The problem of static research and development (R&D) project portfolio selection arises when a public organization opens a call for proposals and then builds a portfolio choosing which ones to fund ...in terms of impact measures including social objectives, emphasis areas, geographical influence, and other non-monetary factors. The funds are classified into types of expenses, depending on the goals and preferences of the organization: equipment purchases, travel expenses, scholarships, publication fees, etc. We propose a mathematical model framework in which each project proposal comprised tasks with a specific type of expense and the assigned funding may be a fraction of the requested amount, accounting for possible inter- and intra-proposal dependencies. We present computational experiments that show our models to be efficiently resolvable.
•A multi-objective model framework where projects are sets of tasks is proposed.•The model framework includes synergies between tasks or projects.•The presented model framework supports both partial and total funding policies.•Instances ranging from small to large are solved efficiently in a standard solver.•Factors affecting solution quality and computational load are statistically examined.
We propose a new jet algorithm for deep-inelastic scattering (DIS) that accounts for the target-current asymmetry in the Breit frame. The Centauro algorithm is longitudinally invariant and can ...cluster jets with near-to Born kinematics, which enables novel studies of transverse-momentum-dependent observables. Furthermore, we show that spherically-invariant algorithms in the Breit frame give access to low-energy jets from current fragmentation. We perform a calculation of the energy spectrum of Centauro jets at next-to-leading logarithmic accuracy and compare to pythia simulations. We furthermore propose novel studies in unpolarized, polarized, and nuclear DIS at the future Electron-Ion Collider.
This paper presents a new combinatorial optimization problem, the inventory routing problem with priorities, and a fixed heterogeneous fleet. In this problem, a particular set of customers has to be ...served before the rest of the customers using vehicles with different capacities. The problem is inspired by the current situation faced by a specialized gas distribution company in the northeast region of Mexico. The company produces and distributes three main products, although this paper focuses only on the oxygen distribution problem. The company delivers oxygen to industrial customers, as well as hospitals and other medical facilities. Due to Mexican government regulations, the company requires prioritizing deliveries to hospitals and medical facilities over its industrial customers. Therefore, the company is obliged to satisfy the customers demand considering inventory levels and priority constraints while minimizing the inventory and routing cost. An integer programming model is proposed to solve the problem. The model minimizes the total distribution cost while considering inventory level, priority constraints, and a fixed fleet of vehicles with different capacities. Finally, computational experiments were carried out using benchmark instances to validate the correctness of the proposed model and to analyze the effect of priorities on the total distribution cost. Finally, actual customers of the company were selected to show the effectiveness of the proposed model to solve real-world problems.
Miniature sensors with external dimensions of 10 mm x 10 mm were produced together with full-size sensors for the innermost ring (R0) of the end-cap part in the upgraded ATLAS inner tracker (ITk). ...AC- and DC-coupled n-type strips with three different pitches (wide, default and narrow) were processed on high-resistivity p-type FZ silicon substrates by Hamamatsu Photonics. The miniature sensors were irradiated with 70-MeV protons at CYRIC, Tohoku University (Japan) and reactor neutrons at the Jožef Stefan Institute (Slovenia) to three different 1-MeV neutron equivalent fluences: 0.5, 1 and 2 x 1015neqcm−2. The upper fluence range exceeds the highest anticipated in the innermost part of the ATLAS ITk-Strips over the HL-LHC lifetime (∼1.25 × 1015neqcm2). The charge collection in the test sensors was evaluated systematically using a 90Sr β-source and an Alibava analogue readout system at reverse-bias voltages up to 1000 V.
•The charge collection in the test sensors was evaluated systematically.•The collected charge increases with the applied voltage.•At higher voltages the effect of multiplication can be seen.•The multiplication becomes higher at long annealing times.
The purpose of this research is to solve the university course timetabling problem (UCTP) that consists of designing a schedule of the courses to be offered in one academic period based on students’ ...demand, faculty composition and institutional constraints considering the policies established in the standards of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation. These standards involve faculty assignment with high level credentials that have to be fulfilled for business schools on the road to seek recognition and differentiation while providing exceptional learning. A new mathematical model for UCTP is proposed. The model allows the course-section-professor-time slot to be assigned for an academic department strategically using the faculty workload, course overload, and the fulfillment of the AACSB criteria. Further, the courses that will require new hires are classified according to the faculty qualifications stablished by AACSB. A real-world case is described and solved to show the efficiency of the proposed model. An analysis of different strategies derived from institutional policies that impacts the resulting timetabling is also presented. The results show the course overload could be a valuable strategy for helping mitigate the total of new hires needed. The proposed model allows to create the course at the same time the AACSB standards are met.
This report describes the physics case, the resulting detector requirements, and the evolving detector concepts for the experimental program at the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). The EIC will be a ...powerful new high-luminosity facility in the United States with the capability to collide high-energy electron beams with high-energy proton and ion beams, providing access to those regions in the nucleon and nuclei where their structure is dominated by gluons. Moreover, polarized beams in the EIC will give unprecedented access to the spatial and spin structure of the proton, neutron, and light ions. The studies leading to this document were commissioned and organized by the EIC User Group with the objective of advancing the state and detail of the physics program and developing detector concepts that meet the emerging requirements in preparation for the realization of the EIC. The effort aims to provide the basis for further development of concepts for experimental equipment best suited for the science needs, including the importance of two complementary detectors and interaction regions. This report consists of three volumes. Volume I is an executive summary of our findings and developed concepts. In Volume II we describe studies of a wide range of physics measurements and the emerging requirements on detector acceptance and performance. Volume III discusses general-purpose detector concepts and the underlying technologies to meet the physics requirements. These considerations will form the basis for a world-class experimental program that aims to increase our understanding of the fundamental structure of all visible matter
This report describes the physics case, the resulting detector requirements, and the evolving detector concepts for the experimental program at the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). The EIC will be a ...powerful new high-luminosity facility in the United States with the capability to collide high-energy electron beams with high-energy proton and ion beams, providing access to those regions in the nucleon and nuclei where their structure is dominated by gluons. Moreover, polarized beams in the EIC will give unprecedented access to the spatial and spin structure of the proton, neutron, and light ions. The studies leading to this document were commissioned and organized by the EIC User Group with the objective of advancing the state and detail of the physics program and developing detector concepts that meet the emerging requirements in preparation for the realization of the EIC. The effort aims to provide the basis for further development of concepts for experimental equipment best suited for the science needs, including the importance of two complementary detectors and interaction regions.
This report consists of three volumes. Volume I is an executive summary of our findings and developed concepts. In Volume II we describe studies of a wide range of physics measurements and the emerging requirements on detector acceptance and performance. Volume III discusses general-purpose detector concepts and the underlying technologies to meet the physics requirements. These considerations will form the basis for a world-class experimental program that aims to increase our understanding of the fundamental structure of all visible matter.
A project portfolio can be defined as a set of project proposals that are selected according to one or more criteria by a decision-maker (individual or group). Regularly, the portfolio selection ...involves different decision problems, among those evaluation, selection, scheduling, and resource allocation. In published scientific literature, these problems have been addressed mainly separately giving as a result suboptimal solutions (portfolios). In addition, elements as partial allocation and project representation through tasks constitute relevant characteristics in practice that remain unaddressed in depth. The proposal of this research is to integrate the project selection and project scheduling, incorporating all relevant elements of both decision problems through the scheduling of tasks allowing to determine when the task will be funded and executed. The main impact of precedence rules at the task level in the portfolio is also studied. In this work, Project Portfolio Selection and Scheduling Problem (PPSS) is studied and solved through a new mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model. The model incorporates renewable and nonrenewable resource allocation, along with partial and total funding policies, project divisibility, and interdependences. Scheduling is integrated into the model, both at the project level and at the project task level, which allows scheduling in noncontiguous periods. Small instances (up to 64 projects) and medium instances (up to 128 projects) were solved optimally in very short times. The relationship between the quality of near-optimal solutions and the solution computing time by modifying the parameters of the solver employed was researched. No significant change in the solution’s quality was perceived, but a significant reduction in solution computing time was achieved. Furthermore, the main effects of precedence rules on solution times and portfolio impact were studied. Results show that even if few precedence rules were introduced, the resource allocation of tasks changed significantly, even though the portfolio impact or the number of projects of the selected portfolios remains the same.
The first measurement of lepton-jet momentum imbalance and azimuthal correlation in lepton-proton scattering at high momentum transfer is presented. These data, taken with the H1 detector at HERA, ...are corrected for detector effects using an unbinned machine learning algorithm (multifold), which considers eight observables simultaneously in this first application. The unfolded cross sections are compared with calculations performed within the context of collinear or transverse-momentum-dependent factorization in quantum chromodynamics as well as Monte Carlo event generators.