Lecture

Simplex Algorithm: Basics

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In course

MATH-261: Discrete optimization

This course is an introduction to linear and discrete optimization. Warning: This is a mathematics course! While much of the course will be algorithmic in nature, you will still need to be able to prove theorems. ...

Description

This lecture covers the basics of the Simplex algorithm, starting with the initialization of a free solution and the addition of edges to form cycles. It explains how the algorithm solves flow problems and deals with negative cost cycles. The instructor demonstrates the process step by step, emphasizing the importance of maintaining feasibility throughout. The lecture also introduces the concept of unsaturated negative cost cycles and discusses the convergence of the Negative Cost Cycle Algorithm (NCCA) in solving linear programming problems.

Instructors (2)

Friedrich Eisenbrand

Friedrich Eisenbrand's main research interests lie in the field of discrete optimization, in particular in algorithms and complexity, integer programming, geometry of numbers, and applied optimization. He is best known for his work on efficient algorithms for integer programming in fixed dimension and the theory of cutting planes, which are an important tool to solve large scale industrial optimization problems in practice. Before joining EPFL in March 2008, Friedrich Eisenbrand was a full professor of mathematics at the University of Paderborn. Friedrich received the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz award of the German Research Foundation (DFG) in 2004 and the Otto Hahn medal of the Max Planck Society in 2001.

Rom Pinchasi

Teaching & PhD Courses The Maths of Puzzles MATH-704 We introduce various strategies and methods to solving puzzles and Math problems. At the same time we present some mathematical topics through attractive puzzles. These will include: Invariants, Pigeon-hole principle, Linear Algebra methods, Hall's Theorem, Probabilistic Method, and a lot more fun.

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Theoretical computer science

Algorithms and data structures: Combinatorial optimization

Related concepts (32)

Linear programming

Linear programming (LP), also called linear optimization, is a method to achieve the best outcome (such as maximum profit or lowest cost) in a mathematical model whose requirements are represented by linear relationships. Linear programming is a special case of mathematical programming (also known as mathematical optimization). More formally, linear programming is a technique for the optimization of a linear objective function, subject to linear equality and linear inequality constraints.

Integer programming

An integer programming problem is a mathematical optimization or feasibility program in which some or all of the variables are restricted to be integers. In many settings the term refers to integer linear programming (ILP), in which the objective function and the constraints (other than the integer constraints) are linear. Integer programming is NP-complete. In particular, the special case of 0-1 integer linear programming, in which unknowns are binary, and only the restrictions must be satisfied, is one of Karp's 21 NP-complete problems.

Mathematical optimization

Mathematical optimization (alternatively spelled optimisation) or mathematical programming is the selection of a best element, with regard to some criterion, from some set of available alternatives. It is generally divided into two subfields: discrete optimization and continuous optimization. Optimization problems arise in all quantitative disciplines from computer science and engineering to operations research and economics, and the development of solution methods has been of interest in mathematics for centuries.

Nonlinear programming

In mathematics, nonlinear programming (NLP) is the process of solving an optimization problem where some of the constraints or the objective function are nonlinear. An optimization problem is one of calculation of the extrema (maxima, minima or stationary points) of an objective function over a set of unknown real variables and conditional to the satisfaction of a system of equalities and inequalities, collectively termed constraints. It is the sub-field of mathematical optimization that deals with problems that are not linear.

Combinatorial optimization

Combinatorial optimization is a subfield of mathematical optimization that consists of finding an optimal object from a finite set of objects, where the set of feasible solutions is discrete or can be reduced to a discrete set. Typical combinatorial optimization problems are the travelling salesman problem ("TSP"), the minimum spanning tree problem ("MST"), and the knapsack problem. In many such problems, such as the ones previously mentioned, exhaustive search is not tractable, and so specialized algorithms that quickly rule out large parts of the search space or approximation algorithms must be resorted to instead.

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