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Main Authors: Nath, Triloki, Choudhary, Manohar, Pandey, Ram K.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.11555
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author Nath, Triloki
Choudhary, Manohar
Pandey, Ram K.
author_facet Nath, Triloki
Choudhary, Manohar
Pandey, Ram K.
contents This paper presents a new extension of the classical Heron problem, termed the generalized $(k,m)$-Heron problem, which seeks an optimal configuration among $k$ feasible and $m$ target non-empty closed convex sets in $\mathbb{R}^n$. The problem is formulated as finding a point in each set that minimizes the pairwise distances from the points in the $k$-feasible sets to the points in the $m$-target sets. This formulation leads to a convex optimization framework that generalizes several well-known geometric distance problems. Using tools from convex analysis, we establish fundamental results on existence, uniqueness, and first-order optimality conditions through subdifferential calculus and normal cone theory. Building on these insights, a Projected Subgradient Algorithm (PSA) is proposed for numerical solution, and its convergence is rigorously proved under a diminishing step-size rule. Numerical experiments in $\mathbb{R}^2$ and $\mathbb{R}^3$ illustrate the algorithm's stability, geometric accuracy, and computational efficiency. Overall, this work provides a comprehensive analytical and algorithmic framework for multi-set geometric optimization with promising implications for location science, robotics, and computational geometry.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_11555
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Generalized $(k,m)$ Heron Problem:Optimality Conditions and Algorithm
Nath, Triloki
Choudhary, Manohar
Pandey, Ram K.
Optimization and Control
90B85, 51M04
This paper presents a new extension of the classical Heron problem, termed the generalized $(k,m)$-Heron problem, which seeks an optimal configuration among $k$ feasible and $m$ target non-empty closed convex sets in $\mathbb{R}^n$. The problem is formulated as finding a point in each set that minimizes the pairwise distances from the points in the $k$-feasible sets to the points in the $m$-target sets. This formulation leads to a convex optimization framework that generalizes several well-known geometric distance problems. Using tools from convex analysis, we establish fundamental results on existence, uniqueness, and first-order optimality conditions through subdifferential calculus and normal cone theory. Building on these insights, a Projected Subgradient Algorithm (PSA) is proposed for numerical solution, and its convergence is rigorously proved under a diminishing step-size rule. Numerical experiments in $\mathbb{R}^2$ and $\mathbb{R}^3$ illustrate the algorithm's stability, geometric accuracy, and computational efficiency. Overall, this work provides a comprehensive analytical and algorithmic framework for multi-set geometric optimization with promising implications for location science, robotics, and computational geometry.
title A Generalized $(k,m)$ Heron Problem:Optimality Conditions and Algorithm
topic Optimization and Control
90B85, 51M04
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.11555