Solving Linear Programming Problems by Reducing to the Form with an Obvious Answer

The article considers a method for solving a linear programming problem (LPP), which requires finding the minimum or maximum of a linear functional on a set of non-negative solutions of a system of linear algebraic equations with the same unknowns. The method is obtained by improving the classical simplex method, which when involving geometric considerations, in fact, generalizes the Gauss complete exclusion method for solving systems of equations. The proposed method, as well as the method of complete exceptions, proceeds from purely algebraic considerations. It consists of converting the entire LPP, including the objective function, into an equivalent problem with an obvious answer. For the convenience of converting the target functional, the equations are written as linear functionals on the left side and zeros on the right one. From the coefficients of the mentioned functionals, a matrix is formed, which is called the LPP matrix. The zero row of the matrix is the coefficients of the target functional, $a_{00}$ is its free member. The algorithms are described and justified in terms of the transformation of this matrix. In calculations the matrix is a calculation table. The method under consideration by analogy with the simplex method consists of three stages. At the first stage the LPP matrix is reduced to a special 1-canonical form. With such matrices one of the basic solutions of the system is obvious, and the target functional on it is $ a_{00}$, which is very convenient. At the second stage the resulting matrix is transformed into a similar matrix with non-positive elements of the zero column (except $a_{00}$), which entails the non-negativity of the basic solution. At the third stage the matrix is transformed into a matrix that provides non-negativity and optimality of the basic solution. For the second stage the analog of which in the simplex method uses an artificial basis and is the most time-consuming, two variants without artificial variables are given. When describing the first of them, along the way, a very easy-to-understand and remember analogue of the famous Farkas lemma is obtained. The other option is quite simple to use, but its full justification is difficult and will be separately published.

Using linear algebra in decomposition of Farkas interpolants

The use of propositional logic and systems of linear inequalities over reals is a common means to model software for formal verification. Craig interpolants constitute a central building block in this setting for over-approximating reachable states, e.g. as candidates for inductive loop invariants. Interpolants for a linear system can be efficiently computed from a Simplex refutation by applying the Farkas’ lemma. However, these interpolants do not always suit the verification task—in the worst case, they can even prevent the verification algorithm from converging. This work introduces the decomposed interpolants, a fundamental extension of the Farkas interpolants, obtained by identifying and separating independent components from the interpolant structure, using methods from linear algebra. We also present an efficient polynomial algorithm to compute decomposed interpolants and analyse its properties. We experimentally show that the use of decomposed interpolants in model checking results in immediate convergence on instances where state-of-the-art approaches diverge. Moreover, since being based on the efficient Simplex method, the approach is very competitive in general.

Speeding up the core algorithm for the dual calculation of minimal cut sets in large metabolic networks

Background The concept of minimal cut sets (MCS) has become an important mathematical framework for analyzing and (re)designing metabolic networks. However, the calculation of MCS in genome-scale metabolic models is a complex computational problem. The development of duality-based algorithms in the last years allowed the enumeration of thousands of MCS in genome-scale networks by solving mixed-integer linear problems (MILP). A recent advancement in this field was the introduction of the MCS2 approach. In contrast to the Farkas-lemma-based dual system used in earlier studies, the MCS2 approach employs a more condensed representation of the dual system based on the nullspace of the stoichiometric matrix, which, due to its reduced dimension, holds promise to further enhance MCS computations. Results In this work, we introduce several new variants and modifications of duality-based MCS algorithms and benchmark their effects on the overall performance. As one major result, we generalize the original MCS2 approach (which was limited to blocking the operation of certain target reactions) to the most general case of MCS computations with arbitrary target and desired regions. Building upon these developments, we introduce a new MILP variant which allows maximal flexibility in the formulation of MCS problems and fully leverages the reduced size of the nullspace-based dual system. With a comprehensive set of benchmarks, we show that the MILP with the nullspace-based dual system outperforms the MILP with the Farkas-lemma-based dual system speeding up MCS computation with an averaged factor of approximately 2.5. We furthermore present several simplifications in the formulation of constraints, mainly related to binary variables, which further enhance the performance of MCS-related MILP. However, the benchmarks also reveal that some highly condensed formulations of constraints, especially on reversible reactions, may lead to worse behavior when compared to variants with a larger number of (more explicit) constraints and involved variables. Conclusions Our results further enhance the algorithmic toolbox for MCS calculations and are of general importance for theoretical developments as well as for practical applications of the MCS framework.

A CAV Platoon Control Method for Isolated Intersections: Guaranteed Feasible Multi-Objective Approach with Priority

This paper proposed a multi-objective guaranteed feasible connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) platoon control method for signalized isolated intersections with priorities. Specifically, we prioritized the intersection throughput and traffic efficiency under a pre-defined signal cycle, based on which we minimized fuel consumption and emissions for CAV platoons. Longitudinal safety was also considered as a necessary condition. To handle the aforementioned targets, we firstly designed a vehicular sub-platoon splitting algorithm based on Farkas lemma to accommodate a maximum number of vehicles for each signal green time phase. Secondly, the CAV optimal trajectories control algorithm was designed as a centralized cooperative model predictive control (MPC). Moreover, the optimal control problem was formulated as discrete linear quadratic control problems with constraints with receding predictive horizons, which can be efficiently solved by quadratic programming after reformulation. For rigor, the proofs of the recursive feasibility and asymptotic stability of our proposed predictive control model were provided. For evaluation, the performance of the control algorithm was compared against a non-cooperative distributed CAV control through simulation. It was found that the proposed method can significantly enhance both traffic efficiency and energy efficiency with ensured safety for CAV platoons at urban signalized intersections.