Ordering integers under different permutations

The question of finding the largest integer contained between two given lists of integers is trivial when integer ordering is interpreted in its usual way. We propose a nontrivial variant wherein each ordering comparison is performed after integers have been mapped under some bijection, and analyze the computational complexity of our combinatorial problem under a … Read more

On the complexity of binary polynomial optimization over acyclic hypergraphs

In this work we advance the understanding of the fundamental limits of computation for Binary Polynomial Optimization (BPO), which is the problem of maximizing a given polynomial function over all binary points. In our main result we provide a novel class of BPO that can be solved efficiently both from a theoretical and computational perspective. … Read more

Fully Polynomial Time (Sigma,Pi)-Approximation Schemes for Continuous Nonlinear Newsvendor and Continuous Stochastic Dynamic Programs

We study the continuous newsvendor problem (i.e. a newsvendor problem concerning goods of a non-discrete nature, such as fresh fruit juice) and a class of stochastic dynamic programs with several application areas, such as inventory control of a continuous good, economics, and supply chain management. The class is characterized by continuous state and action spaces, … Read more

Minimizing the sum of weighted completion times in a concurrent open shop

We study minimizing the sum of weighted completion times in a concurrent open shop. We give a primal-dual 2-approximation algorithm for this problem. We also show that several natural linear programming relaxations for this problem have an integrality gap of 2. Finally, we show that this problem is inapproximable within a factor strictly less than … Read more

The Maximum Flow Network Interdiction Problem: Valid Inequalities, Integrality Gaps, and Approximability

We study the Maximum Flow Network Interdiction Problem (MFNIP). We present two classes of polynomially separable valid inequalities for Cardinality MFNIP. We also prove the integrality gap of the LP relaxation of Wood’s (1993) integer program is not bounded by a constant factor, even when the LP relaxation is strengthened by our valid inequalities. Finally, … Read more