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Gruber P. Convex and Discrete Geometry

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20 Linear Optimization 337<br />

particularly strongly related, in the sense that the values of their solutions coincide.<br />

Such results are called duality theorems.<br />

After some preliminary results on normal cones we present the duality theorem<br />

of von Neumann, Gale, Kuhn <strong>and</strong> Tucker.<br />

For more information, see the literature cited earlier.<br />

Terminology <strong>and</strong> Normal Cones<br />

Given a linear optimization problem, say<br />

sup{cx : Ax ≤ b},<br />

the function x → cx, x ∈ E d is its objective function <strong>and</strong> the convex polyhedron<br />

{x : Ax ≤ b} its feasible set. A point of the feasible set is a feasible solution. Ifthe<br />

supremum is attained at a feasible solution, the latter is called an optimum solution.<br />

There is an analogous notation for the other linear optimization problems.<br />

Let C be a closed convex cone in E d with apex o. Itsnormal cone NC(o) of C<br />

at the apex o is the closed convex cone with apex o consisting of all exterior normal<br />

vectors of support hyperplanes of C at o, that is,<br />

NC(o) = � u : ux ≤ 0 for all x ∈ C � ,<br />

see Sect. 14.2. Let P be a convex polyhedron. The normal cone NP(p) of P at a<br />

point p ∈ bd P is the closed convex cone of all exterior normal vectors of support<br />

hyperplanes of P at p. Thenormal cone NP(F) of P at a face F ∈ F(P) is the<br />

closed convex cone of all exterior normal vectors of support hyperplanes of P which<br />

contain F.Ifp is a relative interior point of F, then it is easy to see that<br />

NP(F) = NP(p).<br />

An immediate extension of Proposition 14.1 is the following result.<br />

Proposition 20.1. Let P = {x : Ax ≤ b} be a convex polyhedron <strong>and</strong> let<br />

p ∈ bd P, resp. F ∈ F(P). Ifa1x ≤ β1,...,akx ≤ βk are the inequalities among<br />

the inequalities Ax ≤ b which are satisfied with the equality sign by p, resp. by all<br />

x ∈ F, then<br />

NP(p), resp. N P(F) = pos{a1,...,ak}.<br />

Let F �= ∅be a face of a convex polyhedron P. F is called a minimum face<br />

of P if there is no face of P properly contained in F, except the empty face. This<br />

means that the polyhedron F has no proper face except for the empty face. Thus the<br />

minimum faces are planes of dimension 0 (vertices), 1 (edges, unbounded in both<br />

directions), 2,...

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