Quafu-Qcover:Explore combinatorial optimization problems on cloud-based quantum computers

We introduce Quafu-Qcover,an open-source cloud-based software package developed for solving combinatorial optimization problems using quantum simulators and hardware backends.Quafu-Qcover provides a standardized and comprehensive workflow that utilizes the quantum approximate optimization algorithm(QAOA).It facilitates the automatic conversion of the original problem into a quadratic unconstrained binary optimization(QUBO)model and its corresponding Ising model,which can be subsequently transformed into a weight graph.The core of Qcover relies on a graph decomposition-based classical algorithm,which efficiently derives the optimal parameters for the shallow QAOA circuit.Quafu-Qcover incorporates a dedicated compiler capable of translating QAOA circuits into physical quantum circuits that can be executed on Quafu cloud quantum computers.Compared to a general-purpose compiler,our compiler demonstrates the ability to generate shorter circuit depths,while also exhibiting superior speed performance.Additionally,the Qcover compiler has the capability to dynamically create a library of qubits coupling substructures in real-time,utilizing the most recent calibration data from the superconducting quantum devices.This ensures that computational tasks can be assigned to connected physical qubits with the highest fidelity.The Quafu-Qcover allows us to retrieve quantum computing sampling results using a task ID at any time,enabling asynchronous processing.Moreover,it incorporates modules for results preprocessing and visualization,facilitating an intuitive display of solutions for combinatorial optimization problems.We hope that Quafu-Qcover can serve as an instructive illustration for how to explore application problems on the Quafu cloud quantum computers.

MODS： A Novel Metaheuristic of Deterministic Swapping for the Multi-Objective Optimization of Combinatorials Problems

This paper states a new metaheuristic based on Deterministic Finite Automata （DFA） for the multi - objective optimization of combinatorial problems. First, a new DFA named Multi - Objective Deterministic Finite Automata （MDFA） is defined. MDFA allows the representation of the feasible solutions space of combinatorial problems. Second, it is defined and implemented a metaheuritic based on MDFA theory. It is named Metaheuristic of Deterministic Swapping （MODS）. MODS is a local search strategy that works using a MDFA. Due to this, MODS never take into account unfeasible solutions. Hence, it is not necessary to verify the problem constraints for a new solution found. Lastly, MODS is tested using well know instances of the Bi-Objective Traveling Salesman Problem （TSP） from TSPLIB. Its results were compared with eight Ant Colony inspired algorithms and two Genetic algorithms taken from the specialized literature. The comparison was made using metrics such as Spacing, Generational Distance, Inverse Generational Distance and No-Dominated Generation Vectors. In every case, the MODS results on the metrics were always better and in some of those cases, the superiority was 100%.

Binary Fruit Fly Swarm Algorithms for the Set Covering Problem

Currently,the industry is experiencing an exponential increase in dealing with binary-based combinatorial problems.In this sense,metaheuristics have been a common trend in the field in order to design approaches to solve them successfully.Thus,a well-known strategy consists in the use of algorithms based on discrete swarms transformed to perform in binary environments.Following the No Free Lunch theorem,we are interested in testing the performance of the Fruit Fly Algorithm,this is a bio-inspired metaheuristic for deducing global optimization in continuous spaces,based on the foraging behavior of the fruit fly,which usually has much better sensory perception of smell and vision than any other species.On the other hand,the Set Coverage Problem is a well-known NP-hard problem with many practical applications,including production line balancing,utility installation,and crew scheduling in railroad and mass transit companies.In this paper,we propose different binarization methods for the Fruit Fly Algorithm,using Sshaped and V-shaped transfer functions and various discretization methods to make the algorithm work in a binary search space.We are motivated with this approach,because in this way we can deliver to future researchers interested in this area,a way to be able to work with continuous metaheuristics in binary domains.This new approach was tested on benchmark instances of the Set Coverage Problem and the computational results show that the proposed algorithm is robust enough to produce good results with low computational cost.

Annealing Harmony Search Algorithm to Solve the Nurse Rostering Problem

A real-life problem is the rostering of nurses at hospitals.It is a famous nondeterministic,polynomial time(NP)-hard combinatorial optimization problem.Handling the real-world nurse rostering problem(NRP)constraints in distributing workload equally between available nurses is still a difficult task to achieve.The international shortage of nurses,in addition to the spread of COVID-19,has made it more difficult to provide convenient rosters for nurses.Based on the literature,heuristic-based methods are the most commonly used methods to solve the NRP due to its computational complexity,especially for large rosters.Heuristic-based algorithms in general have problems striking the balance between diversification and intensification.Therefore,this paper aims to introduce a novel metaheuristic hybridization that combines the enhanced harmony search algorithm(EHSA)with the simulated annealing(SA)algorithm called the annealing harmony search algorithm(AHSA).The AHSA is used to solve NRP from a Malaysian hospital.The AHSA performance is compared to the EHSA,climbing harmony search algorithm(CHSA),deluge harmony search algorithm(DHSA),and harmony annealing search algorithm(HAS).The results show that the AHSA performs better than the other compared algorithms for all the tested instances where the best ever results reported for the UKMMC dataset.

Solving Combinatorial Optimization Problems with Deep Neural Network:A Survey

Combinatorial Optimization Problems(COPs)are a class of optimization problems that are commonly encountered in industrial production and everyday life.Over the last few decades,traditional algorithms,such as exact algorithms,approximate algorithms,and heuristic algorithms,have been proposed to solve COPs.However,as COPs in the real world become more complex,traditional algorithms struggle to generate optimal solutions in a limited amount of time.Since Deep Neural Networks(DNNs)are not heavily dependent on expert knowledge and are adequately flexible for generalization to various COPs,several DNN-based algorithms have been proposed in the last ten years for solving COPs.Herein,we categorize these algorithms into four classes and provide a brief overview of their applications in real-world problems.

New Classes of Interconnection Topology Structures and Their Properties

In the first part of this- paper, three generalizations of arrangement graph A.,k of [1], namely Bn,k, Cn,k and Dn,k , are introduced. We prove that all the three classes of graphs are vertex symmetric, two of them are edge symmetric. They have great faulty tolerance and high connectivity. We give the diameters of B..k and Cn,k, the Hamiltonian cycle of Cn,k and Hamiltonian path of B.,k. We list several open problems, one of them related to the complexity of sorting algorithm on the arrangement graphs. All these graphs can be thought as generalizations of star graph but are more flexible so that they can be considered as new interconnection network topologies. In the second part of this paper, we provide other four classes of combinatorial graphes, Chn , Cyn, Zhn and Zyn. Many good properties of them, such as high node--connectivity, node symmetry, edge symmetry, diameter, ets., are shown in this paper.

A Note on the Matching Polynomials of Paths and Cycles

The spectra of matching polynomials which are useful in the computations of resonance energy and grand canonical partition functions of molecular's. It also present other properties for certain classes of graphs and lattices. In [1] Balasubramanian calculates several matching polynomials and matching roots of several molecular graphs. He found that the matching polynomial of C_6, C_(10), C_(14), C_(18) and C_(22) are divided by x^2-2. In this note,we prove that x^2-2 divides MC_(4k+2)(x), k = 1, 2,..., n and obtain some other properties of matching polynomials of paths and cycles.

A Heuristic Approach to Fast NOVCA （Near Optimal Vertex Cover Algorithm）

This paper describes an extremely fast polynomial time algorithm, the NOVCA （Near Optimal Vertex Cover Algorithm） that produces an optimal or near optimal vertex cover for any known undirected graph G （V, E）. NOVCA is based on the idea of（l） including the vertex having maximum degree in the vertex cover and （2） rendering the degree of a vertex to zero by including all its adjacent vertices. The three versions of algorithm, NOVCA-I, NOVCA-II, and NOVCA-random, have been developed. The results identifying bounds on the size of the minimum vertex cover as well as polynomial complexity of algorithm are given with experimental verification. Future research efforts will be directed at tuning the algorithm and providing proof for better approximation ratio with NOVCA compared to any available vertex cover algorithms.

Counting and Randomly Generating <i>k</i>-Ary Trees

k-ary trees are one of the most basic data structures in Computer Science. A new method is presented to determine how many there are with n nodes. This method gives additional insight into their structure and provides a new algo-rithm to efficiently generate such a tree randomly.

Hopfield neural network based on ant system

Hopfield neural network is a single layer feedforward neural network. Hopfield network requires some control parameters to be carefully selected, else the network is apt to converge to local minimum. An ant system is a nature inspired meta heuristic algorithm. It has been applied to several combinatorial optimization problems such as Traveling Salesman Problem, Scheduling Problems, etc. This paper will show an ant system may be used in tuning the network control parameters by a group of cooperated ants. The major advantage of this network is to adjust the network parameters automatically, avoiding a blind search for the set of control parameters. This network was tested on two TSP problems, 5 cities and 10 cities. The results have shown an obvious improvement.

A Sustainable WSN System with Heuristic Schemes in IIoT

Recently, the development of Industrial Internet of Things hastaken the advantage of 5G network to be more powerful and more intelligent.However, the upgrading of 5G network will cause a variety of issues increase,one of them is the increased cost of coverage. In this paper, we proposea sustainable wireless sensor networks system, which avoids the problemsbrought by 5G network system to some extent. In this system, deployingrelays and selecting routing are for the sake of communication and charging.The main aim is to minimize the total energy-cost of communication underthe precondition, where each terminal with low-power should be charged byat least one relay. Furthermore, from the perspective of graph theory, weextract a combinatorial optimization problem from this system. After that,as to four different cases, there are corresponding different versions of theproblem. We give the proofs of computational complexity for these problems,and two heuristic algorithms for one of them are proposed. Finally, theextensive experiments compare and demonstrate the performances of thesetwo algorithms.

GPS： a constraint-based gene position procurement in chromosome for solving large-scale multiobjective multiple knapsack problems

The multiple knapsack problem （MKP） forms a base for resolving many real-life problems. This has also been considered with multiple objectives in genetic algorithms （GAs） for proving its efficiency. GAs use self- adaptability to effectively solve complex problems with constraints, but in certain cases, self-adaptability fails by converging toward an infeasible region. This pitfall can be resolved by using different existing repairing techniques; however, this cannot assure convergence toward attaining the optimal solution. To overcome this issue, gene position-based suppression （GPS） has been modeled and embedded as a new phase in a classical GA. This phase works on the genes of a newly generated individual after the recombination phase to retain the solution vector within its feasible region and to im- prove the solution vector to attain the optimal solution. Genes holding the highest expressibility are reserved into a subset, as the best genes identified from the current individuals by re- placing the weaker genes from the subset. This subset is used by the next generated individual to improve the solution vec- tor and to retain the best genes of the individuals. Each gene＇s positional point and its genotype exposure for each region in an environment are used to fit the best unique genes. Further, suppression of expression in conflicting gene＇s relies on the requirement toward the level of exposure in the environment or in eliminating the duplicate genes from the environment.The MKP benchmark instances from the OR-library are taken for the experiment to test the new model. The outcome por- trays that GPS in a classical GA is superior in most of the cases compared to the other existing repairing techniques.

Distance domination of generalized de Bruijn and Kautz digraphs

Let G= （V,A） be adigraph and k ≥ 1 an integer. For u,v ∈ V, we say that the vertex u distance k-dominate v if the distance from u to v at most k. A set D of vertices in G is a distance k-dominating set if each vertex of V ／ D is distance k-dominated by some vertex of D. The distance k-domination number of G, denoted by γk（G）, is the minimum cardinality of a distance k-dominating set of G. Generalized de Bruijn digraphs GB（n, d） and generalized Kautz digraphs Gg（n, d） are good candidates for interconnection k networks. Denote △k ：=（∑j^k=0 d^j）^-1. F. Tian and J. Xu showed that [n△k] ≤ γk（GB（n,d）） ≤ [n/d^k] and [n△k] ≤ γk（GK（n,d）） ≤ [n/d^k]. In this paper, we prove that every generalized de Bruijn digraph GB（n, d） has the distance k- domination number [n△k] or [n△k] ＋ 1, and the distance k-domination number of every generalized Kautz digraph GK（n, d） bounded above by [n/ （d^k-1 ＋d^k）]. Additionally, we present various sufficient conditions for γk（GB（n, d）） = [n△k] and γk（GK（n, d）） = [n△k].

Total Coloring of G×P_n and G×C_n

It is proved that if G is a (+1)-colorable graph, so are the graphs G×Pn and C×Cn, where Pn and Cn are respectively the path and cycle with n vertices, and the maximum edge degree of the graph. The exact chromatic numbers of the product graphs and are also presented. Thus the total coloring conjecture is proved to be true for many other graphs.