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We present a theoretical framework that links Fermat's principle of least time to optimal transport theory via a cost function that enforces local transport. The proposed cost function captures the physical constraints inherent in wave propagation; when paired with specific mass distributions, it yields shortest paths in the considered media through the optimal transport plans. In the discrete setting, our formulation results in physically significant optimal couplings, whose off-diagonal entries identify shortest paths in both directed and undirected graphs. For undirected graphs with positive edge weights, commonly used to parameterize seismic media, our method provides solutions to the Eikonal equation consistent with those from the Dijkstra algorithm. For directed negative-weight graphs, corresponding to transportation cost matrices with negative entries, our approach aligns with the Bellman–Ford algorithm but offers considerable computational advantages. We also highlight potential research directions. These include the use of sparse cost matrices to reduce the number of unknowns and constraints in the considered transportation problem, and solving specific classes of optimal transport problems through the Dijkstra algorithm to enhance computational efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many spatial applications benefit from the fast answering to a seemingly simple spatial query: "Is a point of interest (POI) 'in-path' to the shortest path between a source and a destination?" In this context, an in-path POI is one that is either on the shortest path or can be reached within a bounded yet small detour from the shortest path. The fast answering of the in-path queries is contingent on being able to determine without having to actually compute the shortest paths during runtime. Thus, this requires a precomputation solution. The key contribution of the paper is the development of an in-path oracle that is based on precomputation of which pairs of sources and destinations are in-path with respect to the given POI. For a given road network with n nodes and m POIs, an O (m × n) -sized oracle is envisioned based on the reduction of the well-separated pairs (WSP) decomposition of the road network. Furthermore, an oracle can be indexed in a database using a B-tree that can answer queries at very high throughput. Experimental results on the real road network POI dataset illustrate the superiority of this technique compared to a baseline algorithm. The proposed approach can answer ≈ 1.5 million in-path queries per second compared to a few hundred per second using a suitable baseline approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changeability analysis methods primarily assist with formulating a response to uncertain and new requirements from various system stakeholders and include asset management issues such as modelling lifecycle path dependency. Epoch-era networks proved to be an effective tool for managing the evolving requirements of a capability system, ensuring sustained value through life. Over the life of a system, stakeholders are faced with countless options to change their capability systems to sustain value, which is path dependent and can greatly impact the scope of decisions available later in life. This paper introduces and demonstrates the application of a revised epoch-era network approach to explore many potential lifecycle paths, along with utility vs. expense strategies, demonstrated through an example of a military frigate subject to evolving requirements. Results indicated the future limitations to sustaining value if the largest and most capable technology upgrades are selected too early in life. The two best lifecycle paths from different strategies were compared to understand the utility/expense trade-offs for the most optimal frigate upgrade trajectory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new heuristic algorithm tailored to solve large instances of an NP-hard variant of the shortest path problem, denoted the cost-balanced path problem, recently proposed in the literature. The problem consists in finding the origin–destination path in a direct graph, having both negative and positive weights associated with the arcs, such that the total sum of the weights of the selected arcs is as close to zero as possible. At least to the authors' knowledge, there are no solution algorithms for facing this problem. The proposed algorithm integrates a constructive procedure and an improvement procedure, and it is validated thanks to the implementation of an iterated neighborhood search procedure. The reported numerical experimentation shows that the proposed algorithm is computationally very efficient. In particular, the proposed algorithm is most suitable in the case of large instances where it is possible to prove the existence of a perfectly balanced path and thus the optimality of the solution by finding a good percentage of optimal solutions in negligible computational time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a new variant of the Shortest Path Problem ( S P P ) called the Cost-Balanced Path Problem ( C B P P ). Various real problems can either be modeled as B C P P or include B C P P as a sub-problem. We prove several properties related to the complexity of the C B P P problem. In particular, we demonstrate that the problem is NP-hard in its general version, but it becomes solvable in polynomial time in a specific family of instances. Moreover, a mathematical formulation of the C B P P , as a mixed-integer programming model, is proposed, and some additional constraints for modeling real requirements are given. This paper validates the proposed model and its extensions with experimental tests based on random instances. The analysis of the results of the computational experiments shows that the proposed model and its extension can be used to model many real applications. Obviously, due to the problem complexity, the main limitation of the proposed approach is related to the size of the instances. A heuristic solution approach should be required for larger-sized and more complex instances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a previous paper by the author, a pathfinding problem for directed trees is studied under the following situation: each edge has a nonnegative integer length, but the length is unknown in advance and should be found by a procedure whose computational cost becomes exponentially larger as the length increases. In this paper, the same problem is studied for a more general class of graphs called fork-join directed acyclic graphs. The problem for the new class of graphs contains the previous one. In addition, the optimality criterion used in this paper is stronger than that in the previous paper and is more appropriate for real applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Linear Diophantine fuzzy set (LDFS) theory expands Intuitionistic fuzzy set (IFS) and Pythagorean fuzzy set (PyFS) theories, widening the space of vague and uncertain information via reference parameters owing to its magnificent feature of a broad depiction area for permissible doublets. We codify the shortest path (SP) problem for linear Diophantine fuzzy graphs. Linear Diophantine fuzzy numbers (LDFNs) are used to represent the weights associated with arcs. The main goal of the presented work is to create a solution technique for directed network graphs by introducing linear Diophantine fuzzy (LDF) optimality constraints. The weights of distinct routes are calculated using an improved score function (SF) with the arc values represented by LDFNs. The conventional Dijkstra method is further modified to find the arc weights of the linear Diophantine fuzzy shortest path (LDFSP) and coterminal LDFSP based on these enhanced score functions and optimality requirements. A comparative analysis was carried out with the current approaches demonstrating the benefits of the new algorithm. Finally, to validate the possible use of the proposed technique, a small-sized telecommunication network is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]