Inductive Linearization for Binary Quadratic Programs with Linear Constraints: A Computational Study

The computational performance of inductive linearizations for binary quadratic programs in combination with a mixed-integer programming solver is investigated for several combinatorial optimization problems and established benchmark instances. Apparently, a few of these are solved to optimality for the first time. Citation preprint (no internal series / number): University of Bonn, Germany June 11, 2021 … Read more

Markov Chain Sampling of Hidden Relay States for Economic Dispatch with Cascading Failures

Independent system operators (ISO) of electric power networks aim to dispatch electricity economically while maintaining system reliability. NERC (North America Electric Reliability Council) requires the transmission network to be (N-1)-secure, i.e., to have sufficient supply to satisfy demand in the event of the failure of any single resource in the network. Such a policy is … Read more

Lifting convex inequalities for bipartite bilinear programs

The goal of this paper is to derive new classes of valid convex inequalities for quadratically constrained quadratic programs (QCQPs) through the technique of lifting. Our first main result shows that, for sets described by one bipartite bilinear constraint together with bounds, it is always possible to sequentially lift a seed inequality that is valid … Read more

Multi-cover Inequalities for Totally-Ordered Multiple Knapsack Sets

We propose a method to generate cutting-planes from multiple covers of knapsack constraints. The covers may come from different knapsack inequalities if the weights in the inequalities form a totally-ordered set. Thus, we introduce and study the structure of a totally-ordered multiple knapsack set. The valid multi-cover inequalities we derive for its convex hull have … Read more

On the Polyhedrality of the Chvatal-Gomory Closure

In this paper, we provide an equivalent condition for the Chvatal-Gomory (CG) closure of a closed convex set to be finitely-generated. Using this result, we are able to prove that, for any closed convex set that can be written as the Minkowski sum of a compact convex set and a closed convex cone, its CG … Read more

Nonconvex Equilibrium Models for Energy Markets: Exploiting Price Information to Determine the Existence of an Equilibrium

Motivated by examples from the energy sector, we consider market equilibrium problems (MEPs) involving players with nonconvex strategy spaces or objective functions, where the latter are assumed to be linear in market prices. We propose an algorithm that determines if an equilibrium of such an MEP exists and that computes an equilibrium in case of … Read more

High quality timetables for Italian schools

This work introduces a complex variant of the timetabling problem, which is motivated by the case of Italian schools. The new requirements enforce to (i) provide the same idle times for teachers, (ii) avoid consecutive \emph{heavy} days, (iii) limit daily multiple lessons for the same class, (iv) introduce shorter time units to differentiate entry and … Read more

Single-neuron convexifications for binarized neural networks

Binarized neural networks are an important class of neural network in deep learning due to their computational efficiency. This paper contributes towards a better understanding of the structure of binarized neural networks, specifically, ideal convex representations of the activation functions used. We describe the convex hull of the graph of the signum activation function associated … Read more

A Generic Optimization Framework for Resilient Systems

This paper addresses the optimal design of resilient systems, in which components can fail. The system can react to failures and its behavior is described by general mixed integer nonlinear programs, which allows for applications to many (technical) systems. This then leads to a three-level optimization problem. The upper level designs the system minimizing a … Read more

Computational Aspects of Relaxation Complexity: Possibilities and Limitation

The relaxation complexity $\mathrm{rc}(X)$ of the set of integer points $X$ contained in a polyhedron is the smallest number of facets of any polyhedron $P$ such that the integer points in $P$ coincide with $X$. It is a useful tool to investigate the existence of compact linear descriptions of $X$. In this article, we derive … Read more