G. Mathematics of Computing
Refine
Year of publication
Document Type
- ZIB-Report (46)
- Master's Thesis (6)
- Doctoral Thesis (2)
- In Proceedings (1)
Keywords
- Mixed Integer Programming (5)
- Periodic Timetabling (3)
- MINLP (2)
- PDE (2)
- Periodic Event Scheduling Problem (2)
- SDP (2)
- Ubiquity Generator Framework (2)
- adaptive Newton (2)
- finite element method (2)
- large-scale integer programming (2)
Institute
- Mathematical Optimization (34)
- Numerical Mathematics (10)
- Network Optimization (7)
- Mathematical Optimization Methods (5)
- Applied Algorithmic Intelligence Methods (4)
- Computational Medicine (3)
- Computational Molecular Design (3)
- Computational Nano Optics (3)
- Computational Systems Biology (1)
- Energy Network Optimization (1)
We show that a class of semidefinite programs (SDP) admits a solution that is a positive semidefinite
matrix of rank at most $r$, where $r$ is the rank of the matrix involved in the objective function of the SDP.
The optimization problems of this class are semidefinite packing problems,
which are the SDP analogs to vector packing problems.
Of particular interest is the case in which our result guarantees the existence of a solution
of rank one: we show that the computation of this solution actually reduces to a
Second Order Cone Program (SOCP).
We point out an application in statistics, in the optimal design of experiments.
We propose a new coarse-to-fine approach to solve certain linear programs by column generation. The problems that we address contain layers corresponding to different levels of detail, i.e., coarse layers as well as fine layers. These layers are utilized to design
efficient pricing rules. In a nutshell, the method shifts the pricing of a fine linear program to a coarse counterpart. In this way, major decisions are taken in the coarse layer, while minor
details are tackled within the fine layer. We elucidate our methodology by an application to a complex railway rolling stock rotation problem. We provide comprehensive computational results that demonstrate the benefit of this new technique for the solution of large scale problems.
Two fundamental mathematical formulations for railway timetabling are compared on a common set of sample problems, representing both multiple track high density services in Europe and single track bidirectional operations in North America. One formulation, ACP, enforces against conflicts by constraining time intervals between trains, while the other formulation, HGF, monitors physical occupation of controlled track segments. The results demonstrate that both ACP and HGF return comparable solutions in the aggregate, with some significant differences in select instances, and a pattern of significant differences in performance and constraint enforcement overall.
We consider a system dynamics model that describes the effect of human activity on natural resources. The central stocks are the accumulated profit, the industry structures, and the water resources. The model can be controlled through two time-dependent parameters. The goal in this paper is to find a parameter setting that leads to a maximization of a performance index, which reflects both environmental and economic aspects. Thus, the goal is to identify the most sustainable stock of industry structures within the model's constraints and assumptions. In order to find a proven global optimal parameter set, we formulate the System Dynamics Optimization model as a mixed-integer nonlinear problem that is accessible for numerical solvers. Due to the dynamic structure of the model, certain steps of the solution process must be handled with greater care, compared to standard non-dynamic problems. We describe our approach of solving the industry structure model and present computational results. In addition, we discuss the limitations of the approach and next steps.
A Polyhedral Study of Event-Based Models for the Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling Problem
(2018)
We consider event-based Mixed-Integer Programming (MIP) models for the Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling Problem (RCPSP) that represent an alternative to the common time-indexed model (DDT) of Pritsker et al. (1969) for the case where the underlying time horizon is large or job processing times are subject to huge variations. In contrast to the time-indexed model, the size of event-based models does not depend on the time horizon. For two event-based formulations OOE and SEE of Koné et al. (2011) we present new valid inequalities that dominate the original formulation. Additionally, we introduce a new event-based model: the Interval Event-Based Model (IEE). We deduce linear transformations between all three models that yield the strict domination order IEE > SEE > OOE for their linear programming (LP) relaxations, meaning that IEE has the strongest linear relaxation among the event-based models. We further show that the popular DDT formulation can be retrieved from IEE by certain polyhedral operations, thus giving a unifying view on a complete branch of MIP formulations for the RCPSP. In addition, we analyze the computational performance of all presented models on test instances of the PSPLIB (Kolisch and Sprecher 1997).
Trajectory- or mesh-based methods for analyzing the dynamical behavior of large molecules tend to be impractical due to the curse of dimensionality - their computational cost increases exponentially with the size of the molecule. We propose a method to break the curse by a novel square root approximation of transition rates, Monte Carlo quadrature and a discretization approach based on solving linear programs. With randomly sampled points on the molecular energy landscape and randomly generated discretizations of the molecular configuration space as our initial data, we construct a matrix describing the transition rates between adjacent discretization regions. This transition rate matrix yields a Markov State Model of the molecular dynamics. We use Perron cluster analysis and coarse-graining techniques in order to identify metastable sets in configuration space and approximate the transition rates between the metastable sets. Application of our method to a simple energy landscape on a two-dimensional configuration space provides proof of concept and an example for which we compare the performance of different discretizations. We show that the computational cost of our method grows only polynomially with the size of the molecule. However, finding discretizations of higher-dimensional configuration spaces in which metastable sets can be identified remains a challenge.
Optimization models often feature disjunctions of polytopes as
submodels. Such a disjunctive set is initially (at best) relaxed to
its convex hull, which is then refined by branching.
To measure the error of the convex relaxation, the (relative)
difference between the volume of the convex hull and the volume of the
disjunctive set may be used. This requires a method to compute the
volume of the disjunctive set. Naively, this can be done via
inclusion/exclusion and leveraging the existing code for the volume
of polytopes. However, this is often inefficient.
We propose a revised variant of an old algorithm by Bieri and Nef
(1983) for this purpose. The algorithm uses a sweep-plane to
incrementally calculate the volume of the disjunctive set as a
function of the offset parameter of the sweep-plane.
Tai256c is the largest unsolved quadratic assignment problem (QAP) instance in QAPLIB. It is known that QAP tai256c can be converted into a 256 dimensional binary quadratic optimization problem (BQOP) with a single cardinality constraint which requires the sum of the binary variables to be 92. As the BQOP is much simpler than the original QAP, the conversion increases the possibility to solve the QAP. Solving exactly the BQOP, however, is still very difficult. Indeed, a 1.48% gap remains between the best known upper bound (UB) and lower bound (LB) of the unknown optimal value. This paper shows that the BQOP admits a nontrivial symmetry, a property that makes the BQOP very hard to solve. The symmetry induces equivalent subproblems in branch and bound (BB) methods. To effectively improve the LB, we propose an efficient BB method that incorporates a doubly nonnegative relaxation, the standard orbit branching and a technique to prune equivalent subproblems. With this BB method, a new LB with 1.25% gap is successfully obtained, and computing an LB with 1.0% gap is shown to be still quite difficult.
In this paper, we study the hop constrained chain polytope, that is, the convex hull of the incidence vectors of (s,t)-chains using at most k arcs of a given digraph, and its dominant. We use extended formulations (implied by the inherent structure of the Moore-Bellman-Ford algorithm) to derive facet defining inequalities for these polyhedra via projection. Our findings result into characterizations of all facet defining {0,+1,-1}-inequalities for the hop constrained chain polytope and all facet defining {0,1}-inequalities
for its dominant. Although the derived inequalities are already known, such classifications were not previously given to the best of our knowledge. Moreover, we use this approach to generalize so called jump inequalities, which have been introduced in a paper of Dahl and Gouveia in 2004.
Nano-optical scattering problems play an important role in our modern, technologically driven society. Computers, smartphones and all kinds of electronic devices are manufactured by the semiconductor industry which relies on production using photomasks as well as optical process control. The digital world, e.g. the world wide web, is based on optical interconnects and so-called quantum computers based on optics are supposed to be next generation computers. Moreover, global economic progress demands new and sustainable energy resources and one option is to make use of the power stored in optical radiation from the sun. Additionally, understanding fundamental physics such as the optical properties of asymmetric, or chiral, structures could promote future innovations in engineering. In order to understand and manipulate these kinds of processes, physics provides a well established model: the so-called Maxwell’s equations. Stated by James Clerk Maxwell in 1862, this description of the interaction of light and matter still provides a profound basis for the analysis of electromagnetic phenomena. However, real world problems cannot be calculated using simple mathematics. Rather, computer simulations are needed to obtain solutions of the physical model. Finding suitable methods to solve these problems opens up a wide variety of possibilities. On the one hand, there are methods which require long computing times. On the other hand, some algorithms depend on high memory usage. That is why the field of numerics deals with the question which method is optimally suited for specific problems. The aim of this work is to investigate the applicability of the so-called Fourier Modal Method (FMM) to nano-optical scattering problems in general. Since simple analytical solutions are non-existent for most recent physical problems, we use the Finite Element Method (FEM) to double-check performance of the FMM. Mathematics provide reliable procedures to control the errors of numerics using the FEM. Yet up to now it has not been possible to rigorously classify the quality of the Fourier Modal Method’s results. It is not fully understood whether the process of investing more and more computing resources yields more accurate results. So, we have to ask ourselves: does the numerical method invariably converge? In spite of this uncertainty when using the FMM, it is a well established method dating back to the 1980s. This numerical method has recently been used to optimize performance of solar cells [19] as well as to improve the optical properties of so-called single-photon sources [41] which are essential for quantum cryptography. The latter is a promising candidate to increase digital security and revolutionise cryptography techniques. Furthermore, with the help of the Fourier Modal Method an important issue in optics has been partly resolved: angular filtering of light was made possible by using a mirror which becomes transparent at a certain viewing angle [77]. In addition, an improved numerical technique to design so-called Photonic Crystal waveguides based on the FMM was developed recently [15]. Photonic Crystals are used in the fields of optical bio-sensing and for the construction of novel semiconductor devices. Moreover, approaches to link the FMM and the FEM try to combine advantages of both methods to obtain fast and accurate results [81]. These ideas are closely linked to the well-known concept of Domain Decomposition within the FEM [88]. Here, one possibility to couple domains is to use the scattering matrix formalism as it is done in the FMM. In the scope of this convergence study, we state Maxwell’s equations, particularly for periodic geometries. We describe two physical phenomena of nano-optics, namely chirality and opto-electrical coupling, and define the errors of our simulations. Afterwards, the two investigated methods are analysed with respect to their general properties and a way to unify modelling physics when using both algorithms is presented. With the help of various numerical experiments, we explore convergence characteristics of the FMM and draw conclusions about the ability of this approach to provide accurate results and, consequently, its potential for research on technological innovations.