We consider a recently proposed one-dimensional packing problem, called the overflowing bin packing problem (OBPP). In this scenario, we are given a set of items (of known sizes) and a set of bins (of known capacities). Roughly speaking, the task is to assign the items to the bins in such a way that the total … Read more
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
Based on recent advances in Benders decomposition and two-stage stochastic integer programming we present a new generalized framework to generate Lagrangian cuts in multistage stochastic mixed-integer linear programming (MS-MILP). This framework can be incorporated into decomposition methods for MS-MILPs, such as the stochastic dual dynamic integer programming (SDDiP) algorithm. We show how different normalization techniques … Read more
We provide new theoretical insight on the generation of linear and non-convex cuts for value functions of multistage stochastic mixed-integer programs based on Lagrangian duality. First, we analyze in detail the impact that the introduction of copy constraints, and especially, the choice of the accompanying constraint set for the copy variable have on the properties … Read more
\(\)The Lov\’asz theta function $\theta(G)$ provides a very good upper bound on the stability number of a graph $G$. It can be computed in polynomial time by solving a semidefinite program (SDP), which also turns out to be fairly tractable in practice. Consequently, $\theta(G)$ achieves a hard-to-beat trade-off between computational effort and strength of the … Read more
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
This paper proposes and evaluates a Multi-Reference Relaxation Enforced Neighborhood Search (MRENS) heuristic within the SCIP solver. This study marks the first integration and evaluation of MRENS in a full-fledged MILP solver, specifically coupled with the recently-introduced Lagromory separator for generating multiple reference solutions. Computational experiments on the MIPLIB 2017 benchmark set show that MRENS, … Read more
Given a simple graph G = (V, E) with vertex set V and edge set E, the minimum biclique cover problem seeks to cover all edges of the graph with a minimum number of bicliques (i.e., complete bipartite subgraphs). This paper proposes two compact mixed integer programming (MIP) formulations for solving the minimum biclique cover … Read more
This article introduces Cluster Branching, a novel branching strategy for exact algorithms solving Vehicle Routing Problems (VRPs). While branching is crucial for the efficiency of branch-and-bound-based algorithms, existing branching types such as Edge Branching, CutSet Branching, and Ryan&Foster Branching have their limitations. The proposed branching strategy aggregates multiple edge variables into higher-level decision structures corresponding … Read more
\(\) In the minimum spanning tree (MST) interdiction problem, we are given a graph \(G=(V,E)\) with edge weights, and want to find some \(X\subseteq E\) satisfying a knapsack constraint such that the MST weight in \((V,E\setminus X)\) is maximized. Since MSTs of \(G\) are the minimum weight bases in the graphic matroid of \(G\), this … Read more