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Jörg Rambau

Publications and source records attributed to Jörg Rambau.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

Symmetric lexicographic symmetric-subset reverse search for the enumeration of circuits, cocircuits, and triangulations up to symmetry

This paper introduces, analyzes, and applies variants of the enumeration framework symmetric lexicographic symmetric-subset reverse search for the enumeration of symmetric feasible subsets of a finite set up to symmetry. The framework is implemented in detail for three applications: cocircuits, circuits, and triangulations of point configurations. There are two new methods presented and analyzed to check the lexicographic minimality of a subset in its orbit: the critical-element method and the modified switch-table method. Moreover, new application-dependent methods to reduce the number of necessary enumeration nodes are introduced: rank-pruning for cocircuits and lex-pruning for triangulations. With a C++-implementation of the ideas in the software package TOPCOM, in all three applications known benchmarks can be computed faster by a large margin. The following new numbers could be computed for the first time (among others): the number of cocircuits of the 9-cube, the number of circuits of the 8-cube, and the number of all triangulations of the product of a 5- and a 3-simplex, as well as the number of all triangulations of a point configuration in dimension six with 17~points with disconnected flip-graph (constructed by Santos). Moreover, for Santos's triangulation it has computationally been checked that its flip-graph component is indeed purely non-regular. Furthermore, in another instance in dimension five with 26 points (also constructed by Santos), a flaw has been detected: Santos's triangulation can be heuristically flipped to a regular triangulation in the original point configuration. In a mildly modified version of the point configuration, the heuristics cannot flip Santos's triangulation to a regular triangulation anymore.

math.CO↗
arXiv2026

There are matroid toric ideals without quadratic Gröbner bases

Our paper shows that if a matroid contains the Fano plane or its dual as a minor, then its toric ideal does not have any quadratic Gröbner basis. More than 25 years ago, Hibi, Herzog, and Sturmfels established a direct connection between the existence of quadratic Gröbner bases and regular unimodular flag triangulations. Our paper solves a famous question posed by Herzog and Hibi on a polyhedral reformulation for the existence of quadratic Gröbner bases: we show that the base polytopes of the Fano plane and its dual do not have regular unimodular flag triangulations which implies the main result on Gröbner bases. Our proof relies on several novel tools: a lemma that connects the $1$-skeleton of a lattice polytope to the lattice points in its dilations, an encoding with Boolean formulas and SAT solvers, and symmetry-breaking arguments.

math.CO↗
arXiv2026

Counting symmetric unimodular triangulations

The objects of study are triangulations of the dilated standard triangle in the plane. Motivated by work on T-curves (Geiselmann et al., 2026), the focus lies on unimodular triangulations with a fixed symmetry axis. Lower and upper bounds are given, in combination with full enumerations of a few small cases.

math.CO↗
arXiv2020

An exact column-generation approach for the lot-type design problem

We consider a fashion discounter distributing its many branches with integral multiples from a set of available lot-types. For the problem of approximating the branch and size dependent demand using those lots we propose a tailored exact column generation approach assisted by fast algorithms for intrinsic subproblems, which turns out to be very efficient on our real-world instances as well as on random instances.

math.OC↗
arXiv2015

The Maximum Scatter TSP on a Regular Grid

In the maximum scatter traveling salesman problem the objective is to find a tour that maximizes the shortest distance between any two consecutive nodes. This model can be applied to manufacturing processes, particularly laser melting processes. We extend an algorithm by Arkin et al. that yields optimal solutions for nodes on a line to a regular $m \times n$-grid. The new algorithm $\textsc{Weave}(m,n)$ takes linear time to compute an optimal tour in some cases. It is asymptotically optimal and a $\frac{\sqrt{10}}{5}$-approximation for the $3\times 4$-grid, which is the worst case.

cs.DM↗
arXiv2015

Optimal Opinion Control: The Campaign Problem

Opinion dynamics is nowadays a very common field of research. In this article we formulate and then study a novel, namely strategic perspective on such dynamics: There are the usual normal agents that update their opinions, for instance according the well-known bounded confidence mechanism. But, additionally, there is at least one strategic agent. That agent uses opinions as freely selectable strategies to get control on the dynamics: The strategic agent of our benchmark problem tries, during a campaign of a certain length, to influence the ongoing dynamics among normal agents with strategically placed opinions (one per period) in such a way, that, by the end of the campaign, as much as possible normals end up with opinions in a certain interval of the opinion space. Structurally, such a problem is an optimal control problem. That type of problem is ubiquitous. Resorting to advanced and partly non-standard methods for computing optimal controls, we solve some instances of the campaign problem. But even for a very small number of normal agents, just one strategic agent, and a ten-period campaign length, the problem turns out to be extremely difficult. Explicitly we discuss moral and political concerns that immediately arise, if someone starts to analyze the possibilities of an optimal opinion control.

math.OC↗
arXiv2014

Das Optimierungslabor -- ein Erfahrungsbericht (Experiencing optimization with students)

For several years, students visit us on different occasions at the university. But how to bridge from the school curriculum to the contents of the university mathematics? And how to find a focal point at which an active contribute, despite the lack of knowledge, in view of limited time is possible? Our approach: Translate,under guidance, everyday life optimization problems into the language of mathematics, i.e. using variables, target functions, equations and inequalities. These so-called integer linear programming models are then solved by standard software. In this report we wnat to tell about the lessons we have learned.

math.OC↗
arXiv2014

The Integrated Size and Price Optimization Problem

We present the Integrated Size and Price Optimization Problem (ISPO) for a fashion discounter with many branches. Based on a two-stage stochastic programming model with recourse, we develop an exact algorithm and a production-compliant heuristic that produces small optimality gaps. In a field study we show that a distribution of supply over branches and sizes based on ISPO solutions is significantly better than a one-stage optimization of the distribution ignoring the possibility of optimal pricing.

math.OC↗
arXiv2014

Evaluation of a new supply strategy based on stochastic programming for a fashion discounter

Fashion discounters face the problem of ordering the right amount of pieces in each size of a product. The product is ordered in pre-packs containing a certain size-mix of a product. For this so-called lot-type design problem, a stochastic mixed integer linear programm was developed, in which price cuts serve as recourse action for oversupply. Our goal is to answer the question, whether the resulting supply strategy leads to a supply that is significantly more consistent with the demand for sizes compared to the original manual planning. Since the total profit is influenced by too many factors unrelated to sizes (like the popularity of the product, the weather or a changing economic situation), we suggest a comparison method which excludes many outer effects by construction. We apply the method to a real-world field study: The improvements in the size distributions of the supply are significant.

math.OC↗
arXiv2014

The combinatorics of S, M, L, XL - The best fitting delivery of T-shirts

We consider the problem of approximating the branch and size dependent demand of a fashion discounter with many branches by a distributing process being based on the branch delivery restricted to integral multiples of lots from a small set of available lot-types. We propose a formalized model which arises from a practical cooperation with an industry partner. Besides an integer linear programming formulation we provide an appropriate primal heuristic for this problem.

math.OC↗
arXiv2014

On the Hegselmann-Krause conjecture in opinion dynamics

We give an elementary proof of a conjecture by Hegselmann and Krause in opinion dynamics, concerning a symmetric bounded confidence interval model: If there is a truth and all individuals take each other seriously by a positive amount bounded away from zero, then all truth seekers will converge to the truth. Here truth seekers are the individuals which are attracted by the truth by a positive amount. In the absence of truth seekers it was already shown by Hegselmann and Krause that the opinions of the individuals converge.

math.DS↗
arXiv1997

On Subdivision Posets of Cyclic Polytopes

There are two related poset structures, the higher Stasheff-Tamari orders, on the set of all triangulations of the cyclic $d$ polytope with $n$ vertices. In this paper it is shown that both of them have the homotopy type of a sphere of dimension $n-d-3$. Moreover, we resolve positively a new special case of the \emph{Generalized Baues Problem}: The Baues poset of all polytopal decompositions of a cyclic polytope of dimension $d \leq 3$ has the homotopy type of a sphere of dimension $n-d-2$.

math.CO↗
arXiv1997

A Suspension Lemma for Bounded Posets

Let $P$ and $Q$ be bounded posets. In this note, a lemma is introduced that provides a set of sufficient conditions for the proper part of $P$ being homotopy equivalent to the suspension of the proper part of~$Q$. An application of this lemma is a unified proof of the sphericity of the higher Bruhat orders under both inclusion order (a known proved earlier by Ziegler) and single step inclusion order (which was not previously known).

math.CO↗