Matroidal Entropy Functions: A Quartet of Theories of Information, Matroid, Design and Coding

In this paper, we study the entropy functions on extreme rays of the polymatroidal region which contain a matroid, i.e., matroidal entropy functions. We introduce variable strength orthogonal arrays indexed by a connected matroid M and positive integer v which can be regarded as expanding the classic combinatorial structure orthogonal arrays. It is interesting that they are equivalent to the partition-representations of the matroid M with degree v and the (M,v) almost affine codes. Thus, a synergy among four fields, i.e., information theory, matroid theory, combinatorial design, and coding theory is developed, which may lead to potential applications in information problems such as network coding and secret-sharing. Leveraging the construction of variable strength orthogonal arrays, we characterize all matroidal entropy functions of order n≤5 with the exception of log10·U2,5 and logv·U3,5 for some v.

AM/GM-based optimization : gheometry and generalizations

The problem of unconstrained or constrained optimization occurs in many branches of mathematics and various fields of application. It is, however, an NP-hard problem in general. In this thesis, we examine an approximation approach based on the class of SAGE exponentials, which are nonnegative exponential sums. We examine this SAGE-cone, its geometry, and generalizations. The thesis consists of three main parts: 1. In the first part, we focus purely on the cone of sums of globally nonnegative exponential sums with at most one negative term, the SAGE-cone. We ex- amine the duality theory, extreme rays of the cone, and provide two efficient optimization approaches over the SAGE-cone and its dual. 2. In the second part, we introduce and study the so-called S-cone, which pro- vides a uniform framework for SAGE exponentials and SONC polynomials. In particular, we focus on second-order representations of the S-cone and its dual using extremality results from the first part. 3. In the third and last part of this thesis, we turn towards examining the con- ditional SAGE-cone. We develop a notion of sublinear circuits leading to new duality results and a partial characterization of extremality. In the case of poly- hedral constraint sets, this examination is simplified and allows us to classify sublinear circuits and extremality for some cases completely. For constraint sets with certain conditions such as sets with symmetries, conic, or polyhedral sets, various optimization and representation results from the unconstrained setting can be applied to the constrained case.

Extreme Ray Feasibility Cuts for Unit Commitment with Uncertainty

The unit commitment problem with uncertainty is considered one of the most challenging power system scheduling problems. Different stochastic models have been proposed to solve the problem, but such approaches have yet to be applied in industry practice because of computational challenges. In practice, the problem is formulated as a deterministic model with reserve requirements to hedge against uncertainty. However, simply requiring a certain level of reserves cannot ensure power system reliability as the procured reserves may be nondispatchable because of transmission limitations. In this paper, we derive a set of feasibility cuts (constraints) for managing the unit commitment problem with uncertainty. These cuts eliminate unreliable scheduling solutions and reallocate reserves in the power system; they are induced by the extreme rays of a polyhedral dual cone. This paper shows that, with the proposed reformulation, the extreme rays of the dual cone can be characterized by combinatorial selections of transmission lines (arcs) and buses (nodes) of the power system. As a result, the cuts can then be characterized using engineering insights. The unit commitment problem with uncertainty is formulated as a deterministic model with the identified extreme ray feasibility cuts. Test results show that, with the proposed extreme ray feasibility cuts, the problem can be solved more efficiently, and the resulting scheduling decision is also more reliable.

Geometry of the Copositive Tensor Cone and its Dual

In this paper, we explore some geometric properties of the cones in terms of extreme rays, exposed rays, the exposed face and the maximal face. To this end, we first show that all copositive tensors orthogonal to the generating tensor of the exposed ray in completely positive tensor cone construct a maximal face of the copositive tensor cone, then give a characterization on the maximal face of the copositive tensor cone. Third, we show that each extreme ray of the completely positive tensor cone is an exposed ray in the even order case. Finally, we give a lower bound and an upper bound for the maximal face of the completely positive tensor cone.

On the Linearity of Order-isomorphisms

A basic problem in the theory of partially ordered vector spaces is to characterise those cones on which every order-isomorphism is linear. We show that this is the case for every Archimedean cone that equals the inf-sup hull of the sum of its engaged extreme rays. This condition is milder than existing ones and is satisfied by, for example, the cone of positive operators in the space of bounded self-adjoint operators on a Hilbert space. We also give a general form of order-isomorphisms on the inf-sup hull of the sum of all extreme rays of the cone, which extends results of Artstein–Avidan and Slomka to infinite-dimensional partially ordered vector spaces, and prove the linearity of homogeneous order-isomorphisms in a variety of new settings.

Unconventional use of modern banking equipment in forensic medicine

The article describes the possibilities of usingmodern banking equipment,based on a comprehensive analysis of investigated objects in the extreme rays of spectrum and displaying the revealed features on the screen, for practical application in forensic medicine and criminalistics.