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Dorothee Henke

Publications and source records attributed to Dorothee Henke.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

The complexity landscape of robust (integer) linear programming

We study the computational complexity of the decision versions of three classic robust optimization problems: static robust optimization, two-stage (adjustable) robust optimization, and $K$-adaptability. We consider that the feasibility, uncertainty, and recourse sets are polyhedra or integer-programming-representable sets, the uncertainty is decision-independent or decision-dependent, and the feasible regions are bounded or unbounded. While these problems are well-established in the current literature, we give a systematic classification that places the resulting problems in $\mathsf{P}$, $\mathsf{NP}$, $\mathsf{coNP}$, and higher levels of the polynomial hierarchy ($\Sigma_2^p$ and $\Sigma_3^p$), and, once decision-dependent uncertainty introduces quadratic constraints, in the existential theory of the reals and its hierarchy ($\exists\mathbb{R}$, $\Sigma_2\mathbb{R}$, and $\Sigma_3\mathbb{R}$) or among the undecidable problems. Beyond hardness reductions, we pay particular attention to membership proofs, establishing polynomial-size certificates even though the sets considered generally contain vectors of exponential encoding length. As a by-product, we give an alternative proof that bilevel linear optimization lies in $\mathsf{NP}$, exploiting its connection to decision-dependent robust optimization. For $K$-adaptability, we relate the problem to its static and two-stage counterparts, showing that hardness grows monotonically with $K$ and that, for fully discrete decision-dependent instances, $K$-adaptability reduces back to the static problem.

math.OC

A Robust Optimization Approach for Scheduling with Uncertain Start-Time Dependent Costs

In this work, we study a single-machine scheduling problem that aims at minimizing the total cost of a schedule subject to start-time dependent costs. This framework naturally captures scenarios where costs fluctuate throughout the day, such as time-varying energy or labor prices. To model more realistic scenarios, we assume that these costs lie within a budgeted uncertainty set and propose a two-stage robust optimization approach. In a first stage, the order in which activities should be executed is decided. After a cost scenario has been revealed, the starting times for each activity are established, subject to the ordering from the first stage. We demonstrate that the proposed problem is NP-hard and not approximable, implying the complexity of its robust counterpart. Furthermore, we show that already evaluating a first-stage solution is NP-hard when the uncertainty set is discrete. We develop models and solution methods for both continuous and discrete budgeted uncertainty. In computational experiments, we compare these approaches and demonstrate the advantages of including uncertainty beforehand.

math.OC

The Complexity Landscape of Two-Stage Robust Selection Problems with Budgeted Uncertainty

A standard type of uncertainty set in robust optimization is budgeted uncertainty, where an interval of possible values for each parameter is given and the total deviation from their lower bounds is bounded. In the two-stage setting, discrete and continuous budgeted uncertainty have to be distinguished. The complexity of such problems is largely unexplored, in particular if the underlying nominal optimization problem is simple, such as for selection problems. In this paper, we give a comprehensive answer to long-standing open complexity questions for three types of selection problems and three types of budgeted uncertainty sets. In particular, we demonstrate that the two-stage selection problem with continuous budgeted uncertainty is NP-hard, while the corresponding two-stage representative selection problem is solvable in polynomial time. Our hardness result implies that also the two-stage assignment problem with continuous budgeted uncertainty is NP-hard.

math.OC

The Complexity of Stackelberg Pricing Games

We consider Stackelberg pricing games, which are also known as bilevel pricing problems, or combinatorial price-setting problems. This family of problems consists of games between two players: the leader and the follower. There is a market that is partitioned into two parts: the part of the leader and the part of the leader's competitors. The leader controls one part of the market and can freely set the prices for products. By contrast, the prices of the competitors' products are fixed and known in advance. The follower, then, needs to solve a combinatorial optimization problem in order to satisfy their own demands, while comparing the leader's offers to the offers of the competitors. Therefore, the leader has to hit the intricate balance of making an attractive offer to the follower, while at the same time ensuring that their own profit is maximized. Pferschy, Nicosia, Pacifici, and Schauer considered the Stackelberg pricing game where the follower solves a knapsack problem. They raised the question whether this problem is complete for the second level of the polynomial hierarchy, i.e., $\Sigma^p_2$-complete. The same conjecture was also made by B\"ohnlein, Schaudt, and Schauer. In this paper, we positively settle this conjecture. Moreover, we show that this result holds actually in a much broader context: The Stackelberg pricing game is $\Sigma^p_2$-complete for over 50 NP-complete problems, including most classics such as TSP, vertex cover, clique, subset sum, etc. This result falls in line of recent meta-theorems about higher complexity in the polynomial hierarchy by Gr\"une and Wulf.

cs.GT

On Coupling Constraints in Pessimistic Linear Bilevel Optimization

The literature on pessimistic linear bilevel optimization with coupling constraints is rather scarce and it has been common sense that these problems are harder to tackle than pessimistic bilevel problems without coupling constraints. In this note, we show that this is not the case. To this end, given a pessimistic problem with coupling constraints, we derive a pessimistic problem without coupling constraints that has the same set of globally optimal solutions. Moreover, our results also show that one can equivalently replace a pessimistic problem with such constraints with an optimistic problem without coupling constraints. This paves the way of both transferring theory and solution techniques from any type of these problems to any other one.

math.OC

A fast approximate column-and-constraint generation method for two-stage robust mixed-integer programs

This paper presents a new column-and-constraint generation method for two-stage robust mixed-integer programs with finite uncertainty sets. Our method combines and extends speed-up techniques used in previous column-and-constraint generation methods and introduces several new techniques. In particular, it uses dual bounds for second-stage problems in order to allow a faster identification of the next promising scenario to be added to the master problem. Moreover, adaptive time limits are imposed to avoid getting stuck on particularly hard second-stage problems, and a gap propagation between master problem and second-stage problems is used to stop solving them earlier if only a given non-zero optimality gap is to be reached overall. This makes our method particularly effective for problems where solving the second-stage problem is computationally challenging. To evaluate the method's performance, we compare it to two recent column-and-constraint generation methods from the literature on two applications: a robust capacitated location routing problem and a robust integrated berth allocation and quay crane assignment and scheduling problem. The first problem features a particularly hard second stage, and we show that our method is able to solve considerably more and larger instances in a given time limit. Using the second problem, we verify the general applicability of our method, even for problems where the second stage is relatively easy.

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On the Complexity of the Bilevel Shortest Path Problem

We introduce a new bilevel version of the classic shortest path problem and completely characterize its computational complexity with respect to several problem variants. In our problem, the leader and the follower each control a subset of the edges of a graph and together aim at building a path between two given vertices, while each of the two players minimizes the cost of the resulting path according to their own cost function. We investigate both directed and undirected graphs, as well as the special case of directed acyclic graphs. Moreover, we distinguish two versions of the follower's problem: Either they have to complete the edge set selected by the leader such that the joint solution is exactly a path, or they have to complete the edge set selected by the leader such that the joint solution is a superset of a path. In general, the bilevel problem turns out to be much harder in the former case: We show that the follower's problem is already NP-hard here and that the leader's problem is even hard for the second level of the polynomial hierarchy, while both problems are one level easier in the latter case. Interestingly, for directed acyclic graphs, this difference turns around, as we give a polynomial-time algorithm for the first version of the bilevel problem, but it stays NP-hard in the second case. Finally, we consider restrictions that render the problem tractable. We prove that, for a constant number of leader's edges, one of our problem variants is actually equivalent to the shortest-$k$-cycle problem, which is a known combinatorial problem with partially unresolved complexity status. In particular, our problem admits a polynomial-time randomized algorithm that can be derandomized if and only if the shortest-$k$-cycle problem admits a deterministic polynomial-time algorithm.

cs.DS

On Coupling Constraints in Linear Bilevel Optimization

It is well-known that coupling constraints in linear bilevel optimization can lead to disconnected feasible sets, which is not possible without coupling constraints. However, there is no difference between linear bilevel problems with and without coupling constraints w.r.t. their complexity-theoretical hardness. In this note, we prove that, although there is a clear difference between these two classes of problems in terms of their feasible sets, the classes are equivalent on the level of optimal solutions. To this end, given a general linear bilevel problem with coupling constraints, we derive a respective problem without coupling constraints and prove that it has the same optimal solutions (when projected back to the original variable space).

math.OC

The Robust Bilevel Selection Problem

In bilevel optimization problems, a leader and a follower make their decisions in a hierarchy, and both decisions may influence each other. Usually one assumes that both players have full knowledge also of the other player's data. In a more realistic model, uncertainty can be quantified, e.g., using the robust optimization approach: We assume that the leader does not know the follower's objective precisely, but only up to some uncertainty set, and her aim is to optimize the worst case of the corresponding scenarios. Now the question arises how the complexity of bilevel optimization changes under the additional complications of this uncertainty. We make a further step towards answering this question by examining an easy bilevel problem. In the Bilevel Selection Problem (BSP), the leader and the follower each select some items from their own item set, while a common number of items to select in total is given, and each player minimizes the total costs of the selected items, according to different sets of item costs. We show that the BSP can be solved in polynomial time and then investigate its robust version. If the two players' item sets are disjoint, it can still be solved in polynomial time for several types of uncertainty sets. Otherwise, we show that the Robust BSP is NP-hard and present a 2-approximation algorithm and exact exponential-time approaches. Furthermore, we investigate variants of the BSP where one or both of the two players take a continuous decision. One variant leads to an example of a bilevel optimization problem whose optimal value may not be attained. For the Robust Continuous BSP, where all variables are continuous, we also develop a new approach for the setting of discrete uncorrelated uncertainty, which gives a polynomial-time algorithm for the Robust Continuous BSP and a pseudopolynomial-time algorithm for the Robust Bilevel Continuous Knapsack Problem.

math.OC

Partitioned vs. Integrated Planning of Hinterland Networks for LCL Transportation

Utilizing existing transportation networks better and designing (parts of) networks involves routing decisions to minimize transportation costs and maximize consolidation effects. We study the concrete example of hinterland networks for the truck-transportation of less-than-container-load (LCL) ocean freight shipments: A set of LCL shipments is given. They have to be routed through the hinterland network to be transported to an origin port and finally to the destination port via ship. On their way, they can be consolidated in hubs to full-container-load (FCL) shipments. The overall transportation cost depends on the selection of the origin port and the routing and consolidation in the hinterland network. A problem of this type appears for the global logistics provider DB Schenker. We translate the business problem into a hub location problem, describe it mathematically, and discuss solution strategies. As a result, an integrated modeling approach has several advantages over solving a simplified version of the problem, although it requires more computational effort.

math.OC

On the Complexity of the Bilevel Minimum Spanning Tree Problem

We consider the bilevel minimum spanning tree (BMST) problem where the leader and the follower choose a spanning tree together, according to different objective functions. By showing that this problem is NP-hard in general, we answer an open question stated in by Shi et al. We prove that BMST remains hard even in the special case where the follower only controls a matching. Moreover, by a polynomial reduction from the vertex-disjoint Steiner trees problem, we give some evidence that BMST might even remain hard in case the follower controls only few edges. On the positive side, we present a polynomial-time $(|V|-1)$-approximation algorithm for BMST, where $|V|$ is the number of vertices in the input graph. Moreover, considering the number of edges controlled by the follower as parameter, we show that 2-approximating BMST is fixed-parameter tractable and that, in case of uniform costs on leader's edges, even solving BMST exactly is fixed-parameter tractable. We finally consider bottleneck variants of BMST and settle the complexity landscape of all combinations of sum or bottleneck objective functions for the leader and follower, for the optimistic as well as the pessimistic setting.

cs.DS

The Stochastic Bilevel Continuous Knapsack Problem with Uncertain Follower's Objective

We consider a bilevel continuous knapsack problem where the leader controls the capacity of the knapsack, while the follower chooses a feasible packing maximizing his own profit. The leader's aim is to optimize a linear objective function in the capacity and in the follower's solution, but with respect to different item values. We address a stochastic version of this problem where the follower's profits are uncertain from the leader's perspective, and only a probability distribution is known. Assuming that the leader aims at optimizing the expected value of her objective function, we first observe that the stochastic problem is tractable as long as the possible scenarios are given explicitly as part of the input, which also allows to deal with general distributions using a sample average approximation. For the case of independently and uniformly distributed item values, we show that the problem is #P-hard in general, and the same is true even for evaluating the leader's objective function. Nevertheless, we present pseudo-polynomial time algorithms for this case, running in time linear in the total size of the items. Based on this, we derive an additive approximation scheme for the general case of independently distributed item values, which runs in pseudo-polynomial time.

cs.DS

The robust bilevel continuous knapsack problem with uncertain coefficients in the follower's objective

We consider a bilevel continuous knapsack problem where the leader controls the capacity of the knapsack and the follower chooses an optimal packing according to his own profits, which may differ from those of the leader. To this bilevel problem, we add uncertainty in a natural way, assuming that the leader does not have full knowledge about the follower's problem. More precisely, adopting the robust optimization approach and assuming that the follower's profits belong to a given uncertainty set, our aim is to compute a solution that optimizes the worst-case follower's reaction from the leader's perspective. By investigating the complexity of this problem with respect to different types of uncertainty sets, we make first steps towards better understanding the combination of bilevel optimization and robust combinatorial optimization. We show that the problem can be solved in polynomial time for both discrete and interval uncertainty, but that the same problem becomes NP-hard when each coefficient can independently assume only a finite number of values. In particular, this demonstrates that replacing uncertainty sets by their convex hulls may change the problem significantly, in contrast to the situation in classical single-level robust optimization. For general polytopal uncertainty, the problem again turns out to be NP-hard, and the same is true for ellipsoidal uncertainty even in the uncorrelated case. All presented hardness results already apply to the evaluation of the leader's objective function.

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Faster Goal-Oriented Shortest Path Search for Bulk and Incremental Detailed Routing

We develop new algorithmic techniques for VLSI detailed routing. First, we improve the goal-oriented version of Dijkstra's algorithm to find shortest paths in huge incomplete grid graphs with edge costs depending on the direction and the layer, and possibly on rectangular regions. We devise estimates of the distance to the targets that offer better trade-offs between running time and quality than previously known methods, leading to an overall speed-up. Second, we combine the advantages of the two classical detailed routing approaches - global shortest path search and track assignment with local corrections - by treating input wires (such as the output of track assignment) as reservations that can be used at a discount by the respective net. We show how to implement this new approach efficiently.

cs.DS

On the Complexity of Robust Bilevel Optimization With Uncertain Follower's Objective

We investigate the complexity of bilevel combinatorial optimization with uncertainty in the follower's objective, in a robust optimization approach. We show that the robust counterpart of the bilevel problem under interval uncertainty can be $Σ^{\text P}_2$-hard, even when the certain bilevel problem is NP-equivalent and the follower's problem is tractable. On the contrary, in the discrete uncertainty case, the robust bilevel problem is at most one level harder than the follower's problem.

math.OC