We study the chance-constrained vehicle routing problem (CCVRP), a version of the vehicle routing problem (VRP) with stochastic demands, where a limit is imposed on the probability that each vehicle’s capacity is exceeded. A distinguishing feature of our proposed methodologies is that they allow correlation between random demands, whereas nearly all existing exact methods for … Read more
We construct a two-sided discontinuous piecewise linear minimal valid function for the 1-row Gomory–Johnson model which is not extreme, but which is not a convex combination of other piecewise linear minimal valid functions. This anomalous behavior results from combining features of Hildebrand’s two-sided discontinuous extreme functions and Basu–Hildebrand–Koeppe’s piecewise linear extreme function with irrational breakpoints. … Read more
A real symmetric matrix M is completely positive semidefinite if it admits a Gram representation by positive semidefinite matrices (of any size d). The smallest such d is called the completely positive semidefinite rank of M, and it is an open question whether there exists an upper bound on this number as a function of … Read more
We present software for investigations with cut generating functions in the Gomory-Johnson model and extensions, implemented in the computer algebra system SageMath. CitationAn extended abstract of 8 pages appeared under the title “Software for cut-generating functions in the Gomory–Johnson model and beyond” in Proc. International Congress on Mathematical Software 2016ArticleDownload View PDF
The bounded degree sum-of-squares (BSOS) hierarchy of Lasserre, Toh, and Yang [EURO J. Comput. Optim., 2015] constructs lower bounds for a general polynomial optimization problem with compact feasible set, by solving a sequence of semi-definite programming (SDP) problems. Lasserre, Toh, and Yang prove that these lower bounds converge to the optimal value of the original … Read more
Multistage stochastic integer programming (MSIP) combines the difficulty of uncertainty, dynamics, and non-convexity, and constitutes a class of extremely challenging problems. A common formulation for these problems is a dynamic programming formulation involving nested cost-to-go functions. In the linear setting, the cost-to-go functions are convex polyhedral, and decomposition algorithms, such as nested Benders’ decomposition and … Read more
We propose to solve global optimal control problems with a new algorithm that is based on Bock’s direct multiple shooting method. We provide conditions and numerical evidence for a significant overall runtime reduction compared to the standard single shooting approach. CitationOptimal Control Applications and Methods, Vol. 39 (2), pp. 449–470, 2017 DOI 10.1002/oca.2324 Article online … Read more
This paper describes the extensions that were added to the constraint integer programming framework SCIP in order to enable it to solve convex and nonconvex mixed-integer nonlinear programs (MINLPs) to global optimality. SCIP implements a spatial branch-and-bound algorithm based on a linear outer-approximation, which is computed by convex over- and underestimation of nonconvex functions. An … Read more
The optimal design of wireless networks has been widely studied in the literature and many optimization models have been proposed over the years. However, most models directly include the signal-to-interference ratios representing service coverage conditions. This leads to mixed-integer linear programs with constraint matrices containing tiny coefficients that vary widely in their order of magnitude. … Read more
Nonconvex optimization problems are frequently encountered in much of statistics, business, science and engineering, but they are not yet widely recognized as a technology. A reason for this relatively low degree of popularity is the lack of a well developed system of theory and algorithms to support the applications, as is the case for its … Read more