The Online Submodular Assignment Problem

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Hathcock, Daniel, Jin, Billy, Patton, Kalen, Sarkar, Sherry, Zlatin, Michael
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2024
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author Hathcock, Daniel
Jin, Billy
Patton, Kalen
Sarkar, Sherry
Zlatin, Michael
author_facet Hathcock, Daniel
Jin, Billy
Patton, Kalen
Sarkar, Sherry
Zlatin, Michael
contents Online resource allocation is a rich and varied field. One of the most well-known problems in this area is online bipartite matching, introduced in 1990 by Karp, Vazirani, and Vazirani [KVV90]. Since then, many variants have been studied, including AdWords, the generalized assignment problem (GAP), and online submodular welfare maximization. In this paper, we introduce a generalization of GAP which we call the submodular assignment problem (SAP). This generalization captures many online assignment problems, including all classical online bipartite matching problems as well as broader online combinatorial optimization problems such as online arboricity, flow scheduling, and laminar restricted allocations. We present a fractional algorithm for online SAP that is $(1-\frac{1}{e})$-competitive. Additionally, we study several integral special cases of the problem. In particular, we provide a $(1-\frac{1}{e}-ε)$-competitive integral algorithm under a small-bids assumption, and a $(1-\frac{1}{e})$-competitive integral algorithm for online submodular welfare maximization where the utility functions are given by rank functions of matroids. The key new ingredient for our results is the construction and structural analysis of a "water level" vector for polymatroids, which allows us to generalize the classic water-filling paradigm used in online matching problems. This construction reveals connections to submodular utility allocation markets and principal partition sequences of matroids.
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id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2401_06981
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The Online Submodular Assignment Problem
Hathcock, Daniel
Jin, Billy
Patton, Kalen
Sarkar, Sherry
Zlatin, Michael
Data Structures and Algorithms
Online resource allocation is a rich and varied field. One of the most well-known problems in this area is online bipartite matching, introduced in 1990 by Karp, Vazirani, and Vazirani [KVV90]. Since then, many variants have been studied, including AdWords, the generalized assignment problem (GAP), and online submodular welfare maximization. In this paper, we introduce a generalization of GAP which we call the submodular assignment problem (SAP). This generalization captures many online assignment problems, including all classical online bipartite matching problems as well as broader online combinatorial optimization problems such as online arboricity, flow scheduling, and laminar restricted allocations. We present a fractional algorithm for online SAP that is $(1-\frac{1}{e})$-competitive. Additionally, we study several integral special cases of the problem. In particular, we provide a $(1-\frac{1}{e}-ε)$-competitive integral algorithm under a small-bids assumption, and a $(1-\frac{1}{e})$-competitive integral algorithm for online submodular welfare maximization where the utility functions are given by rank functions of matroids. The key new ingredient for our results is the construction and structural analysis of a "water level" vector for polymatroids, which allows us to generalize the classic water-filling paradigm used in online matching problems. This construction reveals connections to submodular utility allocation markets and principal partition sequences of matroids.
title The Online Submodular Assignment Problem
topic Data Structures and Algorithms
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.06981