Characterizing Permutation-Based Combinatorial Optimization Problems in Fourier Space

[EN]Comparing combinatorial optimization problems is a difficult task. They are defined using different criteria and terms: weights, flows, distances, etc. In spite of this apparent discrepancy, on many occasions, they tend to produce problem instances with similar properties. One avenue to compare...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Elorza Deias, Anne, Hernando Rodríguez, Leticia, Lozano Alonso, José Antonio
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universidad del País Vasco
Repositorio:Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
OAI Identifier:oai:addi.ehu.eus:10810/66481
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10810/66481
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:combinatorial optimization problems
fourier transform
permutations
representation theory
intrinsic dimension
Descripción
Sumario:[EN]Comparing combinatorial optimization problems is a difficult task. They are defined using different criteria and terms: weights, flows, distances, etc. In spite of this apparent discrepancy, on many occasions, they tend to produce problem instances with similar properties. One avenue to compare different problems is to project them onto the same space, in order to have homogeneous representations. Expressing the problems in a unified framework could also lead to the discovery of theoretical properties or the design of new algorithms. This paper proposes the use of the Fourier transform over the symmetric group as the tool to project different permutation-based combinatorial optimization problems onto the same space. Based on a previous study (Kondor, 2010), which characterized the Fourier coefficients of the quadratic assignment problem, we describe the Fourier coefficients of three other well-known problems: the symmetric and non-symmetric traveling salesperson problem and the linear ordering problem. This transformation allows us to gain a better understanding of the intersection between the problems, as well as to bound their intrinsic dimension.