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Let $D=(V,A)$ be a digraph. For an integer $k\geq 1$, a $k$-arc-connected flip is an arc subset of $D$ such that after reversing the arcs in it the digraph becomes (strongly) $k$-arc-connected. The first main result of this paper introduces a sufficient condition for the existence of a $k$-arc-connected flip that is also a submodular flow for a crossing submodular function. More specifically, given some integer $\tau\geq 1$, suppose $d_A^+(U)+(\frac{\tau}{k}-1)d_A^-(U)\geq \tau$ for all $U\subsetneq V, U\neq \emptyset$, where $d_A^+(U)$ and $d_A^-(U)$ denote the number of arcs in $A$ leaving and entering $U$, respectively. Let $\mathcal{C}$ be a crossing family over ground set $V$, and let $f:\mathcal{C}\to \mathbb{Z}$ be a crossing submodular function such that $f(U)\geq \frac{k}{\tau}(d_A^+(U)-d_A^-(U))$ for all $U\in \mathcal{C}$. Then $D$ has a $k$-arc-connected flip $J$ such that $f(U)\geq d_J^+(U)-d_J^-(U)$ for all $U\in \mathcal{C}$. The result has several applications to Graph Orientations and Combinatorial Optimization. In particular, it strengthens Nash-Williams' so-called weak orientation theorem, and proves a weaker variant of Woodall's conjecture on digraphs whose underlying undirected graph is $\tau$-edge-connected. The second main result of this paper is even more general. It introduces a sufficient condition for the existence of capacitated integral solutions to the intersection of two submodular flow systems. This sufficient condition implies the classic result of Edmonds and Giles on the box-total dual integrality of a submodular flow system. It also has the consequence that in a weakly connected digraph, the intersection of two submodular flow systems is totally dual integral., Comment: 29 pages, 4 figures

A rational number is dyadic if it has a finite binary representation $p/2^k$, where $p$ is an integer and $k$ is a nonnegative integer. Dyadic rationals are important for numerical computations because they have an exact representation in floating-point arithmetic on a computer. A vector is dyadic if all its entries are dyadic rationals. We study the problem of finding a dyadic optimal solution to a linear program, if one exists. We show how to solve dyadic linear programs in polynomial time. We give bounds on the size of the support of a solution as well as on the size of the denominators. We identify properties that make the solution of dyadic linear programs possible: closure under addition and negation, and density, and we extend the algorithmic framework beyond the dyadic case.

Take a prime power $q$, an integer $n\geq 2$, and a coordinate subspace $S\subseteq GF(q)^n$ over the Galois field $GF(q)$. One can associate with $S$ an $n$-partite $n$-uniform clutter $\mathcal{C}$, where every part has size $q$ and there is a bijection between the vectors in $S$ and the members of $\mathcal{C}$. In this paper, we determine when the clutter $\mathcal{C}$ is ideal, a property developed in connection to Packing and Covering problems in the areas of Integer Programming and Combinatorial Optimization. Interestingly, the characterization differs depending on whether $q$ is $2,4$, a higher power of $2$, or otherwise. Each characterization uses crucially that idealness is a minor-closed property: first the list of excluded minors is identified, and only then is the global structure determined. A key insight is that idealness of $\mathcal{C}$ depends solely on the underlying matroid of $S$. Our theorems also extend from idealness to the stronger max-flow min-cut property. As a consequence, we prove the Replication and $\tau=2$ Conjectures for this class of clutters., Comment: 32 pages, 6 figures

A filter oracle for a clutter consists of a finite set $V$ along with an oracle which, given any set $X\subseteq V$, decides in unit time whether or not $X$ contains a member of the clutter. Let $\mathfrak{A}_{2n}$ be an algorithm that, given any clutter $\mathcal{C}$ over $2n$ elements via a filter oracle, decides whether or not $\mathcal{C}$ is ideal. We prove that in the worst case, $\mathfrak{A}_{2n}$ must make at least $2^n$ calls to the filter oracle. Our proof uses the theory of cuboids.

Let $D=(V,A)$ be a digraph. A dicut is a cut $\delta^+(U)\subseteq A$ for some nonempty proper vertex subset $U$ such that $\delta^-(U)=\emptyset$, a dijoin is an arc subset that intersects every dicut at least once, and more generally a $k$-dijoin is an arc subset that intersects every dicut at least $k$ times. Our first result is that $A$ can be partitioned into a dijoin and a $(\tau-1)$-dijoin where $\tau$ denotes the smallest size of a dicut. Woodall conjectured the stronger statement that $A$ can be partitioned into $\tau$ dijoins. Let $w\in \mathbb{Z}^A_{\geq 0}$ and suppose every dicut has weight at least $\tau$, for some integer $\tau\geq 2$. Let $\rho(\tau,D,w):=\frac{1}{\tau}\sum_{v\in V} m_v$, where each $m_v$ is the integer in $\{0,1,\ldots,\tau-1\}$ equal to $w(\delta^+(v))-w(\delta^-(v))$ mod $\tau$. We prove the following results: (i) If $\rho(\tau,D,w)\in \{0,1\}$, then there is an equitable $w$-weighted packing of dijoins of size $\tau$. (ii) If $\rho(\tau,D,w)= 2$, then there is a $w$-weighted packing of dijoins of size $\tau$. (iii) If $\rho(\tau,D,w)=3$, $\tau=3$, and $w={\bf 1}$, then $A$ can be partitioned into three dijoins. Each result is best possible: (i) does not hold for $\rho(\tau,D,w)=2$ even if $w=\1$, (ii) does not hold for $\rho(\tau,D,w)=3$, and (iii) do not hold for general $w$., Comment: 69 pages, 15 figures

A vector is \emph{dyadic} if each of its entries is a dyadic rational number, i.e. of the form $\frac{a}{2^k}$ for some integers $a,k$ with $k\geq 0$. A linear system $Ax\leq b$ with integral data is \emph{totally dual dyadic} if whenever $\min\{b^\top y:A^\top y=w,y\geq {\bf 0}\}$ for $w$ integral, has an optimal solution, it has a dyadic optimal solution. In this paper, we study total dual dyadicness, and give a co-NP characterization of it in terms of \emph{dyadic generating sets for cones and subspaces}, the former being the dyadic analogue of \emph{Hilbert bases}, and the latter a polynomial-time recognizable relaxation of the former. Along the way, we see some surprising turn of events when compared to total dual integrality, primarily led by the \emph{density} of the dyadic rationals. Our study ultimately leads to a better understanding of total dual integrality and polyhedral integrality. We see examples from dyadic matrices, $T$-joins, cycles, and perfect matchings of a graph., Comment: 22 pages

A clutter is \emph{$k$-wise intersecting} if every $k$ members have a common element, yet no element belongs to all members. We conjecture that, for some integer $k\geq 4$, every $k$-wise intersecting clutter is non-ideal. As evidence for our conjecture, we prove it for $k=4$ for the class of binary clutters. Two key ingredients for our proof are Jaeger's $8$-flow theorem for graphs, and Seymour's characterization of the binary matroids with the sums of circuits property. As further evidence for our conjecture, we also note that it follows from an unpublished conjecture of Seymour from 1975. We also discuss connections to the chromatic number of a clutter, projective geometries over the two-element field, uniform cycle covers in graphs, and quarter-integral packings of value two in ideal clutters., Comment: 20 pages, 2 figures. An extended abstract under the same title appeared in the 21st Conference in Integer Programming and Combinatorial Optimization

A clutter is \emph{clean} if it has no delta or the blocker of an extended odd hole minor, and it is \emph{tangled} if its covering number is two and every element appears in a minimum cover. Clean tangled clutters have been instrumental in progress towards several open problems on ideal clutters, including the $\tau=2$ Conjecture. Let $\mathcal{C}$ be a clean tangled clutter. It was recently proved that $\mathcal{C}$ has a fractional packing of value two. Collecting the supports of all such fractional packings, we obtain what is called the {\it core} of $\mathcal{C}$. The core is a duplication of the cuboid of a set of $0-1$ points, called the {\it setcore} of $\mathcal{C}$. In this paper, we prove three results about the setcore. First, the convex hull of the setcore is a full-dimensional polytope containing the center point of the hypercube in its interior. Secondly, this polytope is a simplex if, and only if, the setcore is the cocycle space of a projective geometry over the two-element field. Finally, if this polytope is a simplex of dimension more than three, then $\mathcal{C}$ has the clutter of the lines of the Fano plane as a minor. Our results expose a fascinating interplay between the combinatorics and the geometry of clean tangled clutters.

Take a graph $G$, an edge subset $\Sigma\subseteq E(G)$, and a set of terminals $T\subseteq V(G)$ where $|T|$ is even. The triple $(G,\Sigma,T)$ is called a signed graft. A $T$-join is odd if it contains an odd number of edges from $\Sigma$. Let $\nu$ be the maximum number of edge-disjoint odd $T$-joins. A signature is a set of the form $\Sigma\triangle \delta(U)$ where $U\subseteq V(G)$ and $|U\cap T)$ is even. Let $\tau$ be the minimum cardinality a $T$-cut or a signature can achieve. Then $\nu\leq \tau$ and we say that $(G,\Sigma,T)$ packs if equality holds here. We prove that $(G,\Sigma,T)$ packs if the signed graft is Eulerian and it excludes two special non-packing minors. Our result confirms the Cycling Conjecture for the class of clutters of odd $T$-joins with at most two terminals. Corollaries of this result include, the characterizations of weakly and evenly bipartite graphs, packing two-commodity paths, packing $T$-joins with at most four terminals, and a new result on covering edges with cuts., Comment: extended abstract appeared in IPCO 2014 (under the different title "the cycling property for the clutter of odd st-walks")

The mixing set with a knapsack constraint arises as a substructure in mixed-integer programming reformulations of chance-constrained programs with stochastic right-hand-sides over a finite discrete distribution. Recently, Luedtke et al. (2010) and K\"u\c{c}\"ukyavuz (2012) studied valid inequalities for such sets. However, most of their results were focused on the equal probabilities case (equivalently when the knapsack reduces to a cardinality constraint), with only minor results in the general case. In this paper, we focus on the general probabilities case (general knapsack constraint). We characterize the valid inequalities that do not come from the knapsack polytope and use this characterization to generalize the inequalities previously derived for the equal probabilities case. We also show that one can separate over a large class of inequalities in polynomial time.