linear programming solvers with the goal of selecting a subset of generated cuts that induce optimal solver performance. These solvers have millions of parameter combinations, and so are excellent candidates for parameter tuning. Cut selection scoring rules are usually weighted sums of different measurements, where the weights are parameters. We present a parametric family of mixed-integer linear programs together with infinitely many family-wide valid cuts. Some of these cuts can induce integer optimal solutions directly after being applied, while others fail to do so even if an infinite amount are applied. We show for a specific cut selection rule, that any finite grid search of the parameter space will always miss all parameter values, which select integer optimal inducing cuts in an infinite amount of our problems. We propose a variation on the design of existing graph convolutional neural networks, adapting them to learn cut selection rule parameters. We present a reinforcement learning framework for selecting cuts, and train our design using said framework over MIPLIB 2017 and a neural network verification data set. Our framework and design show that adaptive cut selection does substantially improve performance over a diverse set of instances, but that finding a single function describing such a rule is difficult. Code for reproducing all experiments is available at https://github.com/Opt-Mucca/Adaptive-Cutsel-MILP.}, language = {en} } @misc{CharoussetBrignolvanAckooijOudjaneetal.2021, author = {Charousset-Brignol, Sandrine and van Ackooij, Wim and Oudjane, Nadia and Daniel, Dominique and Noceir, Slimane and Haus, Utz-Uwe and Lazzaro, Alfio and Frangioni, Antonio and Lobato, Rafael and Ghezelsoflu, Ali and Iardella, Niccol{\`o} and Galli, Laura and Gorgone, Enrico and dell'Amico, Mauro and Giannelos, Spyros and Moreira, Alex and Strbac, Goran and Borozan, Stefan and Falugi, Paula and Pudjianto, Danny and Wyrwoll, Lothar and Schmitt, Carlo and Franken, Marco and Beulertz, Daniel and Schwaeppe, Henrik and Most, Dieter and Y{\"u}ksel-Erg{\"u}n, Inci and Zittel, Janina and Koch, Thorsten}, title = {Synergistic approach of multi-energy models for a European optimal energy system management tool}, volume = {9}, journal = {The Project Repository Journal}, pages = {113 -- 116}, year = {2021}, language = {en} } @misc{BestuzhevaBesanconChenetal.2021, author = {Bestuzheva, Ksenia and Besan{\c{c}}on, Mathieu and Chen, Wei-Kun and Chmiela, Antonia and Donkiewicz, Tim and van Doornmalen, Jasper and Eifler, Leon and Gaul, Oliver and Gamrath, Gerald and Gleixner, Ambros and Gottwald, Leona and Graczyk, Christoph and Halbig, Katrin and Hoen, Alexander and Hojny, Christopher and van der Hulst, Rolf and Koch, Thorsten and L{\"u}bbecke, Marco and Maher, Stephen J. and Matter, Frederic and M{\"u}hmer, Erik and M{\"u}ller, Benjamin and Pfetsch, Marc E. and Rehfeldt, Daniel and Schlein, Steffan and Schl{\"o}sser, Franziska and Serrano, Felipe and Shinano, Yuji and Sofranac, Boro and Turner, Mark and Vigerske, Stefan and Wegscheider, Fabian and Wellner, Philipp and Weninger, Dieter and Witzig, Jakob}, title = {The SCIP Optimization Suite 8.0}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-85309}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The SCIP Optimization Suite provides a collection of software packages for mathematical optimization centered around the constraint integer programming framework SCIP. This paper discusses enhancements and extensions contained in version 8.0 of the SCIP Optimization Suite. Major updates in SCIP include improvements in symmetry handling and decomposition algorithms, new cutting planes, a new plugin type for cut selection, and a complete rework of the way nonlinear constraints are handled. Additionally, SCIP 8.0 now supports interfaces for Julia as well as Matlab. Further, UG now includes a unified framework to parallelize all solvers, a utility to analyze computational experiments has been added to GCG, dual solutions can be postsolved by PaPILO, new heuristics and presolving methods were added to SCIP-SDP, and additional problem classes and major performance improvements are available in SCIP-Jack.}, language = {en} } @misc{BolusaniBesanconBestuzhevaetal.2024, author = {Bolusani, Suresh and Besan{\c{c}}on, Mathieu and Bestuzheva, Ksenia and Chmiela, Antonia and Dion{\´i}sio, Jo{\~a}o and Donkiewicz, Tim and van Doornmalen, Jasper and Eifler, Leon and Ghannam, Mohammed and Gleixner, Ambros and Graczyk, Christoph and Halbig, Katrin and Hedtke, Ivo and Hoen, Alexander and Hojny, Christopher and van der Hulst, Rolf and Kamp, Dominik and Koch, Thorsten and Kofler, Kevin and Lentz, Jurgen and Manns, Julian and Mexi, Gioni and M{\"u}hmer, Erik and E. Pfetsch, Marc and Schl{\"o}sser, Franziska and Serrano, Felipe and Shinano, Yuji and Turner, Mark and Vigerske, Stefan and Weninger, Dieter and Xu, Liding}, title = {The SCIP Optimization Suite 9.0}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-95528}, year = {2024}, abstract = {The SCIP Optimization Suite provides a collection of software packages for mathematical optimization, centered around the constraint integer programming framework SCIP. This report discusses the enhancements and extensions included in the SCIP Optimization Suite 9.0. The updates in SCIP 9.0 include improved symmetry handling, additions and improvements of nonlinear handlers and primal heuristics, a new cut generator and two new cut selection schemes, a new branching rule, a new LP interface, and several bug fixes. The SCIP Optimization Suite 9.0 also features new Rust and C++ interfaces for SCIP, new Python interface for SoPlex, along with enhancements to existing interfaces. The SCIP Optimization Suite 9.0 also includes new and improved features in the LP solver SoPlex, the presolving library PaPILO, the parallel framework UG, the decomposition framework GCG, and the SCIP extension SCIP-SDP. These additions and enhancements have resulted in an overall performance improvement of SCIP in terms of solving time, number of nodes in the branch-and-bound tree, as well as the reliability of the solver.}, language = {en} } @misc{TurnerChmielaKochetal.2023, author = {Turner, Mark and Chmiela, Antonia and Koch, Thorsten and Winkler, Michael}, title = {PySCIPOpt-ML: Embedding Trained Machine Learning Models into Mixed-Integer Programs}, issn = {1438-0064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-93095}, year = {2023}, abstract = {A standard tool for modelling real-world optimisation problems is mixed-integer programming (MIP). However, for many of these problems there is either incomplete information describing variable relations, or the relations between variables are highly complex. To overcome both these hurdles, machine learning (ML) models are often used and embedded in the MIP as surrogate models to represent these relations. Due to the large amount of available ML frameworks, formulating ML models into MIPs is highly non-trivial. In this paper we propose a tool for the automatic MIP formulation of trained ML models, allowing easy integration of ML constraints into MIPs. In addition, we introduce a library of MIP instances with embedded ML constraints. The project is available at https://github.com/Opt-Mucca/PySCIPOpt-ML.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{TurnerChmielaKochetal.2025, author = {Turner, Mark and Chmiela, Antonia and Koch, Thorsten and Winkler, Michael}, title = {PySCIPOpt-ML: Embedding Trained Machine Learning Models into Mixed-Integer Programs}, volume = {15763}, booktitle = {Integration of Constraint Programming, Artificial Intelligence, and Operations Research. CPAIOR 2025}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-031-95976-9_14}, year = {2025}, abstract = {A standard tool for modelling real-world optimisation problems is mixed-integer programming (MIP). However, for many of these problems there is either incomplete information describing variable relations, or the relations between variables are highly complex. To overcome both these hurdles, machine learning (ML) models are often used and embedded in the MIP as surrogate models to represent these relations. Due to the large amount of available ML frameworks, formulating ML models into MIPs is highly non-trivial. In this paper we propose a tool for the automatic MIP formulation of trained ML models, allowing easy integration of ML constraints into MIPs. In addition, we introduce a library of MIP instances with embedded ML constraints. The project is available at https://github.com/Opt-Mucca/PySCIPOpt-ML.}, language = {en} } @article{KotilPelofskeRiedmuelleretal.2025, author = {Kotil, Ayse and Pelofske, Elijah and Riedm{\"u}ller, Stephanie and Egger, Daniel J. and Eidenbenz, Stephan and Koch, Thorsten and Woerner, Stefan}, title = {Quantum Approximate Multi-Objective Optimization}, journal = {Nature Computational Science}, arxiv = {http://arxiv.org/abs/2503.22797}, doi = {10.1038/s43588-025-00873-y}, pages = {1168 -- 1177}, year = {2025}, abstract = {The goal of multi-objective optimization is to understand optimal trade-offs between competing objective functions by finding the Pareto front, i.e., the set of all Pareto optimal solutions, where no objective can be improved without degrading another one. Multi-objective optimization can be challenging classically, even if the corresponding single-objective optimization problems are efficiently solvable. Thus, multi-objective optimization represents a compelling problem class to analyze with quantum computers. In this work, we use low-depth Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm to approximate the optimal Pareto front of certain multi-objective weighted maximum cut problems. We demonstrate its performance on an IBM Quantum computer, as well as with Matrix Product State numerical simulation, and show its potential to outperform classical approaches.}, language = {en} } @article{ShimadaMakoYaegashietal.2025, author = {Shimada, Naoki and Mako, Sato and Yaegashi, Yuta and Koch, Thorsten and Le, Thi Thai}, title = {An Application of Modified S-CLSVOF Method to Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability and Comparison with Theoretical Result}, volume = {58}, journal = {Journal of Chemical Engineering of Japan}, number = {1}, publisher = {Taylor and Francis}, doi = {10.1080/00219592.2025.2451953}, year = {2025}, abstract = {This study focuses on validating a two-phase flow solver based on the modified Simple Coupled Level Set and Volume of Fluid method (Uchihashi et al. (2023)) through viscous Kelvin-Helmholtz instability simulations. Our numerical simulation results are compared with the ones given by Funada and Joseph (2001) to provide reliable predictions of interface behavior under the influence of viscosity. The primary goal is to accurately assess the solver's ability to replicate theoretical analysis of interface behaviors under various conditions. First, the wave between two fluids of identical density is calculated. In addition, the effect of surface tension is investigated. By comparing growth rates, numerical simulations obtain well-agreements with the analytical results on the effect of the fluid viscosity, the wave number, and the surface tension. Finally, fluid density is changed to an air-water system. When relative velocity U is smaller than the criteria of relative velocity U_c given by analytical solutions, the wave is not broken. However, waves are splashed into droplets in the condition of U>U_c. This result agrees with the analysis by Funada and Joseph (2001). These findings provide a robust framework for applying the solver to more complex two-phase flow problems, supporting advancements in numerical simulations of fluid interfaces.}, language = {en} } @misc{KempkeKoch2025, author = {Kempke, Nils-Christian and Koch, Thorsten}, title = {Low-precision first-order method-based fix-and-propagate heuristics for large-scale mixed-integer linear optimization}, issn = {1438-0064}, arxiv = {http://arxiv.org/abs/2503.10344}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-99612}, year = {2025}, abstract = {We investigate the use of low-precision first-order methods (FOMs) within a fix-and-propagate (FP) framework for solving mixed-integer programming problems (MIPs). FOMs, using only matrix-vector products instead of matrix factorizations, are well suited for GPU acceleration and have recently gained more attention for their application to large-scale linear programming problems (LPs). We employ PDLP, a variant of the Primal-Dual Hybrid Gradient (PDHG) method specialized to LP problems, to solve the LP-relaxation of our MIPs to low accuracy. This solution is used to motivate fixings within our fix-and-propagate framework. We implemented four different FP variants using primal and dual LP solution information. We evaluate the performance of our heuristics on MIPLIB 2017, showcasing that the low-accuracy LP solution produced by the FOM does not lead to a loss in quality of the FP heuristic solutions when compared to a high-accuracy interior-point method LP solution. Further, we use our FP framework to produce high-accuracy solutions for large-scale (up to 243 million non-zeros and 8 million decision variables) unit-commitment energy-system optimization models created with the modeling framework REMix. For the largest problems, we can generate solutions with under 2\% primal-dual gap in less than 4 hours, whereas commercial solvers cannot generate feasible solutions within two days of runtime. This study represents the first successful application of FOMs in large-scale mixed-integer optimization, demonstrating their efficacy and establishing a foundation for future research in this domain.}, language = {en} } @article{TurnerBertholdBesanconetal.2023, author = {Turner, Mark and Berthold, Timo and Besan{\c{c}}on, Mathieu and Koch, Thorsten}, title = {Branching via Cutting Plane Selection: Improving Hybrid Branching}, publisher = {Springer}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Cutting planes and branching are two of the most important algorithms for solving mixed-integer linear programs. For both algorithms, disjunctions play an important role, being used both as branching candidates and as the foundation for some cutting planes. We relate branching decisions and cutting planes to each other through the underlying disjunctions that they are based on, with a focus on Gomory mixed-integer cuts and their corresponding split disjunctions. We show that selecting branching decisions based on quality measures of Gomory mixed-integer cuts leads to relatively small branch-and-bound trees, and that the result improves when using cuts that more accurately represent the branching decisions. Finally, we show how the history of previously computed Gomory mixed-integer cuts can be used to improve the performance of the state-of-the-art hybrid branching rule of SCIP. Our results show a \$4\\%\$ decrease in solve time, and an \$8\\%\$ decrease in number of nodes over affected instances of MIPLIB 2017.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{KuntBuchholzKhebourietal.2025, author = {Kunt, Tim and Buchholz, Annika and Khebouri, Imene and Koch, Thorsten and Litzel, Ida and Vu, Thi Huong}, title = {Mapping the Web of Science, a large-scale graph and text-based dataset with LLM embeddings}, booktitle = {Operations Research Proceedings 2025. OR 2025}, issn = {1438-0064}, doi = {10.12752/10064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-100646}, year = {2025}, abstract = {Large text data sets, such as publications, websites, and other text-based media, inherit two distinct types of features: (1) the text itself, its information conveyed through semantics, and (2) its relationship to other texts through links, references, or shared attributes. While the latter can be described as a graph structure and can be handled by a range of established algorithms for classification and prediction, the former has recently gained new potential through the use of LLM embedding models. Demonstrating these possibilities and their practicability, we investigate the Web of Science dataset, containing ~56 million scientific publications through the lens of our proposed embedding method, revealing a self-structured landscape of texts.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{RiedmuellerZittelKoch2026, author = {Riedm{\"u}ller, Stephanie and Zittel, Janina and Koch, Thorsten}, title = {Warm-starting Strategies in Scalarization Methods for Multi-Objective Optimization}, booktitle = {Operations Research Proceedings 2025}, arxiv = {http://arxiv.org/abs/2507.21933}, year = {2026}, abstract = {We explore how warm-starting strategies can be integrated into scalarization-based approaches for multi-objective optimization in (mixed) integer linear programming. Scalarization methods remain widely used classical techniques to compute Pareto-optimal solutions in applied settings. They are favored due to their algorithmic simplicity and broad applicability across continuous and integer programs with an arbitrary number of objectives. While warm-starting has been applied in this context before, a systematic methodology and analysis remain lacking. We address this gap by providing a theoretical characterization of warm-starting within scalarization methods, focusing on the sequencing of subproblems. However, optimizing the order of subproblems to maximize warm-start efficiency may conflict with alternative criteria, such as early identification of infeasible regions. We quantify these trade-offs through an extensive computational study.}, language = {en} }