We consider the robust version of items selection problem, in which the goal is to choose representatives from a family of sets, preserving constraints on the allowed items' combinations. We prove NP-hardness of the deterministic version, and establish polynomially solvable special cases. Next, we consider the robust version in which we aim at minimizing the maximum regret of the solution under interval parameter uncertainty. We show that this problem is hard for the second level of polynomial-time hierarchy. We develop an exact solution algorithm for the robust problem, based on cut generation, and present the results of computational experiments.
Note that deterministic version of Representatives Selection Problem is easily solvable in polynomial time. For interval uncertainty representation of cost parameters the problem can still be solved in polynomial time, both in case of minimizing the maximum regret and the relative regret @cite_8 . However, in case of discrete set of scenarios, the problem becomes NP-hard even for 2 scenarios, and strongly NP-hard when the number of scenarios @math is a part of the input. In @cite_6 authors prove that strong NP-hardness holds also when sets of eligible items are bounded. In @cite_2 an @math -approximation algorithm for this variant was given.
@cite_2 @cite_6 @cite_8
2027995829 2029243025 2044046971
The following optimization problem is studied. There are several sets of integer positive numbers whose values are uncertain. The problem is to select one representative of each set such that the sum of the selected numbers is minimum. The uncertainty is modeled by discrete and interval scenarios, and the min–max and min–max (relative) regret approaches are used for making a selection decision. The arising min–max, min–max regret and min–max relative regret optimization problems are shown to be polynomially solvable for interval scenarios. For discrete scenarios, they are proved to be NP-hard in the strong sense if the number of scenarios is part of the input. If it is part of the problem type, then they are NP-hard in the ordinary sense, pseudo-polynomially solvable by a dynamic programming algorithm and possess an FPTAS. This study is motivated by the problem of selecting tools of minimum total cost in the design of a production line. The minmax regret problem for combinatorial optimization under uncertainty can be viewed as a zero-sum game played between an optimizing player and an adversary, where the optimizing player selects a solution and the adversary selects costs with the intention of maximizing the regret of the player. The conventional minmax regret model considers only deterministic solutions strategies, and minmax regret versions of most polynomial solvable problems are NP-hard. In this paper, we consider a randomized model where the optimizing player selects a probability distribution (corresponding to a mixed strategy) over solutions and the adversary selects costs with knowledge of the player’s distribution, but not its realization. We show that under this randomized model, the minmax regret version of any polynomial solvable combinatorial problem becomes polynomial solvable. This holds true for both interval and discrete scenario representations of uncertainty. Using the randomized model, we show new proofs of existing approximation algorithms for the deterministic model based on primal-dual approaches. We also determine integrality gaps of minmax regret formulations, giving tight bounds on the limits of performance gains from randomization. Finally, we prove that minmax regret problems are NP-hard under general convex uncertainty. The general problem of minimizing the maximal regret in combinatorial optimization problems with interval data is considered. In many cases, the minmax regret versions of the classical, polynomially solvable, combinatorial optimization problems become NP-hard and no approximation algorithms for them have been known. Our main result is a polynomial time approximation algorithm with a performance ratio of 2 for this class of problems. In this paper the minimum spanning tree problem with uncertain edge costs is discussed. In order to model the uncertainty a discrete scenario set is specified and a robust framework is adopted to choose a solution. The min-max, min-max regret and 2-stage min-max versions of the problem are discussed. The complexity and approximability of all these problems are explored. It is proved that the min-max and min-max regret versions with nonnegative edge costs are hard to approximate within O(log^1^-^@en) for any @e>0 unless the problems in NP have quasi-polynomial time algorithms. Similarly, the 2-stage min-max problem cannot be approximated within O(logn) unless the problems in NP have quasi-polynomial time algorithms. In this paper randomized LP-based approximation algorithms with performance bound of O(log^2n) for min-max and 2-stage min-max problems are also proposed. This paper investigates, for the first time in the literature, the approximation of min–max (regret) versions of classical problems like shortest path, minimum spanning tree, and knapsack. For a constant number of scenarios, we establish fully polynomial-time approximation schemes for the min–max versions of these problems, using relationships between multi-objective and min–max optimization. Using dynamic programming and classical trimming techniques, we construct a fully polynomial-time approximation scheme for min–max regret shortest path. We also establish a fully polynomial-time approximation scheme for min–max regret spanning tree and prove that min–max regret knapsack is not at all approximable. For a non-constant number of scenarios, in which case min–max and min–max regret versions of polynomial-time solvable problems usually become strongly NP-hard, non-approximability results are provided for min–max (regret) versions of shortest path and spanning tree. We consider the minimum spanning tree problem with conflict constraints (MSTC). The problem is known to be strongly NP-hard and computing even a feasible solution is NP-hard. When the underlying graph is a cactus, we show that the feasibility problem is polynomially bounded whereas the optimization version is still NP-hard. When the conflict graph is a collection of disjoint cliques, (equivalently, when the conflict relation is transitive) we observe that MSTC can be solved in polynomial time. We also identify other special cases of MSTC that can be solved in polynomial time. Exploiting these polynomially solvable special cases we derive strong lower bounds. Also, various heuristic algorithms and feasibility tests are discussed along with preliminary experimental results. As a byproduct of this investigation, we show that if an @e-optimal solution to the maximum clique problem can be obtained in polynomial time, then a ([email protected])-optimal solution to the maximum edge clique partitioning (Max-ECP) problem can be obtained in polynomial time. As a consequence, we have a polynomial time approximation algorithm for the Max-ECP with performance ratio O(n(loglogn)^2log^3n), improving the best previously known bound of O(n). In this paper new complexity and approximation results on the robust versions of the representatives selection problem, under the scenario uncertainty representation, are provided, which extend the results obtained in the recent papers by Dolgui and Kovalev (2012) and Deineko and Woeginger (2013). Namely, it is shown that if the number of scenarios is a part of input, then the min-max (regret) representatives selection problem is not approximable within a ratio of O ( log 1 - ? K ) for any ? > 0 , where K is the number of scenarios, unless the problems in NP have quasi-polynomial time algorithms. An approximation algorithm with an approximation ratio of O ( log K log log K ) for the min-max version of the problem is also provided. We develop new techniques for deriving strong computational lower bounds for a class of well-known NP-hard problems. This class includes weighted satisfiability, dominating set, hitting set, set cover, clique, and independent set. For example, although a trivial enumeration can easily test in time O(n^k) if a given graph of n vertices has a clique of size k, we prove that unless an unlikely collapse occurs in parameterized complexity theory, the problem is not solvable in time f(k)n^o^(^k^) for any function f, even if we restrict the parameter values to be bounded by an arbitrarily small function of n. Under the same assumption, we prove that even if we restrict the parameter values k to be of the order @Q(@m(n)) for any reasonable function @m, no algorithm of running time n^o^(^k^) can test if a graph of n vertices has a clique of size k. Similar strong lower bounds on the computational complexity are also derived for other NP-hard problems in the above class. Our techniques can be further extended to derive computational lower bounds on polynomial time approximation schemes for NP-hard optimization problems. For example, we prove that the NP-hard distinguishing substring selection problem, for which a polynomial time approximation scheme has been recently developed, has no polynomial time approximation schemes of running time f(1 @e)n^o^(^1^ ^@e^) for any function f unless an unlikely collapse occurs in parameterized complexity theory. The EQUAL SUM SUBSETS problem, where we are given a set of positive integers and we ask for two nonempty disjoint subsets such that their elements add up to the same total, is known to be NP-hard. In this paper we give (pseudo-)polynomial algorithms and or (strong) NP-hardness proofs for several natural variations of EQUAL SUM SUBSETS. Among others we present (i) a framework for obtaining NP-hardness proofs and pseudopolynomial time algorithms for EQUAL SUM SUBSETS variations, which we apply to variants of the problem with additional selection restrictions, (ii) a proof of NP-hardness and a pseudo-polynomial time algorithm for the case where we ask for two subsets such that the ratio of their sums is some fixed rational r > 0, (iii) a pseudo-polynomial time algorithm for finding k subsets of equal sum, with k = O(1), and a proof of strong NP-hardness for the same problem with k = Ω(n), (iv) algorithms and hardness results for finding k equal sum subsets under the additional requirement that the subsets should be of equal cardinality. Our results are a step towards determining the dividing lines between polynomial time solvability, pseudo-polynomial time solvability, and strong NP-completeness of subset-sum related problems. In this paper the minmax (regret) versions of some basic polynomially solvable deterministic network problems are discussed. It is shown that if the number of scenarios is unbounded, then the problems under consideration are not approximable within log^1^-^@eK for any @e>0 unless NP@?DTIME(n^p^o^l^y^l^o^g^n), where K is the number of scenarios. We develop new techniques for deriving very strong computational lower bounds for a class of well-known NP-hard problems, including weighted satisfiability , dominating set , hitting set , set cover , clique , and independent set . For example, although a trivial enumeration can easily test in time O(nk) if a given graph of n vertices has a clique of size k, we prove that unless an unlikely collapse occurs in parameterized complexity theory, the problem is not solvable in time f(k) no(k) for any function f, even if we restrict the parameter value k to be bounded by an arbitrarily small function of n. Under the same assumption, we prove that even if we restrict the parameter values k to be Θ(μ(n)) for any reasonable function μ, no algorithm of running time no(k) can test if a graph of n vertices has a clique of size k. Similar strong lower bounds are also derived for other problems in the above class. Our techniques can be extended to derive computational lower bounds on approximation algorithms for NP-hard optimization problems. For example, we prove that the NP-hard distinguishing substring selection problem, for which a polynomial time approximation scheme has been recently developed, has no polynomial time approximation schemes of running time f(1 e)no(1 e) for any function f unless an unlikely collapse occurs in parameterized complexity theory. Abstract The shortest path problem is of great importance to the real world in such areas as transportation, network design, telecommunication, etc. The deterministic version of the problem is easily solved. However, in the real world, uncertainty is frequently encountered and must be dealt with. For instance, in a transportation network, the path that has the least travel time when no traffic is present might be prone to accidents and traffic jams, and thus it may lead to a drastic increase in travel time during rush hours. In situations with significant uncertainty, the deterministic approach can be far from sufficient. New and appropriate criteria and models to handle uncertainties along with efficient solution techniques are in need. In this paper, we take a minimax approach to measure the performance under uncertainties. Under our measure, one path is superior to all others only if its worst case performance is better than that of the others. The complexity of the defined models, exact and heuristic solution methods are explored and presented. Analysis is done to examine the performance of the heuristic method. The shortest path (SP) problem in a network with nonnegative arc lengths can be solved easily by Dijkstra's labeling algorithm in polynomial time. In the case of significant uncertainty of the arc lengths, a robustness approach is more appropriate. In this paper, we study the SP problem under arc length uncertainties. A scenario approach is adopted to characterize uncertainties. Two robustness criteria are specified: the absolute robust criterion and the robust deviation criterion. We show that under both criteria the robust SP problem is NP-complete even for the much more restricted layered networks of width 2, and with only 2 scenarios. A pseudo-polynomial algorithm is devised to solve the robust SP problem in general networks under bounded number of scenarios. Also presented is a more efficient algorithm for layered networks. However, in the case of unlimited number of scenarios, we show that the robust SP problem is strongly NP-hard. A simple heuristic for finding a good robust shortest path is provided, and the worst case performance is analyzed. We consider the problem of scheduling jobs on parallel identical machines, where only interval bounds of processing times of jobs are known. The optimality criterion of a schedule is the total completion time. In order to cope with the uncertainty, we consider the maximum regret objective and seek a schedule that performs well under all possible instantiations of processing times. We show how to compute the maximum regret, and prove that its minimization is strongly NP-hard. Minmax regret optimization aims at finding robust solutions that perform best in the worst-case, compared to the respective optimum objective value in each scenario. Even for simple uncertainty sets like boxes, most polynomially solvable optimization problems have strongly NP-complete minmax regret counterparts. Thus, heuristics with performance guarantees can potentially be of great value, but only few such guarantees exist. Given a set of items, a set of scenarios, and a knapsack of fixed capacity, a nonnegative weight is associated with each item; and a value is associated with each item under each scenario. The max-min Knapsack MNK problem is defined as filling the knapsack with a selected set of items so that the minimum total value gained under all scenarios is maximized. The MNK problem is a generalization of the conventional knapsack problem to situations with multiple scenarios. This extension significantly enlarges its scope of applications, especially in the application of recent robust optimization developments. In this paper, the MNK problem is shown to be strongly NP-hard for an unbounded number of scenarios and pseudopolynomially solvable for a bounded number of scenarios. Effective lower and upper bounds are generated by surrogate relaxation. The ratio of these two bounds is shown to be bounded by a constant for situations where the data range is limited to be within a fixed percentage from its mean. This result leads to an approximation algorithm for MNK in the special case. A branch-and-bound algorithm has been implemented to efficiently solve the MNK problem to optimality. Extensive computational results are presented. Given an undirected graph G = (V ,E ), the density of a subgraph on vertex set S is defined as @math , where E (S ) is the set of edges in the subgraph induced by nodes in S . Finding subgraphs of maximum density is a very well studied problem. One can also generalize this notion to directed graphs. For a directed graph one notion of density given by Kannan and Vinay [12] is as follows: given subsets S and T of vertices, the density of the subgraph is @math , where E (S ,T ) is the set of edges going from S to T . Without any size constraints, a subgraph of maximum density can be found in polynomial time. When we require the subgraph to have a specified size, the problem of finding a maximum density subgraph becomes NP -hard. In this paper we focus on developing fast polynomial time algorithms for several variations of dense subgraph problems for both directed and undirected graphs. When there is no size bound, we extend the flow based technique for obtaining a densest subgraph in directed graphs and also give a linear time 2-approximation algorithm for it. When a size lower bound is specified for both directed and undirected cases, we show that the problem is NP-complete and give fast algorithms to find subgraphs within a factor 2 of the optimum density. We also show that solving the densest subgraph problem with an upper bound on size is as hard as solving the problem with an exact size constraint, within a constant factor. We investigate two systems of fully proportional representation suggested by Chamberlin & Courant and Monroe. Both systems assign a representative to each voter so that the "sum of misrepresentations" is minimized. The winner determination problem for both systems is known to be NP-hard, hence this work aims at investigating whether there are variants of the proposed rules and or specific electorates for which these problems can be solved efficiently. As a variation of these rules, instead of minimizing the sum of misrepresentations, we considered minimizing the maximal misrepresentation introducing effectively two new rules. In the general case these "minimax" versions of classical rules appeared to be still NP-hard. We investigated the parameterized complexity of winner determination of the two classical and two new rules with respect to several parameters. Here we have a mixture of positive and negative results: e.g., we proved fixed-parameter tractability for the parameter the number of candidates but fixed-parameter intractability for the number of winners. For single-peaked electorates our results are overwhelmingly positive: we provide polynomial-time algorithms for most of the considered problems. The only rule that remains NP-hard for single-peaked electorates is the classical Monroe rule. We consider the following generalization of the binary search problem. A search strategy is required to locate an unknown target node @math in a given tree @math . Upon querying a node @math of the tree, the strategy receives as a reply an indication of the connected component of @math containing the target @math . The cost of querying each node is given by a known non-negative weight function, and the considered objective is to minimize the total query cost for a worst-case choice of the target. Designing an optimal strategy for a weighted tree search instance is known to be strongly NP-hard, in contrast to the unweighted variant of the problem which can be solved optimally in linear time. Here, we show that weighted tree search admits a quasi-polynomial time approximation scheme: for any @math , there exists a @math -approximation strategy with a computation time of @math . Thus, the problem is not APX-hard, unless @math . By applying a generic reduction, we obtain as a corollary that the studied problem admits a polynomial-time @math -approximation. This improves previous @math -approximation approaches, where the @math -notation disregards @math -factors. We study the Set Covering Problem with uncertain costs. For each cost coefficient, only an interval estimate is known, and it is assumed that each coefficient can take on any value from the corresponding uncertainty interval, regardless of the values taken by other coefficients. It is required to find a robust deviation (also called minmax regret) solution. For this strongly NP-hard problem, we present and compare computationally three exact algorithms, where two of them are based on Benders decomposition and one uses Benders cuts in the context of a Branch-and-Cut approach, and several heuristic methods, including a scenario-based heuristic, a Genetic Algorithm, and a Hybrid Algorithm that uses a version of Benders decomposition within a Genetic Algorithm framework. In this study, we investigate the minmax regret Robust Weighted Set Covering problem with Interval Data (RSCP), which is the robust counterpart of the Weighted Set Covering Problem (WSCP) where uncertain data are modeled using interval data. RSCP is NP-Hard and can provide foundations for solving several minmax regret covering problems. Moreover, RSCP encloses several challenges in terms of computer science and mathematical formulations. The challenges involve the development of innovative algorithms since solving the RSCP for a unique scenario implies to solve an NP-Hard problem. The exact algorithms in the literature rely on decomposition algorithms and cutting plane procedures since the mathematical formulation of RSCP contains an exponential number of constraints. In this study, scenario-based heuristics are used to generate additional cuts in order to reduce the average optimality gaps on the instances not solved to optimality.