Related papers: Sorting by pile shuffles on queue-like and stack-l…
Mixed packing and covering problems are problems that can be formulated as linear programs using only non-negative coefficients. Examples include multicommodity network flow, the Held-Karp lower bound on TSP, fractional relaxations of set…
Recently Albert and Bousquet-M\'elou \cite{AB15} obtained the solution to the long-standing problem of the number of permutations sortable by two stacks in parallel (tsip). Their solution was expressed in terms of functional equations. We…
We show that \emph{Sorting by Strip Swaps} (SbSS) is NP-hard by a polynomial reduction of \emph{Block Sorting}. The key idea is a local gadget, a \emph{cage}, that replaces every decreasing adjacency $(a_i,a_{i+1})$ by a guarded triple…
This paper introduces a problem in which the state of a system needs to be determined through costly tests of its components by a limited number of testing units and before a given deadline. We also consider a closely related search problem…
This work proposes a method for effectively computing manipulation paths to rearrange similar objects in a cluttered space. The solution can be used to place similar products in a factory floor in a desirable arrangement or for retrieving a…
In this paper we investigate the problem of sorting a set of $n$ coins, each with distinct but unknown weights, using an unusual scale. The classical version of this problem, which has been well-studied, gives the user a binary scale,…
The (classical) problem of characterizing and enumerating permutations that can be sorted using two stacks connected in series is still largely open. In the present paper we address a related problem, in which we impose restrictions both on…
This survey aims at demonstrating that the structure of precedence constraints plays a tremendous role on the complexity of scheduling problems. Indeed many problems can be NP-hard when considering general precedence constraints, while they…
Consider a permutation $\sigma\in S_n$ as a deck of cards numbered from 1 to $n$ and laid out in a row, where $\sigma_j$ denotes the number of the card that is in the $j$-th position from the left.\rm\ We study some probabilistic and…
We study a sorting machine consisting of two stacks in series where the first stack has the added restriction such that entries in the stack must be in decreasing order from top to bottom. We give the basis of the class of permutations that…
This paper presents different methods for solving parallel machine scheduling problems with precedence constraints and setup times between the jobs. Limited discrepancy search methods mixed with local search principles, dominance conditions…
This paper considers the effect of riffle shuffling on decks of cards, allowing for some cards to be indistinguishable from other cards. The dual problem of dealing a game with hands, such as bridge or poker, is also considered. The…
Pancake Flipping is the problem of sorting a stack of pancakes of different sizes (that is, a permutation), when the only allowed operation is to insert a spatula anywhere in the stack and to flip the pancakes above it (that is, to perform…
In the "Game about Squares" the task is to push unit squares on an integer lattice onto corresponding dots. A square can only be moved into one given direction. When a square is pushed onto a lattice point with an arrow the direction of the…
This paper discusses the split feasibility problem with polynomials. The sets are semi-algebraic, defined by polynomial inequalities. They can be either convex or nonconvex, either feasible or infeasible. We give semidefinite relaxations…
At the end of the 1960s, Knuth characterised the permutations that can be sorted using a stack in terms of forbidden patterns. He also showed that they are in bijection with Dyck paths and thus counted by the Catalan numbers. Subsequently,…
Clustering is a NP-hard problem. Thus, no optimal algorithm exists, heuristics are applied to cluster the data. Heuristics can be very resource-intensive, if not applied properly. For substantially large data sets computational efficiencies…
We consider the sorted top-$k$ problem whose goal is to recover the top-$k$ items with the correct order out of $n$ items using pairwise comparisons. In many applications, multiple rounds of interaction can be costly. We restrict our…
When shuffling a deck of cards, one probably wants to make sure it is thoroughly shuffled. A way to do this is by sifting through the cards to ensure that no adjacent cards are the same number, because surely this is a poorly shuffled deck.…
We apply operad theory to enumerative combinatorics in order to count the number of shuffles between series-parallel posets and chains. We work with three types of shuffles, two of them noncommutative, for example a left deck-divider…