We show that it is impossible, in NC, to approximate the value of the minimum-cost maximum ow unless P = NC.

This paper presents efficient implementations of several algorithms for solving the minimum-cost network flow problem. Various practical heuristics and other important implementation aspects are also discussed. A novel result of this work is the application of Goldberg’s recent partial augment-relabel method in the cost-scaling algorithm. The presented implementations are available as part of t...

We view the optimal single commodity network flow problem with linear arc costs and its dual as a pair of monotropic programming problems, i.e. problems of minimizing the separable sum of scalar extended real-valued convex functions over a subspace. For such problems directions of cost improvement can be selected from among a finite set of directions--the elementary vectors of the constraint su...

In this paper, the problem of finding the minimum cost flow line able to produce different products is considered. This problem can be formulated as a shortest path problem on an acyclic di-graph when the machines graph associated with each product family is a chain or a comb. These graphs are relevant in production planning when dealing with pipelined assembly systems. We solve the problem usi...

Minimum concave Cost Network Flow Problems (MCNFPs) arise naturally in many practical applications such as communication, transportation, distribution, and manufacturing, due to economic considerations. In addition, it has been shown that every MCNFP with general nonlinear cost functions can be transformed into a concave MCNFP on an expanded network. It must also be noted, that multiple source ...

In the construction of a communication network, the (Euclidean) length of the network is an important but not unique factor determining the cost of the network. Among many possible network models, Gilbert proposed a flow-dependent model in which flow demands are assigned between each pair of points in a given point set A, and the cost per unit length of a link in the network is a function of th...

D. Ray Fulkerson (1922–1976) made fundamental and lasting contributions to combinatorial mathematics, optimization, and operations research [2]. He is probably best known for his work on network flows and in particular for the famous max flow–min cut theorem, stating that the maximum amount of a flow from a node s to a node t in a directed graph equals the minimum capacity of a cut separating s...

We consider the solution of matching problems with a convex cost function via a network flow algorithm. We review the general mapping between matching problems and flow problems on skew symmetric networks and revisit several results on optimality of network flows. We use these results to derive a balanced capacity scaling algorithm for matching problems with a linear cost function. The latter i...

We introduce polylinking networks, which is a flow model based on polylinking systems that generalizes the classical flow model of Ford and Fulkerson on acyclic networks and has applications in the context of wireless networks. More precisely, a flow model recently introduced by Avestimehr et al. (Proceedings of the Allerton conference on communication, control, and computing 2007) used in the ...