An unconditional lower bound for the active-set method on the hypercube

Fuente: arXiv
Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Disser, Yann, Mosis, Nils
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2025
Materias:
Acceso en línea:
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
_version_ 1866909510438748160
author Disser, Yann
Mosis, Nils
author_facet Disser, Yann
Mosis, Nils
contents The existence of a polynomial-time pivot rule for the simplex method is a fundamental open question in optimization. While many super-polynomial lower bounds exist for individual or very restricted classes of pivot rules, there currently is little hope for an unconditional lower bound that addresses all pivot rules. We approach this question by considering the active-set method as a natural generalization of the simplex method to non-linear objectives. This generalization allows us to prove the first unconditional lower bound for all pivot rules. More precisely, we construct a multivariate polynomial of degree linear in the number of dimensions such that the active-set method started in the origin visits all vertices of the hypercube. We hope that our framework serves as a starting point for a new angle of approach to understanding the complexity of the simplex method.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_18019
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle An unconditional lower bound for the active-set method on the hypercube
Disser, Yann
Mosis, Nils
Discrete Mathematics
Computational Complexity
Data Structures and Algorithms
Combinatorics
The existence of a polynomial-time pivot rule for the simplex method is a fundamental open question in optimization. While many super-polynomial lower bounds exist for individual or very restricted classes of pivot rules, there currently is little hope for an unconditional lower bound that addresses all pivot rules. We approach this question by considering the active-set method as a natural generalization of the simplex method to non-linear objectives. This generalization allows us to prove the first unconditional lower bound for all pivot rules. More precisely, we construct a multivariate polynomial of degree linear in the number of dimensions such that the active-set method started in the origin visits all vertices of the hypercube. We hope that our framework serves as a starting point for a new angle of approach to understanding the complexity of the simplex method.
title An unconditional lower bound for the active-set method on the hypercube
topic Discrete Mathematics
Computational Complexity
Data Structures and Algorithms
Combinatorics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.18019