Randomized Roundings for a Mixed-Integer Elliptic Control System

We present randomized reconstruction approaches for optimal solutions to mixed-integer elliptic PDE control systems. Approximation properties and relations to sum-up rounding are derived using the cut norm. This enables us to dispose of space-filling curves required for sum-up rounding. Rates of almost sure convergence in the cut norm and the SUR norm in control space … Read more

An Asymptotically Optimal Coordinate Descent Algorithm for Learning Bayesian Networks from Gaussian Models

This paper studies the problem of learning Bayesian networks from continuous observational data, generated according to a linear Gaussian structural equation model. We consider an \(\ell_0\)-penalized maximum likelihood estimator for this problem which is known to have favorable statistical properties but is computationally challenging to solve, especially for medium-sized Bayesian networks. We propose a new … Read more

An adaptive relaxation-refinement scheme for multi-objective mixed-integer nonconvex optimization

In this work, we present an algorithm for computing an enclosure for multi-objective mixed-integer nonconvex optimization problems. In contrast to existing solvers for this type of problem, this algorithm is not based on a branch-and-bound scheme but rather relies on a relax-and-refine approach. While this is an established technique in single-objective optimization, several adaptions to … Read more

Spatial branching for a special class of convex MIQO problems

In the branch-and-bound algorithm, branching is the key step to deal with the nonconvexity of the problem. For Mixed Integer Linear Optimization (MILO) problems and, in general, Mixed Integer Nonlinear Optimization (MINLO) problems whose continuous relaxation is convex, branching on integer and binary variables suffices, because fixing all integer variables yields a convex relaxation. General, … Read more

Granularity for mixed-integer polynomial optimization problems

Finding good feasible points is crucial in mixed-integer programming. For this purpose we combine a sufficient condition for consistency, called granularity, with the moment-/sos-hierarchy from polynomial optimization. If the mixed-integer problem is granular, we obtain feasible points by solving continuous polynomial problems and rounding their optimal points. The moment-/sos-hierarchy is hereby used to solve those … Read more

Exact Augmented Lagrangian Duality for Nonconvex Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Optimization

In the context of mixed-integer nonlinear problems (MINLPs), it is well-known that strong duality does not hold in general if the standard Lagrangian dual is used. Hence, we consider the augmented Lagrangian dual (ALD), which adds a nonlinear penalty function to the classic Lagrangian function. For this setup, we study conditions under which the ALD … Read more

Routing a fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles: a trajectory optimisation-based framework

We consider an aerial survey operation in which a fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is required to visit several locations and then land in one of the available landing sites while optimising some performance criteria, subject to operational constraints and flight dynamics. We aim to minimise the maximum flight time of the UAVs. To … Read more

A Toll-Setting Problem with Robust Wardrop Equilibrium Conditions Under Budgeted Uncertainty

We consider the problem of determining optimal tolls in a traffic network in which a toll-setting authority aims to maximize revenues and the users of the network act in the sense of Wardrop’s user equilibrium. The setting is modeled as a mathematical problem with equilibrium constraints and a mixed-integer, nonlinear, and nonconvex reformulation is presented … Read more

Factorized binary polynomial optimization

In binary polynomial optimization, the goal is to find a binary point maximizing a given polynomial function. In this paper, we propose a novel way of formulating this general optimization problem, which we call factorized binary polynomial optimization. In this formulation, we assume that the variables are partitioned into a fixed number of sets, and … Read more

Tighter yet more tractable relaxations and nontrivial instance generation for sparse standard quadratic optimization

The Standard Quadratic optimization Problem (StQP), arguably the simplest among all classes of NP-hard optimization problems, consists of extremizing a quadratic form (the simplest nonlinear polynomial) over the standard simplex (the simplest polytope/compact feasible set). As a problem class, StQPs may be nonconvex with an exponential number of inefficient local solutions. StQPs arise in a … Read more