MW: A Software Framework for Combinatorial Optimization on Computational Grids

Our goal in this paper is to demonstrate that branch-and-bound algorithms for combinatorial optimization can be effectively implemented on a relatively new type of multiprocessor platform known as a computational grid. We will argue that to easily and effectively harness the power of computational grids for branch-and-bound algorithms, the master-worker paradigm should be used to … Read more

The Impact of Sampling Methods on Bias and Variance in Stochastic Linear Programs

Two-stage stochastic linear programs can be solved approximately by drawing a subset of all possible random scenarios and solving the problem based on this subset, an approach known as sample path optimization. Sample path optimization creates two kinds of objective function bias. First, the expected optimal objective function value for the sampled problem is lower … Read more

An algorithmic framework for convex mixed integer nonlinear programs

This paper is motivated by the fact that mixed integer nonlinear programming is an important and difficult area for which there is a need for developing new methods and software for solving large-scale problems. Moreover, both fundamental building blocks, namely mixed integer linear programming and nonlinear programming, have seen considerable and steady progress in recent … Read more

Primal interior-point method for large sparse minimax optimization.

In this paper, we propose an interior-point method for large sparse minimax optimization. After a short introduction, where various barrier terms are discussed, the complete algorithm is introduced and some implementation details are given. We prove that this algorithm is globally convergent under standard mild assumptions. Thus nonconvex problems can be solved successfully. The results … Read more

Trust-region interior-point method for large sparse l_1 optimization.

In this paper, we propose an interior-point method for large sparse l_1 optimization. After a short introduction, the complete algorithm is introduced and some implementation details are given. We prove that this algorithm is globally convergent under standard mild assumptions. Thus nonconvex problems can be solved successfully. The results of computational experiments given in this … Read more

Interior-Point Methods for Nonconvex Nonlinear Programming: Regularization and Warmstarts

In this paper, we investigate the use of an exact primal-dual penalty approach within the framework of an interior-point method for nonconvex nonlinear programming. This approach provides regularization and relaxation, which can aid in solving ill-behaved problems and in warmstarting the algorithm. We present details of our implementation within the LOQO algorithm and provide extensive … Read more

TTTPLOTS: A perl program to create time-to-target plots

This papers describes a perl language program to create time-to-target solution value plots for measured CPU times that are assumed to fit a shifted exponential distribution. This is often the case in local search based heuristics for combinatorial optimization, such as simulated annealing, genetic algorithms, iterated local search, tabu search, WalkSAT, and GRASP. Such plots … Read more

On the Implementation of Interior Point Decomposition Algorithms for Two-Stage Stochastic Conic

In this paper we develop a practical primal interior decomposition algorithm for two-stage stochastic programming problems. The framework of this algorithm is similar to the framework in Mehrotra and \”{Ozevin} \cite{MO04a,MO04b} and Zhao \cite{GZ01}, however their algorithm is altered in a simple yet fundamental way to achieve practical performance. In particular, this new algorithm weighs … Read more

A novel integer programming formulation for the K-SONET ring assignment problem

We consider the problem of interconnecting a set of customer sites using SONET rings of equal capacity, which can be defined as follows: Given an undirected graph G=(V,E) with nonnegative edge weight d(u,v), (u,v) in E, and two integers K and B, find a partition of the nodes of G into K subsets so that … Read more

Sequential Subspace Optimization Method for Large-Scale Unconstrained Problems

We present the Sequential Subspace Optimization (SESOP) method for large scale smooth unconstrained problems. At each iteration we search for a minimum of the objective function over a subspace spanned by the current gradient and by directions of few previous steps. We also include into this subspace the direction from the starting point to the … Read more