Corner Polyhedron Research Articles

Number of Vertices of the Polytope of Integer Partitions and Factorization of the Partitioned Number

The polytope of integer partitions of n is the convex hull of the corresponding n-dimensional integer points. The graph of v(n), the number of the polytope vertices, has a tooth-shaped form with the highest peaks at primes. We explain its shape by the large number of partitions of even n’s that were counted by N. Metropolis and P. R. Stein. We reveal that divisibility of n by 3 also reduces v(n) and characterize convex representations of integer points in arbitrary integral polytope via three other points. Using a specific classification of integers, we demonstrate that the graph of v(n) is stratified into layers corresponding to resulting classes. Our main conjecture claims that the value of v(n) depends on factorization of n. We also offer an argument for that the number of vertices of the master corner polyhedron on the cyclic group has similar features.

The number of corner polyhedra graphs

Corner polyhedra were introduced by Eppstein and Mumford (2014) as the set of simply connected 3D polyhedra such that all vertices have non negative integer coordinates, edges are parallel to the coordinate axes and all vertices but one can be seen from infinity in the direction (1, 1, 1). These authors gave a remarkable characterization of the set of corner polyhedra graphs, that is graphs that can be skeleton of a corner polyhedron: as planar maps, they are the duals of some particular bipartite triangulations, which we call hereafter corner triangulations.In this paper we count corner polyhedral graphs by determining the generating function of the corner triangulations with respect to the number of vertices: we obtain an explicit rational expression for it in terms of the Catalan gen- erating function. We first show that this result can be derived using Tutte's classical compositional approach. Then, in order to explain the occurrence of the Catalan series we give a direct algebraic decomposition of corner triangu- lations: in particular we exhibit a family of almond triangulations that admit a recursive decomposition structurally equivalent to the decomposition of binary trees. Finally we sketch a direct bijection between binary trees and almond triangulations. Our combinatorial analysis yields a simpler alternative to the algorithm of Eppstein and Mumford for endowing a corner polyhedral graph with the cycle cover structure needed to realize it as a polyhedral graph.

Approximation of Corner Polyhedra with Families of Intersection Cuts

We study the problem of approximating the corner polyhedron using intersection cuts derived from families of lattice-free sets in $\mathbb{R}^n$. In particular, we look at the problem of characterizing families that approximate the corner polyhedron up to a constant factor, which depends only on $n$ and not the data or dimension of the corner polyhedron. The literature already contains several results in this direction. In this paper, we use the maximum number of facets of lattice-free sets in a family as a measure of its complexity and precisely characterize the level of complexity of a family required for constant factor approximations. As one of the main results, we show that, for each natural number $n$, a corner polyhedron with $n$ basic integer variables and an arbitrary number of continuous nonbasic variables is approximated up to a constant factor by intersection cuts from lattice-free sets with at most $i$ facets if $i> 2^{n-1}$ and that no such approximation is possible if $i \le 2^{n-1}$. When the approximation factor is allowed to depend on the denominator of the fractional vertex of the linear relaxation of the corner polyhedron, we show that the threshold is $i > n$ versus $i \leq n$. The tools introduced for proving such results are of independent interest for studying intersection cuts.

On the relationship between standard intersection cuts, lift-and-project cuts, and generalized intersection cuts

We examine the connections between the classes of cuts in the title. We show that lift-and-project (L&P) cuts from a given disjunction are equivalent to generalized intersection cuts from the family of polyhedra obtained by taking positive combinations of the complements of the inequalities of each term of the disjunction. While L&P cuts from split disjunctions are known to be equivalent to standard intersection cuts (SICs) from the strip obtained by complementing the terms of the split, we show that L&P cuts from more general disjunctions may not be equivalent to any SIC. In particular, we give easily verifiable necessary and sufficient conditions for a L&P cut from a given disjunction D to be equivalent to a SIC from the polyhedral counterpart of D. Irregular L&P cuts, i.e. those that violate these conditions, have interesting properties. For instance, unlike the regular ones, they may cut off part of the corner polyhedron associated with the LP solution from which they are derived. Furthermore, they are not exceptional: their frequency exceeds that of regular cuts. A numerical example illustrates some of the above properties.

A geometric approach to cut-generating functions

The cutting-plane approach to integer programming was initiated more that 40 years ago: Gomory introduced the corner polyhedron as a relaxation of a mixed integer set in tableau form and Balas introduced intersection cuts for the corner polyhedron. This line of research was left dormant for several decades until relatively recently, when a paper of Andersen, Louveaux, Weismantel and Wolsey generated renewed interest in the corner polyhedron and intersection cuts. Recent developments rely on tools drawn from convex analysis, geometry and number theory, and constitute an elegant bridge between these areas and integer programming. We survey these results and highlight recent breakthroughs in this area.

Master corner polyhedron: Vertices

We focus on the vertices of the master corner polyhedron (MCP), a fundamental object in the theory of integer linear programming. We introduce two combinatorial operations that transform vertices to their neighbors. This implies that each MCP can be defined by the initial vertices regarding these operations; we call them support vertices. We prove that the class of support vertices of all MCPs over a group is invariant under automorphisms of this group and describe MCP vertex bases. Among other results, we characterize its irreducible points, establish relations between a vertex and the nontrivial facets that pass through it, and prove that this polyhedron is of diameter 2.

A 3-Slope Theorem for the infinite relaxation in the plane

In this paper we consider the infinite relaxation of the corner polyhedron with 2 rows. For the 1-row case, Gomory and Johnson proved in their seminal paper a sufficient condition for a minimal function to be extreme, the celebrated 2-Slope Theorem. Despite increased interest in understanding the multiple row setting, no generalization of this theorem was known for this case. We present an extension of the 2-Slope Theorem for the case of 2 rows by showing that minimal 3-slope functions satisfying an additional regularity condition are facets (and hence extreme). Moreover, we show that this regularity condition is necessary, unveiling a structure which is only present in the multi-row setting.

Equivalence between intersection cuts and the corner polyhedron

Intersection cuts were introduced by Balas and the corner polyhedron by Gomory. Balas showed that intersection cuts are valid for the corner polyhedron. In this paper we show that, conversely, every nontrivial facet-defining inequality for the corner polyhedron is an intersection cut.

The Chvátal closure of generalized stable sets in bidirected graphs

Abstract We consider the set of integral solutions of A x ⩽ b , x ⩾ 0 , where A is the edge-vertex incidence matrix of a bidirected graph. We characterize its corner polyhedron, i.e. the convex hull of the points satisfying all the constraints except the non-negativity of the basic variables. We show that the non-trivial inequalities necessary to describe this polyhedron can be derived as fractional Gomory cuts. It follows in particular that the split closure is equal to the Chvatal closure in this case.

Stable sets, corner polyhedra and the Chvátal closure

We consider the edge formulation of the stable set problem. We characterize its corner polyhedron, i.e. the convex hull of the points satisfying all the constraints except the non-negativity of the basic variables. We show that the non-trivial inequalities necessary to describe this polyhedron can be derived from one row of the simplex tableau as fractional Gomory cuts. It follows that the split closure is not stronger than the Chvátal closure for the edge relaxation of the stable set problem.

Mixed-Integer Cuts from Cyclic Groups

We analyze a separation procedure for Mixed-Integer Programs related to the work of Gomory and Johnson on interpolated subadditive functions. This approach has its roots in the Gomory-Johnson characterization on the master cyclic group polyhedron. To our knowledge, the practical benefit that can be obtained by embedding interpolated subadditive cuts in a cutting plane algorithm was not investigated computationally by previous authors. In this paper we compute, for the first time, the lower bound value obtained when adding (implicitly) all the interpolated subadditive cuts that can be derived from the individual rows of an optimal LP tableau, thus approximating the optimization over the intersection of the Gomory corner polyhedron with the LP relaxation of the original problem formulation. The computed bound is compared with that obtained when only Gomory mixed-integer cuts are used, on a very large test-bed of MIP instances.

Nondecomposable solutions to group equations and an application to polyhedral combinatorics

This paper is based on the study of the set of nondecomposable integer solutions in a Gomory corner polyhedron, which was recently used in a reformulation method for integer linear programs. In this paper, we present an algorithm for efficiently computing this set. We precompute a database of nondecomposable solutions for cyclic groups up to order 52. As a second application of this database, we introduce an algorithm for computing nontrivial simultaneous lifting coefficients. The lifting coefficients are exact for a discrete relaxation of the integer program that consists of a group relaxation plus bound constraints.

On equivalent knapsack problems

The objective function and constraint of the knapsack problem are aggregated and an equivalent knapsack problem is formed. The equivalent problem is solved in a new algorithm as a dynamic programming recursion. This new formulation then leads to a solution of the knapsack problem by the corner polyhedron and group knapsack approaches. The result is a second algorithm that differs from current algorithms and may have certain computational advantages over them.

Über die irrednziblen punkte des eckenpolyeders

Considering a group knapsack problem we find some results on irreducible points being not extreme points of the corner polyhedron. The results are deduced from the fact that a feasible solution is irreducible iff it is not the arithmetic mean of two other easible solutions.

Improved integer programming bounds using intersections of corner polyhedra

Consider the relaxation of an integer programming (IP) problem in which the feasible region is replaced by the intersection of the linear programming (LP) feasible region and the corner polyhedron for a particular LP basis. Recently a primal-dual ascent algorithm has been given for solving this relaxation. Given an optimal solution of this relaxation, we state criteria for selecting a new LP basis for which the associated relaxation is stronger. These criteria may be successively applied to obtain either an optimal IP solution or a lower bound on the cost of such a solution. Conditions are given for equality of the convex hull of feasible IP solutions and the intersection of all corner polyhedra.