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38 votes
1 answer
2k views

Sofa in a snaky 3D corridor

What is the largest volume object that can pass though a $1 \times 1 \times L$ "snaky" corridor, where $L$ is large enough to be irrelvant, say $L > 6$.           ...
Joseph O'Rourke's user avatar
15 votes
3 answers
1k views

Is this lower bound for a norm of some complex matrices true?

Let $A = [a_{ij}]_{n\times n}$ be a Hermitian matrix, such that $|a_{ij}| =1$ for $i \neq j$, and $a_{ii} = 0$ for each $i$. I am interested in a tight lower bound of $\|A\|_*:=\sum_{i=1}^n |\lambda_i(...
Mahdi - Free Palestine's user avatar
12 votes
1 answer
5k views

Closest 3D rotation matrix in the Frobenius norm sense

Given a 3 by 3 matrix $M$ I would like to find the rotation matrix $R$ minimizing the Frobenius norm: \begin{equation} \|R-M\|_F \end{equation} Is there a closed form solution for $R$, or is it ...
Alex Flint's user avatar
11 votes
3 answers
6k views

Random Sampling a linearly constrained region in n-dimensions...

Hi, So here is my problem: Given a nonlinear, discontinous, cost function $f(x_1,x_2,..,x_N)$ along with linear constraints $x_n \ge 0, \forall n$ $x_n \le c_n$ and $\sum_{n=1}^N x_n = 1$ find an ...
user1's user avatar
  • 113
6 votes
6 answers
3k views

Circumference of Convex Shapes

Here is a puzzle I found in Mitteilungen der DMV (roughly, "Letters of the German Society of Mathematicians"), issue 19/2011. It was posed by Alfred Schreiber in "Wie man Hasen fangt" (How to catch ...
Matthias Goergens's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
327 views

LP Constraints for Connected Subgraphs of Fixed Size

Question: how can the connectedness-constraint for a subgraph, that is induced by a proper subset $W\subset V$ of the vertices of $G(V,E),\ |V|=n,\ |W|=m$, be formulated in a $LP$ or $ILP$? ...
Manfred Weis's user avatar
  • 13.2k
27 votes
5 answers
2k views

Is the matrix $\left({2m\choose 2j-i}\right)_{i,j=1}^{2m-1}$ nonsingular?

Suppose we have a $(2m-1) \times (2m-1)$ matrix defined as follows: $$\left({2m\choose 2j-i}\right)_{i,j=1}^{2m-1}.$$ For example, if $m=3$, the matrix is $$\begin{pmatrix}6 & 20 & 6& 0 ...
user42804's user avatar
  • 1,121
19 votes
2 answers
2k views

Is the tensor product of polyhedra a polyhedron?

Conventions: A polytope in a finite-dimensional $\mathbb R$-vector space $V$ is defined to be a convex hull of finitely many points in $V$. A polyhedron in a finite-dimensional $\mathbb R$-vector ...
darij grinberg's user avatar
17 votes
3 answers
2k views

The minimum of a sum of absolute values of inner products in $\mathbb{R}^d$

Consider a collection of unit vectors $v_1, \ldots, v_n$ in $\mathbb{R}^d$ (we think of $n$ being much larger than $d$). I would like to minimize the sum: $$\sum_{i\neq j}|\langle v_i,v_j\rangle|.$$ ...
TOM's user avatar
  • 2,288
5 votes
3 answers
1k views

Algorithm for the intersection of a vector subspace with a cone of non-negative vectors

Hi, I would like to know whether there is some more effective way of how to compute an intersection of a vector subspace of $\mathbb{R}^{n}$ with a cone of vectors with non-negative entries than the ...
Miroslav Korbelar's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
3k views

optimization of inverse matrix with constraint on matrix elements

everyone! I have this optimization problem with constraint. $D$ and $T$ are symmetric matrices, where T is known and D is the unknown parameter. $x$ and $v$ are two known p-dimensional vectors. The ...
Bing's user avatar
  • 49
4 votes
1 answer
8k views

Detection of Redundant Constraints

Suppose I pose the following query to a constraint logic programming system: ?- Y <= 6 - X, Y <= (- 4) + 4 * X, Y <= 4 + X / 3. Are there systems that would recognize the last inequality as ...
user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
105 views

Optimization over a convex cone generated by a set is equal to optimization over the set

Within my research I found an important doubt and that prevents me from advancing, the context of my doubt is as follows: We considerer the following optimization problem $$ \left\{\begin{array}{cl} \...
matematicaActiva's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
270 views

Can we invoke "almost supermartingale" Theorem for deterministic sequences?

Perhaps stupid question. Question: Can "almost supermartingale" theorem be equally applicable to prove the convergence of some algorithms solving non-random optimization problems? Attempt ...
user550103's user avatar
29 votes
6 answers
8k views

How to find a closest integer point to the intersection of two lines?

Here's a question that originates from StackOverflow. Given are two lines on a plane, specified by equations ($a x + b y = c$) with integer coefficients. The lines aren't parallel and they don't ...
P Shved's user avatar
  • 391
19 votes
4 answers
1k views

Applications of linear programming duality in combinatorics

So, I know that one can apply the strong LP duality theorem to specific instances of maximum flow problems to recover some nontrivial theorems in combinatorics, such as Hall's theorem, Koenig's ...
amakelov's user avatar
  • 997
18 votes
3 answers
3k views

Deciding membership in a convex hull

Given points $u, v_1, \dots,v_n \in \mathbb{R}^m$, decide if $u$ is contained in the convex hull of $v_1, \dots, v_n$. This can be done efficiently by linear programming (time polynomial in $n,m$) in ...
Mitch's user avatar
  • 667
18 votes
1 answer
839 views

Known configurations maximizing the volume of the convex hull of n points on the unit sphere

For $n\geq 4$, let $V_n$ be the maximum volume of the convex hull of $n$ points on the unit sphere (in $\mathbb{R}^3$, although information on higher dimensions is welcome as well). I'm sure the ...
Gro-Tsen's user avatar
  • 32.5k
16 votes
3 answers
1k views

Can a convex polytope with $f$ facets have more than $f$ facets when projected into $\mathbb{R}^2$?

Let $P$ be a convex polytope in $\mathbb{R}^d$ with $n$ vertices and $f$ facets. Let $\text{Proj}(P)$ denote the projection of $P$ into $\mathbb{R}^2$. Can $\text{Proj}(P)$ have more than $f$ facets? ...
Pedro Ruiz's user avatar
10 votes
1 answer
411 views

Network flows with capacities on pairs of edges

Take a standard network flow problem: a directed graph with nonnegative capacities on each edge, a source $s$, a sink $t$. We all know how to find the maximum flow from $s$ to $t$. Now add edge-pair ...
Brendan McKay's user avatar
10 votes
2 answers
3k views

How do you tell if a system of linear inequalities has a solution?

A naive solution would be to optimize a dummy variable via linear programming and see if a result is returned. I imagine there must be a more direct way.
user21816's user avatar
  • 693
9 votes
1 answer
2k views

Uniform sampling from general simplex with a twist

This is part of a question I had asked elsewhere, and then some of the links redirected me to CS stack exchange. Given $0\leq a_1\leq\dots\leq a_D\leq1$ (all strictly positive), I want to draw points ...
Juanito's user avatar
  • 221
9 votes
1 answer
295 views

Definition of packing property

Definition 1: A clutter $C$ is said to have the packing property if $C$ and all of its minors satisfy the König property. where, vertex cover of $C$ is a set of vertices that have non-empty ...
user177523's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
403 views

Does the plane clustered to minimize sum distances^2 to clusters centers ( inertia / "K-means") produce hexagonal clusters / hexagonal lattice?

"K-means" is the most simple and famous clustering algorithm, which has numerous applications. For a given as an input number of clusters it segments set of points in R^n to that given number of ...
Alexander Chervov's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
1k views

Is a given point in the interior of the convex hull of a given finite collection of points?

Suppose I have the convex hull $P$ of a finite collection of points in $\mathbb{R}^d,$ and I want to see whether a point $p$ is contained in $P.$ This is a standard (some would say the standard linear ...
Igor Rivin's user avatar
  • 96.4k
7 votes
0 answers
2k views

Optimization over space of probability measures

Consider an optimization problem as follows: $$ \min\mathbb E_w[f_0(w)] \mathrm{\,\,\,\,\,\ s.t.\,\,\,\,} E_w[f_i(w)]\leq 0 ,\,\,\, i=1,\dots, k $$ where the maximum is taken over $\mathscr M$, ...
Arash's user avatar
  • 752
6 votes
1 answer
609 views

Attempt at applying linear programming to the partial sums of the Möbius inverse of the Harmonic numbers

Let $a(n)$ be the Dirichlet inverse of the Euler totient function: $$a(n) = \sum\limits_{d|n} d \cdot \mu(d) \tag{1}$$ and let the matrix $T(n,k)$ be: $$T(n,k)=a(\gcd(n,k)) \tag{2}$$ It has been ...
Mats Granvik's user avatar
  • 1,183
6 votes
1 answer
2k views

Non-negative quadratic maximization

For a given symmetric and positive semidefinite $n \times n$ matrix $A$, we want to solve the problem $$\max_{||x|| = 1, \ x\geq 0} x^T A x.$$ Here, $x\geq 0$ indicates that $x$ must be component-wise ...
user11443's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
8k views

Existence/Uniqueness of Nonnegative Solutions of Linear Systems of Equations

Suppose we have an $m$x$n$ matrix $A$, with $m\lt n$, and an $m$x$1$ vector $b$. Are there existence and uniqueness conditions characterizing nonnegative solutions of the system of linear equations $...
Adam Clarridge's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
761 views

Checking if one polytope is contained in another

I have two sets of inequalities, say, $Ax \leq 0$ and $Bx \leq 0$. I would like to know if they both define the same polytope. Or, even, whether one is contained in the other. At the moment I am ...
bandini's user avatar
  • 491
4 votes
1 answer
204 views

Reference: Packing under translation is in NP

I am looking for a reference for a result that I am aware of. Let me describe the result. Given a polygon $C$ and polygons $p_1,\ldots,p_n$, it can be decided in NP time, if $p_1,\ldots,p_n$ can be ...
Till's user avatar
  • 479
4 votes
1 answer
891 views

Basic result in semi-infinite linear programming

Consider a standard linear program of the form $$\textrm{minimize}_x~~~~ c^Tx~~~~ s.t. \\ Ax = b \\ x \geq 0$$ with $x\in \mathbb{R}^n$ and $A \in \mathbb{R}^{m \times n}$. It is well known that, if ...
Tom Solberg's user avatar
  • 4,049
4 votes
2 answers
2k views

Simplified knapsack problem

There is a problem that I can not solve. Given a set of items (each item has some integer weight) we have to fill bag with some number of copies of these items, with the only restriction that the ...
Leo-guest's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
791 views

complexity of finding optimal matchings of given fixed size

It is known, that maximal matchings (i.e. matchings with the maximal number of edges) and optimal matchings (i.e. matchings for which the sum of edge weights is optimal) can be calculated in ...
Manfred Weis's user avatar
  • 13.2k
3 votes
4 answers
4k views

Existence of nonnegative solutions to an underdetermined system of linear equations

Similar questions have been asked elsewhere, but I think this is sufficiently different to warrant a new post. I have a particular matrix $A$ and would like to know when the system $Ax = 0$ has at ...
bandini's user avatar
  • 491
2 votes
2 answers
402 views

Is this a linear optimization problem? $Ax=0$, $A$ has $m$ rows and $n$ columns, $m \le n$, all entries of $x$ are non-negative

$Ax=0$, $A$ has $m$ rows and $n$ columns, $m \le n$, all entries of $x$ are non-negative. What should $A$ satisfy to guarantee the equation set have only zero solution?
ZhongHua Yan's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
137 views

Design constraint systems over the reals

This question is inspired by the discussion at this problem. Suppose I have a design consisting of a finite point set $U$ of size $|U|=m_{\emptyset}$ and a family of $n$ subsets (sometimes called ...
Aaron Meyerowitz's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
682 views

Maximal minimum for a sum of two (or more) cosines

Please prove (or disprove, and give the correct answer): $$2 =\mathrm{argmax}_{r\geq 1}\min_{x\in \mathbb{R}}\left[\cos\left(x\right)+\cos\left(rx\right)\right] $$ In other words, find $r \geq 1$, ...
Daniel Soudry's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
2k views

Finding a point farthest away from $k$ points in a polygon

There are $k$ points placed inside a polygon and I am interested in finding a point inside the polygon (not necessarily on its boundary) who's minimum distance to any of the $k$ points is maximized. ...
marc's user avatar
  • 57
2 votes
0 answers
131 views

Can we conclude $\sup_g\int f_1g\le\sup_g\int f_2g$ from $\int f_1\le\int f_2$ in this situation?

Disclaimer: Please bear with me, the question isn't as complicated as it looks like, but I wasn't able to find any simplification for which no counterexample comes to my find. Let $(E,\mathcal E,\...
0xbadf00d's user avatar
  • 167
1 vote
1 answer
190 views

Proof of extended version of non-random "almost supermartingale"

In this question, a non-random version of "almost supermartingale" theorem is proved. Here, I would like to extend/apply the non-random version to the slightly different situation. I wonder ...
user550103's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
232 views

Maximize a Lebesgue integral subject to an equality constraint

I want to maximize $$\Phi_g(w):=\sum_{i\in I}\sum_{j\in I}\int\lambda({\rm d}x)\int\lambda({\rm d}y)\left(w_i(x)p(x)q_j(y)\wedge w_j(y)p(y)q_i(x)\right)\sigma_{ij}(x,y)|g(x)-g(y)|^2$$ over all choices ...
0xbadf00d's user avatar
  • 167
1 vote
2 answers
121 views

How to solve the optimization problem $\max_{\mathbf{w}}\sum_i\text{sign}(\mathbf{w}^T \mathbf{x}_i)$?

I am looking for an algorithm to solve the following optimization problem $$\max_{\mathbf{w}}\sum_i\text{sign}(\mathbf{w}^T \mathbf{x}_i)$$ where $\mathbf{w}$ and each $\mathbf{x}_i\in\mathbb{R}^d$. ...
user3750444's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
243 views

Limit of argmin of sum

Suppose that I know $f_n\rightarrow f$ and $g_n\rightarrow g$ are both continuous maps from a Complete Riemmanian Manifold $X$ to $\mathbb{R}$ which converge pointwise almost everywhere. Then is it ...
ABIM's user avatar
  • 5,405