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The profile-based matching problem is the problem of finding a matching that optimizes profile from an instance $(G, r, \langle u_1, \dots, u_r \rangle)$, where $G$ is a bipartite graph $(A \cup B, E)$, $r$ is the number of utility…

Discrete Mathematics · Computer Science 2025-07-02 Seongbeom Park

We explore the question of how to learn an optimal search strategy within the example of a parking problem where parking opportunities arrive according to an unknown inhomogeneous Poisson process. The optimal policy is a threshold-type…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2026-03-04 Stefan Ankirchner , Maximilian Philipp Thiel

In the pairwise weighted spanner problem, the input consists of an $n$-vertex-directed graph, where each edge is assigned a cost and a length. Given $k$ vertex pairs and a distance constraint for each pair, the goal is to find a…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2023-07-10 Elena Grigorescu , Nithish Kumar , Young-San Lin

Pandora's problem is a fundamental model in economics that studies optimal search strategies under costly inspection. In this paper we initiate the study of Pandora's problem with combinatorial costs, capturing many real-life scenarios…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2024-02-20 Ben Berger , Tomer Ezra , Michal Feldman , Federico Fusco

This paper presents and experiments approaches to solve a new bi-objective routing problem called the ring star problem. It consists of locating a simple cycle through a subset of nodes of a graph while optimizing two kinds of cost. The…

Combinatorics · Mathematics 2008-12-18 Arnaud Liefooghe , Laetitia Jourdan , El-Ghazali Talbi

In this paper we consider multiple constrained resource allocation problems, where the constraints can be specified by formulating activity dependency restrictions or by using game-theoretic models. All the problems are focused on generic…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2009-06-19 Mugurel Ionut Andreica , Madalina Ecaterina Andreica , Costel Visan

When a large collection of objects (e.g., robots, sensors, etc.) has to be deployed in a given environment, it is often required to plan a coordinated motion of the objects from their initial position to a final configuration enjoying some…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2014-07-03 Davide Bilò Luciano Gualà , Stefano Leucci , Guido Proietti

We investigate the search of a target with a given spatial distribution in a finite one-dimensional domain. The searcher follows Brownian dynamics and is always reset to its initial position when reaching the boundaries of the domain…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2026-02-06 Gregorio García-Valladares , Antonio Prados , Alessandro Manacorda , Carlos A. Plata

Path planning for robotic coverage is the task of determining a collision-free robot trajectory that observes all points of interest in an environment. Robots employed for such tasks are often capable of exercising active control over…

Robotics · Computer Science 2020-11-17 Tushar Kusnur , Dhruv Mauria Saxena , Maxim Likhachev

We consider a classic search problem first proposed by S. Gal in which a Searcher randomizes between unit speed paths on a network, aiming to find a hidden point in minimal expected time in the worst case. This can be viewed as a zero-sum…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2017-02-28 Thomas Lidbetter

We introduce an algorithm which can be directly used to feasible and optimum search in linear programming. Starting from an initial point the algorithm iteratively moves a point in a direction to resolve the violated constraints. At the…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2023-12-05 Denys Shcherbak , Natalya Pya Arnqvist

Suppose some objects are hidden in a finite set $S$ of hiding places which must be examined one-by-one. The cost of searching subsets of $S$ is given by a submodular function and the probability that all objects are contained in a subset is…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2018-06-12 Robbert Fokkink , Thomas Lidbetter , László A. Végh

Consider a team of agents in the plane searching for and visiting target points that appear in a bounded environment according to a stochastic renewal process with a known absolutely continuous spatial distribution. Agents must detect…

Robotics · Computer Science 2012-02-02 John J. Enright , Emilio Frazzoli

A mobile agent navigating along edges of a simple connected graph, either finite or countably infinite, has to find an inert target (treasure) hidden in one of the nodes. This task is known as treasure hunt. The agent has no a priori…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2021-02-16 Sébastien Bouchard , Yoann Dieudonné , Arnaud Labourel , Andrzej Pelc

We study contextual search, a generalization of binary search in higher dimensions, which captures settings such as feature-based dynamic pricing. Standard formulations of this problem assume that agents act in accordance with a specific…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2022-08-09 Akshay Krishnamurthy , Thodoris Lykouris , Chara Podimata , Robert Schapire

We present results on new variants of the famous linear search (or cow-path) problem that involves an agent searching for a target with unknown position on the infinite line. We consider the variant where the agent can move either at speed…

Discrete Mathematics · Computer Science 2025-05-15 Jared Coleman , Oscar Morales-Ponce

This paper introduces alignment games, a new class of zero-sum games modeling strategic interventions where effectiveness depends on alignment with an underlying hidden state. Motivated by operational problems in medical diagnostics,…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2025-09-08 Pedro Cesar Lopes Gerum , Thomas Lidbetter

Mappings to structured output spaces (strings, trees, partitions, etc.) are typically learned using extensions of classification algorithms to simple graphical structures (eg., linear chains) in which search and parameter estimation can be…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2009-07-07 Hal Daumé , Daniel Marcu

Recently numerous machine learning based methods for combinatorial optimization problems have been proposed that learn to construct solutions in a sequential decision process via reinforcement learning. While these methods can be easily…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2022-03-16 André Hottung , Yeong-Dae Kwon , Kevin Tierney

Reinforcement learning in sparse-reward navigation environments with expensive and limited interactions is challenging and poses a need for effective exploration. Motivated by complex navigation tasks that require real-world training (when…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2023-10-13 Yijia Wang , Matthias Poloczek , Daniel R. Jiang