A branch and cut algorithm for minimum spanning trees under conflict constraints

We study approaches for the exact solution of the \NP–hard minimum spanning tree problem under conflict constraints. Given a graph $G(V,E)$ and a set $C \subset E \times E$ of conflicting edge pairs, the problem consists of finding a conflict-free minimum spanning tree, i.e. feasible solutions are allowed to include at most one of the … Read more

Acceleration and Stabilization Techniques for Column Generation Applied to Capacitated Resource Management Problems

This research presents a very efficient method of solving a broad class of large-scale capacitated resource management problems by introducing a new formulation and decomposition. A heuristic called Likelihood of Assignment is utilized not only to find high quality initial integer feasible solutions, but also to guide the Branch-and-Price (B&P) Algorithm towards stabilization. Although Column … Read more

Exact algorithms for the Traveling Salesman Problem with Draft Limits

This paper deals with the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) with Draft Limits (TSPDL), which is a variant of the well-known TSP in the context of maritime transportation. In this recently proposed problem, draft limits are imposed due to restrictions on the port infrastructures. Exact algorithms based on three mathematical formulations are proposed and their performance … Read more

On two relaxations of quadratically-constrained cardinality minimization

This paper considers a quadratically-constrained cardinality minimization problem with applications to digital filter design, subset selection for linear regression, and portfolio selection. Two relaxations are investigated: the continuous relaxation of a mixed integer formulation, and an optimized diagonal relaxation that exploits a simple special case of the problem. For the continuous relaxation, an absolute upper … Read more

On the hop-constrained survivable network design problem with reliable edges

In this paper, we study the hop-constrained survivable network design problem with reliable edges. Given a graph with non-negative edge weights and node pairs Q, the hop-constrained survivable network design problem consists of constructing a minimum weight set of edges so that the induced subgraph contains at least K edge-disjoint paths containing at most L … Read more

Exact Algorithms for Combinatorial Optimization Problems with Submodular Objective Functions

Many combinatorial optimization problems have natural formulations as submodular minimization problems over well-studied combinatorial structures. A standard approach to these problems is to linearize the objective function by introducing new variables and constraints, yielding an extended formulation. We propose two new approaches for constrained submodular minimization problems. The first is a linearization approach that requires … Read more

Interdiction Branching

This paper introduces interdiction branching, a new branching method for binary integer programs that is designed to overcome the difficulties encountered in solving problems for which branching on variables is inherently weak. Unlike traditional methods, selection of the disjunction in interdiction branching takes into account the best feasible solution found so far. In particular, the … Read more

Branch-and-cut Approaches for Chance-constrained Formulations of Reliable Network Design Problems

We study solution approaches for the design of reliably connected networks. Speci fically, given a network with arcs that may fail at random, the goal is to select a minimum cost subset of arcs such the probability that a connectivity requirement is satis ed is at least 1-\epsilon, where \epsilon is a risk tolerance. We consider two … Read more

Cuts over Extended Formulations by Flow Discretization

Large-sized extended formulations have the potential for providing high-quality bounds on some combinatorial optimization problems where the natural formulations perform poorly. This chapter discusses the use of some families of cuts that have been recently applied on extended formulations that are obtained by the discretization of the continuous variables occurring in the natural formulation of … Read more

Branch and cut algorithms for detecting critical nodes in undirected graphs

In this paper we deal with the critical node problem, where a given number of nodes has to be removed from an undirected graph in order to maximize the disconnections between the node pairs of the graph. We propose an integer linear programming model with a non-polynomial number of constraints but whose linear relaxation can … Read more