Related papers: A More Malicious Maitre d'
We show that certain ways of solving some combinatorial optimization problems can be understood as using query planes to divide the space of problem instances into polyhedra that could fit into those that characterize the problem's various…
In conference peer review, reviewers are often asked to provide "bids" on each submitted paper that express their interest in reviewing that paper. A paper assignment algorithm then uses these bids (along with other data) to compute a…
Some new decidability results for multiplicative matrix equations over algebraic number fields are established. In particular, special instances of the so-called knapsack problem are considered. The proofs are based on effective methods for…
The classic cake-cutting problem provides a model for addressing the fair and efficient allocation of a divisible, heterogeneous resource among agents with distinct preferences. Focusing on a standard formulation of cake cutting, in which…
We present the "Busboy Problem": automating an efficient decluttering of cups, bowls, and silverware from a planar surface. As grasping and transporting individual items is highly inefficient, we propose policies to generate grasps for…
New algorithms are presented for numerical conformal mapping based on rational approximations and the solution of Dirichlet problems by least-squares fitting on the boundary. The methods are targeted at regions with corners, where the…
Interdicting a criminal with limited police resources is a challenging task as the criminal changes location over time. The size of the large transportation network further adds to the difficulty of this scenario. To tackle this issue, we…
We study a sequential decision-making model where a set of items is repeatedly matched to the same set of agents over multiple rounds. The objective is to determine a sequence of matchings that either maximizes the utility of the least…
In this expository article, we discuss the rank-derangement problem, which asks for the number of permutations of a deck of cards such that each card is replaced by a card of a different rank. This combinatorial problem arises in computing…
A prime sieve is an algorithm that finds the primes up to a bound $n$. We say that a prime sieve is incremental, if it can quickly determine if $n+1$ is prime after having found all primes up to $n$. We say a sieve is compact if it uses…
A novel method is presented and explored within the framework of Potts neural networks for solving optimization problems with a non-trivial topology, with the airline crew scheduling problem as a target application. The key ingredient to…
Censor-Hillel et al. [PODC'15] recently showed how to efficiently implement centralized algebraic algorithms for matrix multiplication in the congested clique model, a model of distributed computing that has received increasing attention in…
We present a method to design parallel algorithms for constrained combinatorial optimization problems. Our method solves and generalizes many classical combinatorial optimization problems including the stable marriage problem, the shortest…
This paper considers a class of multi-objective optimization problems known as Minkowski sum problems. Minkowski sum problems have a decomposable structure, where the global nondominated (Pareto) set corresponds to the Minkowski sum of…
$n$ people are seated randomly at a rectangular table with $\lfloor n/2\rfloor$ and $\lceil n/2\rceil$ seats along the two opposite sides for two dinners. What's the probability that neighbors at the first dinner are no more neighbors at…
The paper considers the problem of a leader that seeks to optimally influence the opinions of agents in a directed network through connecting with a limited number of the agents ("direct followers"), possibly in the presence of a fixed…
The Euclidean Steiner tree problem seeks the min-cost network to connect a collection of target locations, and it underlies many applications of wireless networks. In this paper, we present a study on solving the Euclidean Steiner tree…
The de Sitter manifold admits a wide variety of interesting coordinatizations. The 'atlas' is a compilation of the coordinate charts referenced throughout the literature, and is presented in the form of tables, the starting point being the…
In this paper we study the number $M_{m,n}$ of ways to place nonattacking pawns on an $m\times n$ chessboard. We find an upper bound for $M_{m,n}$ and analyse its asymptotic behavior. It turns out that $\lim_{m,n\to\infty}(M_{m,n})^{1/mn}$…
The meander problem is a combinatorial problem which provides a toy model of the compact folding of polymer chains. In this paper we study various questions relating to the enumeration of meander diagrams, using diagrammatical methods. By…