A proof system for certifying symmetry and optimality reasoning in integer programming

We present a proof system for establishing the correctness of results produced by optimization algorithms, with a focus on mixed-integer programming (MIP). Our system generalizes the seminal work of Bogaerts, Gocht, McCreesh, and Nordström (2022) for binary programs to handle any additional difficulties arising from unbounded and continuous variables, and covers a broad range of … Read more

Branch-and-Bound versus Lift-and-Project Relaxations in Combinatorial Optimization

In this paper, we consider a theoretical framework for comparing branch-and-bound with classical lift-and-project hierarchies. We simplify our analysis of streamlining the definition of branch-and-bound. We introduce “skewed $k$-trees” which give a hierarchy of relaxations that is incomparable to that of Sherali-Adams, and we show that it is much better for some instances. We also … Read more

Hardness of pricing routes for two-stage stochastic vehicle routing problems with scenarios

The vehicle routing problem with stochastic demands (VRPSD) generalizes the classic vehicle routing problem by considering customer demands as random variables. Similarly to other vehicle routing variants, state-of-the-art algorithms for the VRPSD are often based on set-partitioning formulations, which require efficient routines for the associated pricing problems. However, all these set-partitioning-based approaches have strong assumptions … Read more

Strategy Investments in Matrix Games

We propose an extension of matrix games where the row player may select rows and remove columns, subject to a budget constraint. We present an exact mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) formulation for the problem, provide analytical results concerning its solution, and discuss applications in the security domain. Our computational experiments show heuristic approaches on average … Read more

Exact and Heuristic Solution Approaches for Busy Time Minimization in Temporal Bin Packing

Given a set of jobs (or items), each of which being characterized by its resource demand and its lifespan, and a sufficiently large number of identical servers (or bins), the busy time minimization problem (BTMP) requires to find a feasible schedule (i.e., a jobs-to-servers assignment) having minimum overall power-on time. Although being linked to the … Read more

Learning Optimal Classification Trees Robust to Distribution Shifts

We consider the problem of learning classification trees that are robust to distribution shifts between training and testing/deployment data. This problem arises frequently in high stakes settings such as public health and social work where data is often collected using self-reported surveys which are highly sensitive to e.g., the framing of the questions, the time … Read more

DC programming approach for solving a class of bilevel partial facility interdiction problems

We propose a new approach based DC programming for fnding a solution of the partial facility interdiction problem that belongs to the class of bilevel programming. This model was frst considered in the work of Aksen et al. [1] with a heuristic algorithm named multi-start simplex search (MSS). However, because of the big number of … Read more

Mean–variance portfolio optimization with shrinkage estimation for recommender systems

This paper is concerned with a mean-variance portfolio optimization model with cardinality constraint for generating high-quality lists of recommendations. It is usually difficult to accurately estimate the rating covariance matrix required for mean-variance portfolio optimization because of a shortage of observed user ratings. To improve the accuracy of covariance matrix estimation, we apply shrinkage estimation … Read more

Solving the Traveling Telescope Problem with Mixed Integer Linear Programming

The size and complexity of modern astronomical surveys has grown to the point where, in many cases, traditional human scheduling of observations is tedious at best and impractical at worst. Automated scheduling algorithms present an opportunity to save human effort and increase scientific productivity. A common scheduling challenge involves determining the optimal ordering of a … Read more

An enhanced mathematical model for optimal simultaneous preventive maintenance scheduling and workshop planning

For a system to stay operational, maintenance of its components is required and to maximize the operational readiness of a system, preventive maintenance planning is essential. There are two stakeholders—a system operator and a maintenance workshop—and a contract regulating their joint activities. Each contract leads to a bi-objective optimization problem. Components that require maintenance are … Read more