On the Coupled Continuous Knapsack Problems: Projection Onto the Volume Constrained Gibbs N-Simplex

Coupled continuous quadratic knapsack problems (CCK) are introduced in the present study. The solution of a CCK problem is equivalent to the projection of an arbitrary point onto the volume constrained Gibbs N-simplex, which has a wide range of applications in computational science and engineering. Three algorithms have been developed in the present study to … Read more

Stability of Polynomial Differential Equations: Complexity and Converse Lyapunov Questions

We consider polynomial differential equations and make a number of contributions to the questions of (i) complexity of deciding stability, (ii) existence of polynomial Lyapunov functions, and (iii) existence of sum of squares (sos) Lyapunov functions. (i) We show that deciding local or global asymptotic stability of cubic vector fields is strongly NP-hard. Simple variations … Read more

On the Incomplete Oblique Projections Method for Solving Box Constrained Least Squares Problems

The aim of this paper is to extend the applicability of the incomplete oblique projections method (IOP) previously introduced by the authors for solving inconsistent linear systems to the box constrained case. The new algorithm employs incomplete projections onto the set of solutions of the augmented system Ax-r= b, together with the box constraints, based … Read more

Separable Approximations and Decomposition Methods for the Augmented Lagrangian

In this paper we study decomposition methods based on separable approximations for minimizing the augmented Lagrangian. In particular, we study and compare the Diagonal Quadratic Approximation Method (DQAM) of Mulvey and Ruszczy\'{n}ski and the Parallel Coordinate Descent Method (PCDM) of Richt\'{a}rik and Tak\'{a}\v{c}. We show that the two methods are equivalent for feasibility problems up … Read more

Inexact Coordinate Descent: Complexity and Preconditioning

In this paper we consider the problem of minimizing a convex function using a randomized block coordinate descent method. One of the key steps at each iteration of the algorithm is determining the update to a block of variables. Existing algorithms assume that in order to compute the update, a particular subproblem is solved exactly. … Read more

The Euclidean distance degree of an algebraic variety

The nearest point map of a real algebraic variety with respect to Euclidean distance is an algebraic function. For instance, for varieties of low rank matrices, the Eckart-Young Theorem states that this map is given by the singular value decomposition. This article develops a theory of such nearest point maps from the perspective of computational … Read more

Exact and Heuristic Approaches for Directional Sensor Control

Directional sensors are gaining importance due to applications, in- cluding surveillance, detection, and tracking. Such sensors have a limited fi eld-of-view and a discrete set of directions they can be pointed to. The Directional Sensor Control problem (DSCP) consists in assigning a direction of view to each sensor. The location of the targets is known with … Read more

A new formulation of protein evolutionary models that account for structural constraints

Despite the importance of a thermodynamically stable structure with a conserved fold for protein function, almost all evolutionary models neglect site-site correlations that arise from physical interactions between neighboring amino acid sites. This is mainly due to the difficulty in formulating a computationally tractable model since rate matrices can no longer be used. Here we … Read more

A novel passenger recovery approach for the integrated airline recovery problem

Schedule disruptions require airlines to intervene through the process of recovery; this involves modifications to the planned schedule, aircraft routings, crew pairings and passenger itineraries. Passenger recovery is generally considered as the final stage in this process, and hence passengers experience unnecessarily large impacts resulting from flight delays and cancellations. Most recovery approaches considering passengers … Read more

String-Averaging Projected Subgradient Methods for Constrained Minimization

We consider constrained minimization problems and propose to replace the projection onto the entire feasible region, required in the Projected Subgradient Method (PSM), by projections onto the individual sets whose intersection forms the entire feasible region. Specifically, we propose to perform such projections onto the individual sets in an algorithmic regime of a feasibility-seeking iterative … Read more