I have been looking into the problem $\min: \|x \|_0$ subject to$: Ax=b$. $\|x \|_0$ is not a linear function and can't be solved as a linear (or integer) program in its current form. Most of my time has been spent looking for a representation different from the one above (formed as a linear/integer program). I know there are approximation methods (Basis Pursuit, Matching Pursuit, the $\ell_1$ problem), but I haven't found an exact formulation in any of my searching and sparse representation literature. I have developed a formulation for the problem, but I would love to compare with anything else that is available. Does anyone know of such a formulation?
Thanks in advance, Clark
P.S. I'm aware that the $\|x\|_0$ problem is NP-hard, and as such, probably will not yield an exact formulation as an LP (unless P=NP). I was more referring to an exact formulation or an LP relaxation.