Library

Description: An edge of a perfect graph $G$ is critical if $G-e$ is imperfect. We would like to decide whether $G - e$ is still {\sl almost perfect} or already {\sl very imperfect}. Via relaxations of the stable set polytope of a graph, we define two superclasses of perfect graphs: rank-perfect and weakly rank-perfect graphs. Membership in those two classes indicates how far an imperfect graph is away from being perfect. We study the cases, when a critical edge is removed from the line graph of a bipartite graph or from the complement of such a graph.

Description: Collection of abstracts of the first SIAM-EMS conference Applied Mathematics in our Changing World'' in Berlin, September 2-6, 2001.

Description: {\sc Zimpl} is a little language to translate the mathematical model of a problem into a linear or (mixed-)integer mathematical program expressed in {\tt lp} or {\tt mps} file format which can be read by a LP or MIP solver.

Description: Im ersten Teil des folgenden Aufsatzes werden allgemeine Überlegungen zur Entwicklung von Bibliotheken hin zu Informationsvermittlungsstellen für sowohl elektronische wie auch gedruckte Medien angestellt. Basierend auf den Ergebnissen der Evaluation digitaler Bibliotheken und Informationsportale in Deutschland wird ein erster Kriterienkatalog für ein Verbund-Informationsportal für den Kooperativen Bibliotheksverbund Berlin-Brandenburg entwickelt. Im Anhang befindet sich der Statusbericht über Informationsportale und digitale Bibliotheken in Deutschland. Dazu wurden sieben digitale Bibliotheken auf Verbundebene und 21 Bibliotheken nach Bundesländern evaluiert.

Description: Given a set of service requests (events), a set of guided servers (units), and a set of unguided service contractors (conts), the vehicle dispatching problem {\sl vdp} is the task to find an assignment of events to units and conts as well as tours for all units starting at their current positions and ending at their home positions (dispatch) such that the total cost of the dispatch is minimized. The cost of a dispatch is the sum of unit costs, cont costs, and event costs. Unit costs consist of driving costs, service costs and overtime costs; cont costs consist of a fixed cost per service; event costs consist of late costs linear in the late time, which occur whenever the service of the event starts later than its deadline. The program \textsf{ZIBDIP} based on dynamic column generation and set partitioning yields solutions on heavy-load real-world instances (215 events, 95 units) in less than a minute that are no worse than 1\% from optimum on state-of-the-art personal computers.

Description: Scenario tree models of stochastic programs arise naturally under standard nonanticipativity assumptions. We demonstrate how tree-sparse programs cover the general case, with \emph{arbitrary} information constraints. Detailed examples and intuitive interpretations illuminate the basic thoughts behind the abstract but elementary construction.

Description: In this paper we present an algorithm that accelerates 3D texture-based volume rendering of large and sparse data sets. A hierarchical data structure (known as AMR tree) consisting of nested uniform grids is employed in order to efficiently encode regions of interest. The hierarchies resulting from this kind of space partitioning yield a good balance between the amount of volume to render and the number of texture bricks -- a prerequisite for fast rendering. Comparing our approach to an octree based algorithm we show that our algorithm increases rendering performance significantly for sparse data. A further advantage is that less parameter tuning is necessary.

Description: Mathematical optimization techniques are on their way to becoming a standard tool in chemical process engineering. While such approaches are usually based on deterministic models, uncertainties such as external disturbances play a significant role in many real-life applications. The present article gives an introduction to practical issues of process operation and to basic mathematical concepts required for the explicit treatment of uncertainties by stochastic optimization.

Description: Uncoupling-coupling Monte Carlo (UCMC) combines uncoupling techniques for finite Markov chains with Markov chain Monte Carlo methodology. UCMC aims at avoiding the typical metastable or trapping behavior of Monte Carlo techniques. From the viewpoint of Monte Carlo, a slowly converging long-time Markov chain is replaced by a limited number of rapidly mixing short-time ones. Therefore, the state space of the chain has to be hierarchically decomposed into its metastable conformations. This is done by means of combining the technique of conformation analysis as recently introduced by the authors, and appropriate annealing strategies. We present a detailed examination of the uncoupling-coupling procedure which uncovers its theoretical background, and illustrates the hierarchical algorithmic approach. Furthermore, application of the UCMC algorithm to the $n$-pentane molecule allows us to discuss the effect of its crucial steps in a typical molecular scenario.

Description: Standard model predictive control for real-time operation of industrial production processes may be inefficient in the presence of substantial uncertainties. To avoid overly conservative disturbance corrections while ensuring safe operation, random influences should be taken into account explicitly. We propose a multistage stochastic programming approach within the model predictive control framework and apply it to a distillation process with a feed tank buffering external sources. A preliminary comparison to a probabilistic constraints approach is given and first computational results for the distillation process are presented.

Description: Dynamic stochastic programs are prototypical for optimization problems with an inherent tree structure inducing characteristic sparsity patterns in the KKT systems of interior methods. We propose an integrated modeling and solution approach for such tree-sparse programs. Three closely related natural formulations are theoretically analyzed from a control-theoretic viewpoint and compared to each other. Associated KKT solution algorithms with linear complexity are developed and comparisons to other interior approaches and related problem formulations are discussed.

Description: We introduce a new problem that was motivated by a (more complicated) problem arising in a robotized assembly enviroment. The bin coloring problem is to pack unit size colored items into bins, such that the maximum number of different colors per bin is minimized. Each bin has size~$B\in\mathbb{N}$. The packing process is subject to the constraint that at any moment in time at most $q\in\mathbb{N}$ bins may be partially filled. Moreover, bins may only be closed if they are filled completely. An online algorithm must pack each item must be packed without knowledge of any future items. We investigate the existence of competitive online algorithms for the online uniform binpacking problem. We show upper bounds for the bin coloring problem. We prove an upper bound of $3q$ - 1 and a lower bound of $2q$ for the competitive ratio of a natural greedy-type algorithm, and show that surprisingly a trivial algorithm which uses only one open bin has a strictly better competitive ratio of $2q$ - 1. Morever, we show that any deterministic algorithm has a competitive ratio $\Omega (q)$ and that randomization does not improve this lower bound even when the adversary is oblivious.

Description: In circuit switching networks call streams are characterized by their mean and peakedness (two-moment method). The $GI/M/C/0$ system is used to model a single link, where the $GI$-stream is determined by fitting moments appropriately. For the moments of the overflow traffic of a $GI/M/C/0$ system there are efficient numerical algorithms available. However, for the moments of the freed carried traffic, defined as the moments of a virtual link of infinite capacity to which the process of calls accepted by the link (carried arrival process) is virtually directed and where the virtual calls get fresh exponential i.i.d.\ holding times, only complex numerical algorithms are available. This is the reason why the concept of the freed carried traffic is not used rigorously. The main result of this paper is an efficient algorithm for computing the moments of the freed carried traffic, in particular an explicit formula for its peakedness. This result offers a unified handling of both overflow and carried traffics in networks. Furthermore, some refined characteristics for the overflow and freed carried streams are derived.

Description: In this work we concentrate on developing methods which determine good lower bounds for set partitioning problems (SPP) in an appropriate amount of time. We found out that it makes sense to use the Lagrangian relaxation method for this task. The Lagrangian relaxed problem of SPP has a simple structure, which leads to algorithms and heuristics, whose total complexity per iteration depends linearly on the number of non-zeros of the problem matrix of SPP. In contrast, other methods like simplex methods or interior point methods have a complexity of higher order. Because the problem matrices of our tested instances are sparse, the linear dependence becomes an advantage for the algorithms and heuristics mentioned above. As a reference for the state-of-the-art we have applied the dual simplex method and the barrier function method, implemented in CPLEX. The methods, which we have developed and compared with those of CPLEX, are SBM, CAM, CCBM, and CBM. SBM is a subgradient bundle method derived from the basic subgradient method, which is a global convergent method for determining the maximum of concave functions. CAM is a coordinate ascent method, where the convex coordinate bundle method CCBM and the coordinate bundle method CBM are derivatives from CAM. We observed that the basic subgradient and the coordinate ascent method are improved if bundling techniques can be used. But the motivation for bundling differs for both approaches. In the former case bundling helps to approximate a minimum norm subgradient, which provides a steepest ascent direction, in order to speed up the performance. In the latter case bundling enables proceeding along directions, which are not restricted on the coordinate directions. By this the performance is accelerated. Among all used techniques stabilization is worth mentioning. Stabilization improves the performance especially at the beginning by avoiding too big steps during the proceeding. This leads to a more stabilized progression. Stabilization was successfully applied to SBM, CAM, CCBM, and CBM. As an overall result we conclude the following: \begin{enumerate} \item CPLEX computes the optimal objective values, whereas SBM and CBM has on average a gap of under $1.5\%$. \item In comparison to CPLEX baropt, SBM, CAM, and CBM the algorithm CCBM has a slow convergence because of the convex combination of ascent coordinate directions. An alternative is to relax the convex combination to a simple sum of the corresponding directions. This idea is realized in CBM. \item If we focus on the running time rather than on optimality then CBM is on average the fastest algorithm. \end{enumerate} Note that methods like SBM or CBM are applied on static SPP instances in order to determine a good lower bound. For solving SPP we need dynamical methods. Due to the complex topic of dynamical methods we will not discuss them, but a certain technique is worth mentioning. It is called column generation. We have indicated that this technique needs good Lagrangian multipliers of the corresponding SPP instances in order to generate further columns (in our case duties), which are added to the current SPP instance. Those multipliers are by-products of methods like our six considered methods. Due to the large number of such generation steps the running time depends on the computation time of these methods. Therefore, CBM fits more to this technique than CPLEX baropt or SBM. To sum it up it can be said that applications such as a duty scheduling can be described as set partitioning problems, whose lower bound can be solved by simplex, interior points, subgradient, or coordinate ascent methods. It turns out that the interior points method CPLEX baropt and the heuristic CBM have good performances. Furthermore, good Lagrangian multipliers, which are by-products of these methods, can be used by techniques like column generation. For this particular technique it also turns out that among our tested algorithms CBM is the most efficient one. In general we can state that real-world applications, which have to solve a large number of Lagrangian relaxed SPP instances can improve their performance by using CBM.

Description: The success of large-scale multi-national projects like the forthcoming analysis of the LHC particle collision data at CERN relies to a great extent on the ability to efficiently utilize computing a management software (Datagrid, Globus, etc.), while the effective integration of computing nodes has been largely neglected up to now. This is the focus of our work. We present a framework for a high-performance cluster that can be used as a reliable computing node in the Grid. We outline the cluster architecture, the management of distributed data and the seamless intergration of the cluster into the Grid environment.

Description: Der Aufsatz ist die ausgearbeitete Fassung eines Vortrages, gehalten am 05.04.2001 auf dem 91. Deutschen Bibliothekartag in Bielefeld. Der Kooperative Bibliotheksverbund Berlin-Brandenburg (KOBV) ist im Rahmen eines wissenschaftlichen Projektes in den Jahren 1997 bis 2000 am Konrad-Zuse-Zentrum für Informationstechnik Berlin (ZIB) aufgebaut worden. Nachdem das Projekt erfolgreich abgeschlossen ist, wird der KOBV 2001 institutionalisiert. In dem Vortrag hat die Verfasserin einen Überblick über das bisher Erreichte, den derzeitigen Stand und die Perspektiven des neuen Verbundes gegeben. Der KOBV stellt eine neue Art von Bibliotheksverbund dar. Sein technisches Konzept und sein organisatorischer Aufbau basieren auf der {\sl Internetphilosophie}. Den informationstechnischen Kern bildet eine Suchmaschine, die die heterogenen lokalen Bibliothekssysteme miteinander verbindet. Die KOBV-Organisation ist dezentral. Sie wird getragen von der Kooperation der Bibliotheken in Berlin und Brandenburg. Eine kleine Verbundzentrale koordiniert dieses Geflecht vernetzter lokaler Einheiten, vertritt den KOBV nach außen und arbeitet - in Form von Projekten - an seiner Weiterentwicklung. Der Entwicklungsaspekt und die Nutzerorientierung sind zwei wesentliche Komponenten in der Verbundarbeit. Berlin und Brandenburg haben auf engem Raum zahlreiche Bibliotheken mit großen, reichhaltigen Medienbeständen. Mittel- bis langfristig sollen Bibliotheken aller Sparten und Größen in den KOBV integriert werden, seien es wissenschaftliche Universalbibliotheken, universitäre Bibliothekssysteme, Spezialbibliotheken, Behörden- und Parlamentsbibliotheken oder öffentliche Bibliotheken. Auch regionale Bibliotheksverbünde können als Subverbünde am KOBV teilnehmen. Mit der KOBV-Suchmaschine ist eine offene Plattform geschaffen worden, auf der weitere Entwicklungen aufsetzen können. Der Aufbau einer virtuellen Regionalbibliothek mit Bestell- und Lieferkomponenten ist eines der Ziele. Darüber hinaus ist es die Vision, in der Region ein virtuelles {\sl Wissensportal} aufzubauen, das dem Nutzer unter einer Adresse den umfassenden Zugang und die umfassende Bereitstellung von Informationen aller Art bietet.

Description: A new approach to the numerical solution of optimal control problems including control and state constraints is presented. Like hybrid methods, the approach aims at combining the advantages of direct and indirect methods. Unlike hybrid methods, however, our method is directly based on interior-point concepts in function space --- realized via an adaptive multilevel scheme applied to the complementarity formulation and numerical continuation along the central path. Existence of the central path and its continuation towards the solution point is analyzed in some theoretical detail. An adaptive stepsize control with respect to the duality gap parameter is worked out in the framework of affine invariant inexact Newton methods. Finally, the performance of a first version of our new type of algorithm is documented by the successful treatment of the well-known intricate windshear problem.

Description: Das \emph{Committee on Electronic Information and Communication} (CEIC) der \emph{International Mathematical Union} (IMU) hat die Aufgabe, sich über die langfristige Informationsversorgung in der Mathematik Gedanken zu machen und Lösungsvorschläge hierfür zu erarbeiten. Das Kernthema ist natürlich "`Elektronisches Publizieren"'. Dazu gehören auch Copyright-Regelungen. % Sie sind -- % neben einer Andeutung der weiteren CEIC-Pläne -- der Fokus dieses % kurzen Artikels. Er schließt mit einem von der IMU verabschiedeten % Aufruf zu vernünftigem Verhalten bei Copyright-Vereinbarungen. Eine % nachhaltige Befolgung dieses Aufrufs -- verbunden mit weiteren % Aktivitäten -- könnte die (derzeit kaum noch bezahlbare und % dadurch gefährdete) Literaturversorgung nachhaltig zum Positiven % verändern. Mit diesem Artikel beginnt eine kleine Serie von Aufsätzen, in denen ich (in meiner Funktion als eines von elf CEIC-Mitgliedern) die Empfehlungen des CEIC erläutern werde. % Das heutige Thema sind die % CEIC-Vorschläge zum Copyright

Description: By computed tomography data (CT), the individual geometry of the mandible is quite well reproduced, also the separation between cortical and trabecular bone. Using anatomical knowledge about the architecture and the functional potential of the masticatory muscles, realistic situations were approximated. The solution of the underlying partial differential equations describing linear elastic material behaviour is provided by an adaptive finite element method. Estimations of the discretization error, local grid refinement, and multilevel techniques guarantee the reliability and efficiency of the method.

Description: Optimization is the task of finding an optimum solution to a given problem. When the decision variables are discrete we speak of a combinatorial optimization problem. Such a problem is online when decisions have to be made before all data of the problem are known. And we speak of a real-time online problem when online decisions have to be computed within very tight time bounds. This paper surveys the are of combinatorial online and real-time optimization, it discusses, in particular, the concepts with which online and real-time algorithms can be analyzed.

Description: This paper describes a new simulation tool for the prediction of aerosol formation and behavior in gas--liquid contact devices such as absorbers, scrubbers, quench coolers, and condensers as well as multistage gas cleaning processes, respectively. Aerosol formation can impact severely the separation efficiency of gas cleaning processes. Aerosol or fog formation can arise by spontaneous condensation or desublimation in supersaturated gas phases. The rigorous description of the mass and energy transfer between the gas phase, the liquid phase, and the growing aerosol droplets leads to a system of partial differential and algebraic equations. For the solution of these systems we have developed the plant simulation tool AerCoDe. This program bases upon the linearly--implicit Euler discretisation, which in combination with extrapolation permits an adaptive step size and order control. Typical simulation results of a multistage industrial flue gas scrubbing process are presented. It is shown, that experimental data can be confirmed if the number concentration of condensation nuclei as an input parameter is roughly known.

Description: This paper discusses online optimization of real-world transportation systems. We concentrate on transportation problems arising in production and manufacturing processes, in particular in company internal logistics. We describe basic techniques to design online optimization algorithms for such systems, but our main focus is decision support for the planner: which online algorithm is the most appropriate one in a particular setting? We show by means of several examples that traditional methods for the evaluation of online algorithms often do not suffice to judge the strengths and weaknesses of online algorithms. We present modifications of well-known evaluation techniques and some new methods, and we argue that the selection of an online algorithm to be employed in practice should be based on a sound combination of several theoretical and practical evaluation criteria, including simulation.

Description: Wireless communication networks employ radio frequencies to establish communication links. The available radio spectrum is very limited. To meet today's radio communication demand, this resource has to be administered and reused carefully in order to control mutual interference. The reuse can be organized via separation in space, time, or frequency, for example. The problem, therefore, arises to distribute frequencies to links in a ``reasonable manner''. This is the basic form of the frequency assignment problem. What ``reasonable'' means, how to quantify this measure of quality, which technical side constraints to consider cannot be answered in general. The exact specification of this task and its mathematical model depend heavily on the particular application considered. In this paper we discuss this issue with respect to the GSM standard for mobile communication.

Description: This paper is a summary of the Round Table: ``The Impact of Mathematical Research on Industry and Vice Versa'' held at 3ecm in Barcelona on July 11, 2000. The round table started with contributions of the three panelists. Irene Fonseca, the panel chair, opened the discussion by stating six questions addressing the main issues of the round table topic. She presented the panel's answers to these questions, drawing on many examples from her own academic experience. In the following additional presentations, the other two panel members added further points of view based on their personal involvement with industry. The round table ended with a lively discussion with members from the audience. This written summary of the oral presentations follows the structure of the round table indicated above.

Description: This article is about \emph{adaptive column generation techniques} for the solution of duty scheduling problems in public transit. The current optimization status is exploited in an adaptive approach to guide the subroutines for duty generation, LP resolution, and schedule construction toward relevant parts of a large problem. Computational results for three European scenarios are reported.

Description: The recent spectral bundle method allows to compute, within reasonable time, approximate dual solutions of large scale semidefinite quadratic 0-1 programming relaxations. We show that it also generates a sequence of primal approximations that converge to a primal optimal solution. Separating with respect to these approximations gives rise to a cutting plane algorithm that converges to the optimal solution under reasonable assumptions on the separation oracle and the feasible set. We have implemented a practical variant of the cutting plane algorithm for improving semidefinite relaxations of constrained quadratic 0-1 programming problems by odd-cycle inequalities. We also consider separating odd-cycle inequalities with respect to a larger support than given by the cost matrix and present a heuristic for selecting this support. Our preliminary computational results for max-cut instances on toroidal grid graphs and balanced bisection instances indicate that warm start is highly efficient and that enlarging the support may sometimes improve the quality of relaxations considerably.

Description: Der Wissenschaftsrat hat in seiner Juli-Sitzung 2001 \glqq Empfehlungen zur digitalen Informationsversorgung durch Hochschulbibliotheken \grqq verabschiedet. Einige der Vorschläge des Wissenschaftsrates können, falls sie von den angesprochenen Institutionen aufgenommen werden, zu einer nachhaltigen Veränderung der wissenschaftlichen Informationslandschaft führen. In meinem kurzen Kommentar zu diesem Papier möchte ich auf einige dieser Anregungen hinweisen.

Description: Von welcher "Informationsumwelt" träumt jemand, der für seine wissenschaftliche (und sonstige) Arbeit digitale Informationstechnologie intensiv einsetzt? In diesem Artikel beschreibe ich meinen "digitalen Traum". Er ist ganz einfach zu formulieren:"Ich will alles und zwar sofort, jederzeit, "überall" und kostenlos zur Verfügung haben." Ich schildere, was davon heute schon (fast) realisiert ist und was noch fehlt. Ich skizziere einige zentrale Schwierigkeiten der vollständigen Realisierung und skizziere mögliche Lösungen.

Description: Im Rahmen der biomechanischen Simulation knöcherner Organe ist die Frage nach einer befriedigenden Materialbeschreibung nach wie vor ungelöst. Computertomographische Datensätze liefern eine räumliche Verteilung der (Röntgen-)Dichte und ermöglichen damit eine gute Darstellung der individuellen Geometrie. Weiter können die verschiedenen Materialbestandteile des Knochens, Spongiosa und Kortikalis, voneinander getrennt werden. Aber die richtungsabängige Information der Materialanisotropie ist verloren. In dieser Arbeit wird ein Ansatz für eine anisotrope Materialbeschreibung vorgestellt, die es ermöglicht, den Einfluss der individuellen knöchernen Struktur auf das makroskopische Materialverhalten abzuschätzen.

Description: Many phenomena in nature and engineering happen simultaneously on rather diverse spatial and temporal scales, i.e.\ exhibit a multi-scale character. Therefore various hierarchical data structures and numerical schemes have been devised to represent quantitatively such phenomena. A special numerical multilevel technique, associated with a particular hierarchical data structure, is so-called Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR). This scheme achieves locally very high spatial and temporal resolutions. Due to its popularity, many scientists are in need of interactive visualization tools for AMR data. In this article we present a 3D texture-based volume rendering algorithm for AMR data, that directly utilizes the hierarchical structure. Thereby interactive rendering even for large data sets is achieved. In particular the problems of interpolation artifacts, opacity corrections, and texture memory limitations are addressed. The algorithm's value in practice is demonstrated with simulation and image data.

Description: By combining techniques of preparation, histology, confocal microscopy, data visualization and data processing, we have created and recently published a standard brain model for drosophila and honey bee brains. This report describes the algorithms and implementation of the corresponding software modules. At the same time it serves as a user's guide for scientist who want to reproduce the results for differerent species or mutants.

Description: Several classes of systems of evolution equations with one or two vector unknowns are considered. We investigate also systems with one vector and one scalar unknown. For these classes all equations having the simplest higher symmetry are listed.

Description: Two traffic streams $\Phi_1$, $\Phi_2$ are offered a link. The calls of $\Phi_i$ require exponential holding times with parameter $\mu$ and are accepted if less than $C_i$ trunks are occupied. Approximating the $\Phi_i$ by appropriate renewal processes meeting their first two moments, defined as the moments of the numbers of calls in virtual links of infinite capacity to which the traffic streams as freed traffics are virtually directed and where the calls get fresh exponential i.i.d.\ holding times with parameter $\mu$, stable recursive algorithms of complexity $O(\max(C_1,C_2))$ are derived for the first two defined as above moments of the individual overflow and freed carried traffics. The results offer a unified handling of both overflow and carried traffics in circuit switching networks with trunk reservation, providing a basis for new two-moment network dimensioning algorithms.

Description: We study the performance of QCD simulations with dynamical Wilson fermions by combining the Hybrid Monte Carlo algorithm with parallel tempering on $10^4$ and $12^4$ lattices. In order to compare tempered with standard simulations, covariance matrices between sub-ensembles have to be formulated and evaluated using the general properties of autocorrelations of the parallel tempering algorithm. We find that rendering the hopping parameter $\kappa$ dynamical does not lead to an essential improvement. We point out possible reasons for this observation and discuss more suitable ways of applying parallel tempering to QCD.

Description: Dem vorliegenden Aufsatz liegt ein Vortrag zugrunde, den die Verfasserin auf der Ersten Gemeinsamen Fachtagung der DBV-Landesverbände Berlin und Brandenburg "Wir machen den Weg frei : Fusionen - Kooperationen in Berlin und Brandenburg" am 17. Oktober 2001 gehalten hat, in der Vortragsreihe "Möglichkeiten und Grenzen von Ausleih- und bibliographischen Verbünden - VÖB Berlin, VÖB Brandenburg, KOBV". Der Kooperative Bibliotheksverbund Berlin-Brandenburg (KOBV) ist angetreten, um auf der Basis neuer Technologien zeitgemäße, nutzerorientierte Dienstleistungen für den Informationsbereich zu entwickeln und die Informationsinfrastruktur in der Region Berlin-Brandenburg neu zu organisieren. Dabei setzt der KOBV insbesondere auf das Internet. Die Verfasserin beschreibt die einzelnen Stufen, in denen die Dienste des KOBV aufgebaut wurden und kontinuierlich weiter ausgebaut werden. Dabei zeigt sie Vorteile auf, die Nutzern und Bibliotheken durch den Verbund entstehen, und lotet gleichzeitig die Grenzen aus, die dem Verbund gesetzt sind.

Description: We report numerical results for SBmethod --- a publically available implementation of the spectral bundle method --- applied to the 7$^{th}$ DIMACS challenge test sets that are semidefinite relaxations of combinatorial optimization problems. The performance of the code is heavily influenced by parameters that control bundle update and eigenvalue computation. Unfortunately, no mathematically sound guidelines for setting them are known. Based on our experience with SBmethod, we propose heuristics for dynamically updating the parameters as well as a heuristc for improving the starting point. These are now the default settings of SBmethod Version 1.1. We compare their performance on the DIMACS instances to our previous best choices for Version 1.0. SBmethod Version 1.1 is also part of the independent DIMACS benchmark by H.~Mittelmann. Based on these results we try to analyze strengths and weaknesses of our approach in comparison to other codes for large scale semidefinite programming.

Description: Many {\cal NP}-hard graph problems can be solved in polynomial time for graphs with bounded treewidth. Equivalent results are known for pathwidth and branchwidth. In recent years, several studies have shown that this result is not only of theoretical interest but can successfully be applied to find (almost) optimal solutions or lower bounds for diverse optimization problems. To apply a tree decomposition approach, the treewidth of the graph has to be determined, independently of the application at hand. Although for fixed $k$, linear time algorithms exist to solve the decision problem ``treewidth $\leq k$'', their practical use is very limited. The computational tractability of treewidth has been rarely studied so far. In this paper, we compare four heuristics and two lower bounds for instances from applications such as the frequency assignment problem and the vertex coloring problem. Three of the heuristics are based on well-known algorithms to recognize triangulated graphs. The fourth heuristic recursively improves a tree decomposition by the computation of minimal separating vertex sets in subgraphs. Lower bounds can be computed from maximal cliques and the minimum degree of induced subgraphs. A computational analysis shows that the treewidth of several graphs can be identified by these methods. For other graphs, however, more sophisticated techniques are necessary.

Description: The currently most efficient algorithm for inference with a probabilistic network builds upon a triangulation of a network's graph. In this paper, we show that pre-processing can help in finding good triangulations for probabilistic networks, that is, triangulations with a minimal maximum clique size. We provide a set of rules for stepwise reducing a graph, without losing optimality. This reduction allows us to solve the triangulation problem on a smaller graph. From the smaller graph's triangulation, a triangulation of the original graph is obtained by reversing the reduction steps. Our experimental results show that the graphs of some well-known real-life probabilistic networks can be triangulated optimally just by preprocessing; for other networks, huge reductions in their graph's size are obtained.

Description: {\begin{rawhtml} 〈a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10479-007-0178-0"〉 Revised Version unter http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10479-007-0178-0〈/a〉 \end{rawhtml}} Wireless communication is used in many different situations such as mobile telephony, radio and TV broadcasting, satellite communication, and military operations. In each of these situations a frequency assignment problem arises with application specific characteristics. Researchers have developed different modelling ideas for each of the features of the problem, such as the handling of interference among radio signals, the availability of frequencies, and the optimization criterion. This survey gives an overview of the models and methods that the literature provides on the topic. We present a broad description of the practical settings in which frequency assignment is applied. We also present a classification of the different models and formulations described in the literature, such that the common features of the models are emphasized. The solution methods are divided in two parts. Optimization and lower bounding techniques on the one hand, and heuristic search techniques on the other hand. The literature is classified according to the used methods. Again, we emphasize the common features, used in the different papers. The quality of the solution methods is compared, whenever possible, on publicly available benchmark instances.

Description: Telota ist ein Kunstwort, das für alle Aktivitäten der Berlin-Brandenburgischen Akademie der Wissenschaften steht, die der Förderung von Forschung, Kommunikation und Präsentation durch elektronische Medien dienen. In diesem Artikel werden die Entstehung des Telota-Projektes geschildert und die Ziele diskutiert, die mit diesem Projekt erreicht werden sollen. Es geht darum, moderne Informationstechnik bewusst, geplant und nachhaltig für alle Belange der {\rm BBAW} einzusetzen. Informationstechnische Werkzeuge sollen für die wissenschaftliche Arbeit effizient genutzt werden; die Information nach innen und nach außen soll deutlich verbessert werden; eine bessere Kommunikationsinfrastuktur soll die Zusammenarbeit fördern.

Description: The pole condition is a general concept for the theoretical analysis and the numerical solution of a variety of wave propagation problems. It says that the Laplace transform of the physical solution in radial direction has no poles in the lower complex half-plane. In the present paper we show that for the Helmholtz equation with a radially symmetric potential the pole condition is equivalent to Sommerfeld's radiation condition. Moreover, a new representation formula based on the pole condition is derived and used to prove existence, uniqueness and asymptotic properties of solutions. This lays the foundations of a promising new algorithm to solve time-harmonic scattering problems numerically and provides a new approach for analyzing existing algorithms such as the Perfectly Matched Layer (PML) method and the Bayliss-Gunzburger-Turkel (BGT) algorithm.

Description: In this paper we study the PML method for Helmholtz-type scattering problems with radially symmetric potential. The PML method consists in surrounding the computational domain by a \textbf{P}erfectly \textbf{M}atched sponge \textbf{L}ayer. We prove that the approximate solution obtained by the PML method converges exponentially fast to the true solution in the computational domain as the thickness of the sponge layer tends to infinity. This is a generalization of results by Lassas and Somersalo based on boundary integral eqaution techniques. Here we use techniques based on the pole condition instead. This makes it possible to treat problems without an explicitly known fundamental solution.

Description: One important step in the fabrication of silicon-based integrated circuits is the creation of semiconducting areas by diffusion of dopant impurities into silicon. Complex models have been developed to investigate the redistribution of dopants and point defects. In general, numerical analysis of the resulting PDEs is the central tool to assess the modelling process. We present an adaptive approach which is able to judge the quality of the numerical approximation and which provides an automatic mesh improvement. Using linearly implicit methods in time and multilevel finite elements in space, we are able to integrate efficiently the arising reaction-drift-diffusion equations with high accuracy. Two different diffusion processes of practical interest are simulated.

Description: Uncoupling-coupling Monte Carlo (UCMC) combines uncoupling techniques for finite Markov chains with Markov chain Monte Carlo methodology. By determining almost invariant sets of the associated Markov operator, the Monte Carlo sampling splits by a hierarchical annealing process into the essential regions of the state space; therefore UCMC aims at avoiding the typical metastable behavior of Monte Carlo techniques. From the viewpoint of Monte Carlo, a slowly converging long-time Markov chain is replaced by a limited number of rapidly mixing short-time ones. The correct weighting factors for the various Markov chains are obtained via a coupling matrix, that connects the samplings from the different almost invariant sets. The underlying mathematical structure of this approach is given by a general examination of the uncoupling-coupling procedure. Furthermore, the overall algorithmic scheme of UCMC is applied to the $n$-pentane molecule, a well-known example from molecular dynamics.

Description: The traveling repairman problem (TRP) is a variant of the famous traveling salesman problem (TSP). The objective for the TRP is to minimize the latency, that is the the weighted sum of completion times of the cities, where the completion time of a city is defined to be the time in the tour before the city is reached. In the online traveling repairman problem (OLTRP) requests for visits to cities (points in a metric space) arrive online while the repairman is traveling. We analyze the performance of algorithms using competitive analysis, where the cost of an online algorithm is compared to that of an optimal offline algorithm. An optimal offline algorithm knows the entire request sequence in advance and can serve it with minimum cost. Recently, Feuerstein and Stougie presented a $9$-competitive algorithm for the OLTRP on the real line. In this paper we show how to use techniques from online-scheduling to obtain an $8$-competitive deterministic algorithm which works for any metric space. We also present a randomized algorithm which has a competitive ratio of $\frac{4}{\ln 2}\approx 5.7708$ against an oblivious adversary. All of our results also hold for the ``dial-a-ride'' generalization of the OLTRP, where objects have to be picked up and delivered by a server.

Description: In the online traveling salesman problem requests for visits to cities (points in a metric space) arrive online while the salesman is traveling. The salesman moves at no more than unit speed and starts and ends his work at a designated origin. The objective is to find a routing for the salesman which finishes as early as possible. Performance of algorithms is measured through their competitive ratio, comparing the outcome of the algorithms with that of an adversary who provides the problem instance and therefore is able to achieve the optimal offline solution. Objections against such omnipotent adversaries have lead us to devise an adversary that is in a natural way, in the context of routing problems, more restricted in power. For the exposition we consider the online traveling salesman problem on the metric space given by the non-negative part of the real line. We show that a very natural strategy is~$3/2$-competitive against the conventional adversary, which matches the lower bound on competitive ratios achievable for algorithms for this problem. Against the more ``\emph{fair adversary}'', that we propose, we show that there exists an algorithm with competitive ratio $\frac{1+\sqrt{17}}{4}\approx 1.28$ and provide a matching lower bound. We also show competitiveness results for a special class of algorithms (called zealous algorithms) that do not allow waiting time for the server as long as there are requests unserved.

Description: Regional hyperthermia, a clinical cancer therapy, is the main topic of the Sonderforschungsbereich Hyperthermia: Scientific Methods and Clinical Applications'' at Berlin. In recent years, technological improvements towards a better concentration of heat to the desired target region have been achieved. These include a rather sophisticated integrated software environment for therapy planning and a new hyperthermia applicator. In a next step, a detailed closed loop monitoring of the actual treatment is to be developed. For this purpose the hyperthermia applicator is combined with an MRI system, which will allow to check the positioning of the patients and to measure individual blood perfusion as well as the 3D temperature distribution. The measurements will then be employed for an on-line control of the whole treatment. In this intended setting, new fast feedback control algorithms will come into play.

Description: In diesem Artikel wird der Status des Projekts Kooperativer Bibliotheksverbund Berlin-Brandenburg beschrieben, der im November 1999 mit der KOBV-Suchmaschine seinen produktiven Betrieb aufgenommen hat. Die Recherchemöglichkeiten im WWW werden erläutert, Zugriffszahlen genannt und Entwicklungsperspektiven skizziert. Dieser Bericht entspricht der schriftlichen Fassung eines gleichnamigen Vortrages, der auf dem 1. Gemeinsamen Kongreß der Bundesvereinigung Deutscher Bibliotheksverbände e.V. und der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Informationswissenschaft und Informationspraxis e.V. Information und Öffentlichkeit gehalten wurde, der vom 20. bis 23. März 2000 in Leipzig stattfand.

Description: In this paper for the $M(n)/M(n)/s+GI$ system, i.e.\ for a $s$-server queueing system where the calls in the queue may leave the system due to impatience, we present new asymptotic results for the intensities of calls leaving the system due to impatience and a Markovian system approximation where these results are applied. Furthermore, we present a new proof for the formulae of the conditional density of the virtual waiting time distributions, recently given by Movaghar for the less general $M(n)/M/s+GI$ system. Also we obtain new explicit expressions for refined virtual waiting time characteristics as a byproduct.

Description: Several practical instances of network design problems require the network to satisfy multiple constraints. In this paper, we address the \emph{Budget Constrained Connected Median Problem}: We are given an undirected graph $G = (V,E)$ with two different edge-weight functions $c$ (modeling the construction or communication cost) and $d$ (modeling the service distance), and a bound~$B$ on the total service distance. The goal is to find a subtree~$T$ of $G$ with minimum $c$-cost $c(T)$ subject to the constraint that the sum of the service distances of all the remaining nodes $v \in V\setminus T$ to their closest neighbor in~$T$ does not exceed the specified budget~$B$. This problem has applications in optical network design and the efficient maintenance of distributed databases. We formulate this problem as bicriteria network design problem, and present bicriteria approximation algorithms. We also prove lower bounds on the approximability of the problem that demonstrate that our performance ratios are close to best possible

Description: Network loading problems occur in the design of telecommunication networks, in many different settings. The polyhedral structure of this problem is important in developing solution methods for the problem. In this paper we investigate the polytope of the problem restricted to one edge of the network (the edge capacity problem). We describe classes of strong valid inequalities for the edge capacity polytope, and we derive conditions under which these constraints define facets. As the edge capacity problem is a relaxation of the network loading problem, their polytopes are intimately related. We, therefore, also give conditions under which the inequalities of the edge capacity polytope define facets of the network loading polytope. Furthermore, some structural properties are derived, such as the relation of the edge capacity polytope to the knapsack polytope. We conclude the theoretical part of this paper with some lifting theorems, where we show that this problem is polynomially solvable for most of our classes of valid inequalities. In a computational study the quality of the constraints is investigated. Here, we show that the valid inequalities of the edge capacity polytope are not only important for solving the edge capacity problem, but also for the network loading problem, showing that the edge capacity problem is an important subproblem.

Description: Die Entwicklung einer bibliothekarischen Suchmaschine ist das technisch-organisatorische Herztück des Kooperativen Bibliotheksverbundes Berlin-Brandenburg (KOBV). Auf dem Wege über diese Innovation verfolgen die Länder Berlin und Brandenburg und ihre Bibliotheken das Ziel, ihr Bibliothekswesen zu erneuern und zu reorganisieren. Die Entwicklung der Suchmaschine ist für die Partner im KOBV-Projekt kein Selbstzweck, sondern nur Mittel zum Zweck - insbesondere, um die heterogene Welt der in Berlin und in Brandenburg eingesetzten integrierten Bibliotheksinformationssysteme harmonisch miteinender zu verbinden. Mit der KOBV-Suchmaschine sind informationstechnische Sichtweisen und Methoden entstanden, die sich potentiell auch auf die überregionale Arbeit des KOBV auswirken können und in Kooperation mit den Bibliotheksverbänden auf die Zusammenarbeit der Verbünde insgesamt. Der Artikel konzentriert sich am Beispiel der KOBV-Such¡ma¡schine auch auf diesen Aspekt. Auf die Bibliotheken kommen mit dem Internet und dem World Wide Web für sie neuartige Medien, Mittel und Aufgaben zu, in erster Linie aus dem Bereich der Wissenschaften und der wissenschaftlichen Fachgesellschaften. Die Herausforderung besteht darin, die neuen elektronischen Informationen und Angebote zu integrieren. Das Stichwort hierzu lautet digitale Bibliothek bzw. virtuelle Fachbibliothek. Auch zu der Diskussion um diese aktuelle Entwicklung will der Artikel einen Beitrag leisten.

Description: The improvement of simulations of QCD with dynamical Wilson fermions by combining the Hybrid Monte Carlo algorithm with parallel tempering is studied on $10^4$ and $12^4$ lattices. As an indicator for decorrelation the topological charge is used.

Description: In this paper we describe the results of a computational study towards the (re)optimization of signaling transfer points (STPs) in telecommunication networks. The best performance of an STP is achieved whenever the traffic load is evenly distributed among the internal components. Due to the continuously changing traffic pattern, the load of the components has to be re-optimized on a regular basis. Besides the balancing objective also the number of rearrangements have to be taken into account. In this paper we present two alternative formulations to deal with both requirements. Computational results show that for both formulations (near) optimal solutions can be obtained within reasonable time limits.

Description: The structures and interaction energies of guanine and uracil quartets have been determined by B3LYP hybrid density functional calculations. The total interaction energy $\Delta$E$^{T}$ of the $\it{C}$$_{4h}$-symmetric guanine quartet consisting of Hoogsteen type base pairs with two hydrogen bonds between two neighbour bases is -66.07 kcal/mol at the highest level. The uracil quartet with C6-H6...O4 interactions between the individual bases has only a small interaction energy of -20.92 kcal/mol and the interaction energy of -24.63 kcal/mol for the alternative structure with N3-H3...O4 hydrogen bonds is only slightly more negative. Cooperative effects contribute between 10 and 25 \% to all interaction energies. Complexes of metal ions with G-quartets can be classified into different structure types. The one with Ca$^{2+}$ in the central cavity adopts a $\it{C}$$_{4h}$-symmetric structure with coplanar bases, whereas the energies of the planar and non-planar Na$^{+}$ complexes are almost identical. The small ions Li$^{+}$, Be$^{2+}$, Cu$^{+}$ and Zn$^{2+}$ prefer a non-planar $\it{S}$$_{4}$-symmetric structure. The lack of co-planarity prevents probably a stacking of these base quartets. The central cavity is too small for K$^{+}$ ions and therefore this ion favours in contrast to all other investigated ions a $\it{C}$$_{4}$-symmetric complex, which is 4.73 kcal/mol more stable than the $\it{C}$$_{4h}$-symmetric one. The distance 1.665 {\AA} between K$^{+}$ and the root mean squares plane of the guanine bases is approximately half of the distance between two stacked G-quartets. The total interaction energy of alkaline earth ion complexes exceeds the ones with alkali ions. Within both groups of ions the interaction energy decreases with an increasing row position in the periodic table. The B3LYP and BLYP methods lead to similar structures and energies. Both methods are suitable for hydrogen-bonded biological systems. Compared with the before mentioned methods the HCTH functional leads to longer hydrogen bonds and different relative energies for two U-quartets. Finally we calculated also structures and relative energies with the MMFF94 forcefield. Contrary to all DFT methods, MMFF94 predicts bifurcated C-H...O contacts in the uracil quartet. In the G-quartet the MMFF94 hydrogen bond distances N2-H22...N7 are shorter than the DFT distances, whereas the N1-H1...O6 distances are longer.

Description: Das vorliegende Skript bietet eine Einf{ü}hrung in die Graphentheorie und graphentheoretische Algorithmen. Im zweiten Kapitel werden Grundbegriffe der Graphentheorie vorgestellt. Das dritte Kapitel besch{ä}ftigt sich mit der Existenz von Wegen in Graphen. Hier wird auch die L{ö}suung des ber{ü}hmten K{ö}nigsberger Br{ü}ckenproblems aufgezeigt und der Satz von Euler bewiesen. Im vierten Kapitel wird gezeigt, wie man auf einfache Weise die Zusammenhangskomponenten eines Graphen bestimmen kann. Im Kapitel sechs wird dann sp{ä}ter mit der Tiefensuche ein Verfahren vorgestellt, das schneller arbeitet und mit dessen Hilfe man noch mehr Informationen {ü}ber die Struktur eines Graphen gewinnen kann. In den folgenden Kapiteln werden Algorithmen vorgestellt, um minimale aufspannenden B{ä}ume, k{ü}rzeste Wege und maximale Fl{ü}sse in Graphen zu bestimmen. Am Ende des Skripts wird ein kurzer Einblick in die planaren Graphen und Graphhomomorphismen geboten.

Description: Pyridinochelin, a novel catecholate type siderophore, has been designed on the basis of the active analog enterobactin. Growth promotion tests indicate that this synthetic siderophore feeds various pathogenic bacteria effectively with iron even though it lacks one catecholate group compared to enterobactin. The superposition of the siderophore structures suggests that the structure of the skeleton connecting the catecholate groups might be an important factor for the iron transport.

Description: Dynamical process simulation of complex real-life problems often requires the use of modern algorithms, which automatically adapt both the time and space discretization in order to get error-controlled approximations of the solution. In this paper, a combination of linearly implicit time integrators of Rosenbrock type and adaptive multilevel finite elements based on a posteriori error estimates is presented. This approach has proven to work quite satisfactorily for a wide range of challenging practical problems. We show the performance of our adaptive method for two applications that arise in the study of flame balls and brine transport in porous media.

Description: The statistical behavior of deterministic and stochastic dynamical systems may be described using transfer operators, which generalize the notion of Frobenius Perron and Koopman operators. Since numerical techniques to analyze dynamical systems based on eigenvalues problems for the corresponding transfer operator have emerged, bounds on its essential spectral radius became of interest. This article shows that they are also of great theoretical interest. We give an analytical representation of the essential spectral radius in $L^{1}\!(\mu)$, which then is exploited to analyze the asymptotical properties of transfer operators by combining results from functional analysis, Markov operators and Markov chain theory. In particular, it is shown, that an essential spectral radius less than $1$, constrictiveness and some weak form'' of the so--called Doeblin condition are equivalent. Finally, we apply the results to study three main problem classes: deterministic systems, stochastically perturbed deterministic systems and stochastic systems.

Description: We focus on two new types of extremal graphs with respect to perfectness: critically and anticritically perfect graphs that lose their perfectness by simply deleting and adding an arbitrary edge, respectively. We present examples and study properties in order to compare critically and anticritically perfect graphs with minimally imperfect graphs, another type of extremal graphs with respect to perfectness. We discuss two attempts to characterize the classes of all critically and anticritically perfect graphs and give a brief overview on classes of perfect graphs which contain critically or anticritically perfect graphs.

Description: A path following algorithm for linear complementarity problems is presented. Given a point $z$ that approximates a point $z(\tau)$ on the central path with complementarity gap $\tau$, one determines a parameter $\theta\in (0,1)$ so that this point satisfies the hypothesis of the affine invariant Kantorovich Theorem for the equation defining $z((1-\theta)\tau)$. It is shown that $\theta$ is bounded below by a multiple of $n^{-1/2}$, where $n$ is the dimension of the problem. Since the hypothesis of of the Kantorovich Theorem is satisfied the sequence generated by Newton's method, or by the simplified Newton method, will converge to $z((1-\theta)\tau)$. We show that the number of steps required to obtain an acceptable approximation of $z((1-\theta)\tau)$ is bounded above by a number independent of $n$. Therefore the algorithm has $O(\sqrt{n}L)$-iteration complexity. The parameters of the algorithm can be determined in such a way that only one Newton step is needed each time the complementarity gap is decreased.

Description: The polynomial differential system modelling the behavior of a chemical reaction is given by graphtheoretic structures. The concepts from toric geometry are applied to study the steady states and stable steady states. Deformed toric varieties give some insight and enable graph theoretic interpretations. The importance of the circuits in the directed graph are emphazised. The counting of positive solutions of a sparse polynomial system by B.\ Sturmfels is generalized to the counting of stable positive solutions in case of a polynomial differential equation. The generalization is based on a method by sparse resultants to detect whether a system may have a Hopf bifurcation. Special examples from chemistry are used to illustrate the theoretical results.