Integer programming formulations for the elementary shortest path problem

Given a directed graph G = (V, A) with arbitrary arc costs, the Elementary Shortest Path Problem (ESPP) consists of finding a minimum-cost path between two nodes s and t such that each node of G is visited at most once. If the costs induce negative cycles on G, the problem is NP-hard. In this … Read more

Relative Entropy Relaxations for Signomial Optimization

Signomial programs (SPs) are optimization problems specified in terms of signomials, which are weighted sums of exponentials composed with linear functionals of a decision variable. SPs are non convex optimization problems in general, and families of NP-hard problems can be reduced to SPs. In this paper we describe a hierarchy of convex relaxations to obtain … Read more

A Gentle, Geometric Introduction to Copositive Optimization

This paper illustrates the fundamental connection between nonconvex quadratic optimization and copositive optimization—a connection that allows the reformulation of nonconvex quadratic problems as convex ones in a unified way. We intend the paper for readers new to the area, and hence the exposition is largely self-contained. We focus on examples having just a few variables … Read more

Approximation algorithms for the Transportation Problem with Market Choice and related models

Given facilities with capacities and clients with penalties and demands, the transportation problem with market choice consists in finding the minimum-cost way to partition the clients into unserved clients, paying the penalties, and into served clients, paying the transportation cost to serve them. We give polynomial-time reductions from this problem and variants to the (un)capacitated … Read more

Convergence Analysis of Primal-Dual Based Methods for Total Variation Minimization with Finite Element Approximation

We consider the total variation minimization model with consistent finite element discretization. It has been shown in the literature that this model can be reformulated as a saddle-point problem and be efficiently solved by the primal-dual method. The convergence for this application of the primal-dual method has also been analyzed. In this paper, we focus … Read more

The robust stabilization problem for discrete-time descriptor systems

We investigate here the robust stabilization problem for the descriptor discrete time systems and build an optimal solution in the case when both the nominal system and the perturbations are given in terms of left coprime factorizations. Moreover our formulas are given straight from the original data, using solely the stabilizing solutions of two Riccati … Read more

Lower Bounds for the Quadratic Minimum Spanning Tree Problem Based on Reduced Cost Computation

The Minimum Spanning Tree Problem (MSTP) is one of the most known combinatorial optimization problems. It concerns the determination of a minimum edge-cost subgraph spanning all the vertices of a given connected graph. The Quadratic Minimum Spanning Tree Problem (QMSTP) is a variant of the MST whose cost considers also the interaction between every pair … Read more

A Tight Lower Bound for the Adjacent Quadratic Assignment Problem

In this paper we address the Adjacent Quadratic Assignment Problem (AQAP) which is a variant of the QAP where the cost coefficient matrix has a particular structure. Motivated by strong lower bounds obtained by applying Reformulation Linearization Technique (RLT) to the classical QAP, we propose two special RLT representations for the problem. The first is … Read more

Tight and Compact MIP Formulation of Configuration-Based Combined-Cycle Units

Private investors, flexibility, efficiency and environmental requirements from deregulated markets have led the existence and building of a significant number of combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGTs) in many power systems. These plants represent a complicated optimization problem for the short-term planning unit commitment (UC) carried out by independent system operators due to their multiple operating configurations. … Read more