Spanning Trees And Optimization Problems

The design of approximation algorithms for spanning tree problems has become an exciting and important area of theoretical computer science and also plays a significant role in emerging fields such as biological sequence alignments and evolutionary tree construction. While work in this field remains quite active, the time has come to collect under

This book is concerned with the optimization problem of maximizing the number of spanning trees of a multigraph. Since a spanning tree is a minimally connected subgraph, graphs and multigraphs having more of these are, in some sense, immune to disconnection by edge failure. We employ a matrix-theoretic approach to the calculation of the number of spanning trees.The authors envision this as a research aid that is of particular interest to graduate students or advanced undergraduate students and researchers in the area of network reliability theory. This would encompass graph theorists of all stripes, including mathematicians, computer scientists, electrical and computer engineers, and operations researchers.

With the advent of approximation algorithms for NP-hard combinatorial optimization problems, several techniques from exact optimization such as the primal-dual method have proven their staying power and versatility. This book describes a simple and powerful method that is iterative in essence and similarly useful in a variety of settings for exact and approximate optimization. The authors highlight the commonality and uses of this method to prove a variety of classical polyhedral results on matchings, trees, matroids and flows. The presentation style is elementary enough to be accessible to anyone with exposure to basic linear algebra and graph theory, making the book suitable for introductory courses in combinatorial optimization at the upper undergraduate and beginning graduate levels. Discussions of advanced applications illustrate their potential for future application in research in approximation algorithms.

Bioinspired computation methods such as evolutionary algorithms and ant colony optimization are being applied successfully to complex engineering problems and to problems from combinatorial optimization, and with this comes the requirement to more fully understand the computational complexity of these search heuristics. This is the first textbook covering the most important results achieved in this area. The authors study the computational complexity of bioinspired computation and show how runtime behavior can be analyzed in a rigorous way using some of the best-known combinatorial optimization problems -- minimum spanning trees, shortest paths, maximum matching, covering and scheduling problems. A feature of the book is the separate treatment of single- and multiobjective problems, the latter a domain where the development of the underlying theory seems to be lagging practical successes. This book will be very valuable for teaching courses on bioinspired computation and combinatorial optimization. Researchers will also benefit as the presentation of the theory covers the most important developments in the field over the last 10 years. Finally, with a focus on well-studied combinatorial optimization problems rather than toy problems, the book will also be very valuable for practitioners in this field.

"Combinatorial Problems: Minimum Spanning Tree" is a beginner-friendly introduction to the concept of Minimum Spanning Trees (MST), a fundamental tool in computer science and engineering. This book provides clear explanations and practical examples to demystify MST algorithms, which are essential for efficiently connecting nodes in various networks while minimizing costs. Aimed at absolute beginners, it covers the basic principles, step-by-step algorithms, and real-world applications of MST in telecommunications, transportation, and more. Whether you're a student, aspiring engineer, or curious reader, this accessible guide equips you with the foundational knowledge to understand and apply MST effectively in solving connectivity challenges across different fields.

In the past few decades, there has been a large amount of work on algorithms for linear network flow problems, special classes of network problems such as assignment problems (linear and quadratic), Steiner tree problem, topology network design and nonconvex cost network flow problems. Network optimization problems find numerous applications in transportation, in communication network design, in production and inventory planning, in facilities location and allocation, and in VLSI design. The purpose of this book is to cover a spectrum of recent developments in network optimization problems, from linear networks to general nonconvex network flow problems. Contents:Greedily Solvable Transportation Networks and Edge-Guided Vertex Elimination (I Adler & R Shamir)Networks Minimizing Length Plus the Number of Steiner Points (T Colthurst et al.)Practical Experiences Using an Interactive Optimization Procedure for Vehicle Scheduling (J R Daduna et al.)Subset Interconnection Designs: Generalizations of Spanning Trees and Steiner Trees (D-Z Du & P M Pardalos)Polynomial and Strongly Polynomial Algorithms for Convex Network Optimization (D S Hochbaum)Hamiltonian Circuits for 2-Regular Interconnection Networks (F K Hwang & W-C W Li)Equivalent Formulations for the Steiner Problem in Graphs (B N Khoury et al.)Minimum Concave-Cost Network Flow Problems with a Single Nonlinear Arc Cost (B Klinz & H Tuy)A Method for Solving Network Flow Problems with General Nonlinear Arc Costs (B W Lamar)Application of Global Line Search in Optimization of Networks (J Mockus)Solving Nonlinear Programs with Embedded Network Structures (M Ç Pinar & S A Zenios)On Algorithms for Nonlinear Dynamic Networks (W B Powell et al.)Strategic and Tactical Models and Algorithms for the Coal Industry Under the 1990 Clean Air Act (H D Sherali & Q J Saifee)Multi-Objective Routing in Stochastic Evacuation Networks (J M Smith)A Simplex Method for Network Programs with Convex Separable Piecewise Linear Costs and Its Application to Stochastic Transshipment Problems (J Sun et al.)A Bibliography on Network Flow Problems (M Veldhorst)Tabu Search: Applications and Prospects (S Voß)The Shortest Path Network and Its Applications in Bicriteria Shortest Path Problems (G-L Xue & S-Z Sun)A Network Formalism for Pure Exchange Economic Equilibria (L Zhao & A Nagurney)Steiner Problem in Multistage Computer Networks (S Bhattacharya & B Dasgupta) Readership: Applied mathematicians. keywords:“This volume reflects the wide spectrum of recent research activities in the design and analysis of algorithms and the applications of networks.”Journal of Global Optimization

The Steiner tree problem is one of the most important combinatorial optimization problems. It has a long history that can be traced back to the famous mathematician Fermat (1601-1665). This book studies three significant breakthroughs on the Steiner tree problem that were achieved in the 1990s, and some important applications of Steiner tree problems in computer communication networks researched in the past fifteen years. It not only covers some of the most recent developments in Steiner tree problems, but also discusses various combinatorial optimization methods, thus providing a balance between theory and practice.

Combinatorial optimization is a fascinating topic. Combinatorial optimization problems arise in a wide variety of important fields such as transportation, telecommunications, computer networking, location, planning, distribution problems, etc. Important and significant results have been obtained on the theory, algorithms and applications over the last few decades. In combinatorial optimization, many network design problems can be generalized in a natural way by considering a related problem on a clustered graph, where the original problem's feasibility constraints are expressed in terms of the clusters, i.e., node sets instead of individual nodes. This class of problems is usually referred to as generalized network design problems (GNDPs) or generalized combinatorial optimization problems. The express purpose of this monograph is to describe a series of mathematical models, methods, propositions, algorithms developed in the last years on generalized network design problems in a unified manner. The book consists of seven chapters, where in addition to an introductory chapter, the following generalized network design problems are formulated and examined: the generalized minimum spanning tree problem, the generalized traveling salesman problem, the railway traveling salesman problem, the generalized vehicle routing problem, the generalized fixed-charge network design problem and the generalized minimum vertex-biconnected network problem. The book will be useful for researchers, practitioners, and graduate students in operations research, optimization, applied mathematics and computer science. Due to the substantial practical importance of some presented problems, researchers in other areas will find this book useful, too.