05-XX COMBINATORICS (For finite fields, see 11Txx)
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We establish a general computational framework for Chvátal’s conjecture based on exact rational integer programming. As a result we prove Chvátal’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.
Frankl’s (union-closed sets) conjecture states that for any nonempty finite union-closed (UC) family of distinct sets there exists an element in at least half of the sets. Poonen’s Theorem characterizes the existence of weights which determine
whether a given UC family ensures Frankl’s conjecture holds for all UC families which contain it. The weight systems are nontrivial to identify for a given UC family, and methods to determine such weight systems have led to several other open questions and conjectures regarding structures in UC families.
We design a cutting-plane method that computes the explicit weights which imply the existence conditions of Poonen’s Theorem using computational integer programming coupled with redundant verification routines that ensure correctness. We find over one hundred previously unknown families of sets which ensure Frankl’s conjecture holds for all families that contain any of them. This improves significantly on all previous results of the kind.
Our framework allows us to answer several open questions and conjectures regarding structural properties of UC families, including proving the 3-sets conjecture of Morris from 2006 which characterizes the minimum number of 3-sets that ensure Frankl’s conjecture holds for all families that contain them. Furthermore, our method provides a general algorithmic road-map for improving other known results and uncovering structures in UC families.
We find previously unknown families which imply Frankl’s conjecture using an algorithmic framework. The conjecture states that for any non-empty union-closed (or Frankl) family there exists an element in at least half of the sets. Poonen’s Theorem characterizes the existence of weights which determine whether a given Frankl family implies the conjecture for all Frankl families which contain it. A Frankl family is Non–Frankl-Complete (Non–FC), if it does not imply the conjecture in its elements for some Frankl family that contains it. We design a cutting-plane method that computes the explicit weights which imply the existence conditions of Poonen’s Theorem. This method allows us to find a counterexample to a ten-year-old conjecture by R. Morris about the structure of generators for Non–FC-families.
Transformations of Steiner tree problem variants have been frequently discussed in the literature. Besides allowing to easily transfer complexity results, they constitute a central pillar of exact state-of-the-art solvers for well-known variants such as the Steiner tree problem in graphs. In this paper transformations for both the prize-collecting Steiner tree problem and the maximum-weight connected subgraph problem to the Steiner arborescence problem are introduced for the first time. Furthermore, we demonstrate the considerable implications for practical solving approaches, including the computation of strong upper and lower bounds.