Given a directed graph D = (N, A) and a sequence of positive integers 1 ≤ c1 < c2 < · · · < cm ≤ |N |, we consider those path and cycle polytopes that are defined as the convex hulls of simple paths and cycles of D of cardinality cp for some p ∈ {1, . . . , m}, respectively. We present integer characterizations of these polytopes by facet defining linear inequalities for which the separation problem can be solved in polynomial time. These inequalities can simply be transformed into inequalities that characterize the integer points of the undirected counterparts of cardinality constrained path and cycle polytopes. Beyond we investigate some further inequalities, in particular inequalities that are specific to odd/even paths and cycles.
Given a combinatorial optimization problemand an increasing finite sequence c of natural numbers, we obtain a cardinality constrained version c of by permitting only those feasible solutions of whose cardinalities are members of c. We are interested in polyhedra associated with those problems, in particular in inequalities that cut off solutions of forbidden cardinality. Maurras [9] and Camion and Maurras [1] introduced a family of inequalities, that we call forbidden set inequalities, which can be used to cut off those solutions. However, these inequalities are in general not facet defining for the polyhedron associated with c . In [7] it was shown how one can combine integer characterizations for cycle and path polytopes and a modified form of forbidden set inequalities to give facet defining integer representations for the cardinality restricted versions of these polytopes. Motivated by this work, we apply the same approach to the matroid polytope. It is well known that the so-called rank inequalities together with the nonnegativity constraints provide a complete linear description of the matroid polytope (see Edmonds [3]). By essentially adding the forbidden set inequalities in an appropriate form, we obtain a complete linear description of the cardinality constrained matroid polytope which is the convex hull of the incidence vectors of those independent sets that have a feasible cardinality. Moreover, we show how the separation problem for the forbidden set inequalities can be reduced to that for the rank inequalities. We also give necessary and sufficient conditions for a forbidden set inequality to be facet defining.
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