In this paper we discuss two particular layout problems, namely the Single-Row Equidistant Facility Layout Problem (SREFLP) and the Single-Row Facility Layout Problem (SRFLP). Our aim is to consolidate the two respective branches in the layout literature. We show that the SREFLP is not only a special case of the Quadratic Assignment Problem but also … Read more
The problem of packing ellipsoids of different sizes and shapes into an ellipsoidal container so as to minimize a measure of overlap between ellipsoids is considered. A bilevel optimization formulation is given, together with an algorithm for the general case and a simpler algorithm for the special case in which all ellipsoids are in fact … Read more
Algorithms are presented for evaluating gradients and Hessians of logarithmic barrier functions for two types of convex cones: the cone of positive semidefinite matrices with a given sparsity pattern, and its dual cone, the cone of sparse matrices with the same pattern that have a positive semidefinite completion. Efficient large-scale algorithms for evaluating these barriers … Read more
The contributions of the first half of this thesis are on the computational and algebraic aspects of convexity in polynomial optimization. We show that unless P=NP, there exists no polynomial time (or even pseudo-polynomial time) algorithm that can decide whether a multivariate polynomial of degree four (or higher even degree) is globally convex. This solves … Read more
The reformulation-linearization technique (RLT), introduced in [W.P. Adams, H.D. Sherali, A tight linearization and an algorithm for zero-one quadratic programming problems, Management Science, 32(10):1274–1290, 1986], provides a way to compute linear programming bounds on the optimal values of NP-hard combinatorial optimization problems. In this paper we show that, in the presence of suitable algebraic symmetry … Read more
The Gram dimension $\gd(G)$ of a graph is the smallest integer $k \ge 1$ such that, for every assignment of unit vectors to the nodes of the graph, there exists another assignment of unit vectors lying in $\oR^k$, having the same inner products on the edges of the graph. The class of graphs satisfying $\gd(G) … Read more
Our first contribution in this paper is to prove that three natural sum of squares (sos) based sufficient conditions for convexity of polynomials via the definition of convexity, its first order characterization, and its second order characterization are equivalent. These three equivalent algebraic conditions, henceforth referred to as sos-convexity, can be checked by semidefinite programming … Read more
We introduce the framework of path-complete graph Lyapunov functions for approximation of the joint spectral radius. The approach is based on the analysis of the underlying switched system via inequalities imposed among multiple Lyapunov functions associated to a labeled directed graph. Inspired by concepts in automata theory and symbolic dynamics, we define a class of … Read more
We introduce the framework of path-complete graph Lyapunov functions for approximation of the joint spectral radius. The approach is based on the analysis of the underlying switched system via inequalities imposed among multiple Lyapunov functions associated to a labeled directed graph. Inspired by concepts in automata theory and symbolic dynamics, we define a class of … Read more
This paper presents an algorithm and its implementation in the software package NCSOStools for finding sums of hermitian squares and commutators decompositions for polynomials in noncommuting variables. The algorithm is based on noncommutative analogs of the classical Gram matrix method and the Newton polytope method, which allows us to use semidefinite programming. Throughout the paper … Read more