Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 37 4 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Introduce nonnegative surplus variablesAt the proposed starting basic feasible solution, the basic variables are and the nonbasic variables are . Its simplex dictionary, with objective , isIncrease to decrease . The simplex ratio test gives limits from , from , and from . The smallest is , so enters and leaves. After this single pivot the dictionary isAll objective coefficients of nonbasic variables are strictly positive. Thus the simplex method has reached its unique optimum:The feasible dual vector has the same objective, providing an independent weak duality certificate. Normalization givesThese are all the equilibria: the dual's strict slack in row two forces , and the primal's strict slack in column two forces . Equality of the two active row and column payoffs then fixes the displayed probabilities. The value is the first player's expected net loss; the second gains .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 65 2 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Use for the perturbation variable and for its dual variable. The full Fenchel conjugate is . One signed-marginal convention isThe primal problem of convex perturbation duality is and its dual problem of convex perturbation duality is . The signed dual marginal is concave; some conventions instead use as a convex marginal. The definitions above fix all signs. Weak duality follows from . Also , so .
For a sufficient strong duality condition, assume is jointly proper convex, is proper with finite, and is finite and continuous in a neighborhood of . More generally suffices in finite dimensions. A supporting subgradient then exists, andThus the dual is attained with no gap. This condition does not by itself assert attainment of the primal infimum; that needs an additional compactness or coercivity argument.
The same subgradient describes sensitivity analysis in convex perturbation duality: bounds the optimum's change under perturbation. When is finite convex near zero, its one-sided directional derivative is . If , then is differentiable there andThese conditions allow first-order sensitivity predictions; without differentiability the subgradient set gives directional bounds. Multipliers can measure the value of relaxing constraints, quantify changes in noise tolerance, and guide parameter choice without resolving every perturbed problem. For the constraint convention in part (b), the noise-budget sensitivity is negative the nonnegative constraint multiplier.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 65 2 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Let be any constrained minimizer for and let be a dual optimum. Set the common optimal value to . Weak duality and feasibility implyAll inequalities are therefore equalities. In particular, minimizes , whose term is constant. HenceThis proves the claim for every constrained minimizer, rather than just for the particular one used to establish a saddle point. The multiplier may be zero, and the penalized minimizer then need not be unique.
Conversely, for the quadratic makes the penalized objective coercive and strictly convex, so it has a unique minimizer . Choose . If a feasible had , thencontradicting penalized optimality. Thus solves the constrained problem at that budget. This is constrained-penalized equivalence for total variation denoising. It is a correspondence of minimizers and suitable parameters, not a claim that every budget has a unique multiplier or a unique constrained minimizer.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 38 3 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Choose the oriented incidence matrix convention with at an edge's tail and at its head. Let be net supply, so . The uncapacitated minimum-cost flow problem on a finite directed graph isor . Negative denotes net demand. Costs may have either sign; the problem can be infeasible or unbounded.
For vertex network dual potentials , the optimization Lagrangian isThe infimum over is finite exactly when every network reduced cost is nonnegative. Thus the Lagrangian dual problem and complementary slackness areA feasible flow and feasible network dual potentials satisfying these equalities have equal costs and are optimal by weak duality.
If the underlying undirected graph is connected, deleting one redundant balance row makes the oriented incidence matrix have rank . A set of independent edge columns is exactly a spanning tree. Set all non-tree flows to zero, solve the tree balances, and check nonnegativity to obtain a basic feasible solution. Basic tree edges may have zero flow, which is degeneracy in linear programming. Requiring on tree edges determines network dual potentials up to a common additive constant. If every non-tree network reduced cost is nonnegative, the tree flow is optimal. This is the basis of the network simplex algorithm. If the graph is disconnected, solve the balances separately in each component; each component must have total net supply zero and uses its own spanning tree.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 ib Paper 2 9H Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
Introduce nonnegative slack variables and start the simplex algorithm at , with slacks . The objective's largest positive entering coefficient belongs to . Its ratio test is , , , so leaves and enters.
Solve that pivot row for and substitute into the other rows and the objective :This is a feasible simplex dictionary at nonbasic variables . All their objective coefficients are negative, so no feasible increase can improve the objective. ThusThe negative reduced coefficients also prove uniqueness of this optimum.
The dual linear program, with nonnegative variables , isThe feasible choice has objective . Weak duality proves that it and the primal point are optimal. Complementary slackness also forces because the first two primal slacks are positive, and then the positive forces .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 212 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Use a directed bipartite graph with one vertex for each job and one for each agent. Job vertices have supply and agent vertices demand . An arc from job to agent has cost and nonnegative flow ; an upper bound may be added, but is already implied by the balances. The minimum-cost flow formulation of the assignment problem isInteger supplies and demands give an integral optimum by integrality of the transportation problem. Its positive arcs form a perfect matching, hence give one job per agent.
A network simplex algorithm basis for this connected -vertex network has tree arcs, whereas an integral assignment has only positive flows. For , at least basic tree arcs therefore carry zero flow. This unavoidable degeneracy in linear programming can cause zero-step pivots, extra bookkeeping and cycling unless an appropriate pivot rule is used. The Hungarian algorithm exploits the assignment structure directly rather than maintaining many zero-flow basic arcs.
Suppose the assignment dual potentials satisfy . For every feasible assignment ,If the selected assignment uses only arcs with , its cost equals this lower bound. Weak duality and complementary slackness certify optimality. The PDF correctly denotes the feasible assignment by ; the TeX aid mistakenly replaces it with .
The Hungarian algorithm maintains feasible assignment dual potentials and a matching in a graph of zero reduced cost edges, where . Search for an augmenting path in a matching in this equality graph. If there is none, let be the reachable jobs and the reachable agents in the alternating search from unmatched jobs. Every agent in is matched to a job in . SetReduced costs from to its complement decrease by , those from outside into increase, and the remaining ones do not change. Thus feasibility and current matching equalities are preserved, while at least one new equality edge appears. Continue until an augmenting path in a matching increases the matching size. A perfect matching in the equality graph then has the same value as the dual linear program and is optimal.
For the example, start with the row minima and . The reduced cost matrix isMatch job to agent . Searching from both unmatched jobs gives and ; the minimum cost to an agent outside is . Update to and :The new equality edge augments the matching. From unmatched job , the next alternating search reaches agent and its matched job , giving and . Now . The updated feasible assignment dual potentials and reduced costs areThe augmenting path in a matching uses job to agent , the reversed matched edge to job , then the new edge to agent . It gives the optimal assignmentThe dual linear program value is , an independent optimality certificate.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ib Paper 2 9H b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
For the same multiplier convention, the Lagrangian dual problem isFor every feasible and every , the equality constraint implies . Taking first the infimum over feasible and then the supremum over proves weak duality:The inequalities remain meaningful with the usual extended-value conventions, including when the Lagrangian is unbounded below. Equality of optimum values, or their attainment, does not follow from weak duality. If the sufficient pair in part (a) exists, it attains equality, since .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 ib Paper 2 7H Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Introduce slack variables . In the initial simplex algorithm dictionary, has the largest positive objective coefficient. The ratio test givesso enters and leaves. Solving the third constraint for givesThe objective becomesEvery reduced cost is now nonpositive, so the simplex optimality criterion givesThe other two slacks both equal one.
The dual linear program isThe vectoris dual feasible and has objective value . By weak duality, it and the displayed primal point are optimal; they also satisfy complementary slackness.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 iii Paper 339 2 a Solution 2026-09-28
For the equality constraint, the Lagrangian and dual function areand the Lagrangian dual problem is . Weak duality says for every . Strong duality means the dual supremum equals the primal infimum, usually with a dual maximizer. A sufficient convex constraint qualification is that be proper, closed and convex and that some satisfy .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ib Paper 1 7H a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Introduce nonnegative dual variables and for the two constraints. The dual of a minimization linear program in inequality form isIndeed, if and are feasible, thenwhich is weak duality.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ib Paper 1 7H b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
The dual from part (a) isThe point is dual feasible and has value . The primal pointis feasible and also has objective valueBy weak duality, neither point can be improved, soThe strict dual inequalities for and , together with complementary slackness, force at any optimum; the two tight primal constraints then force and . Thus the displayed minimizer is unique.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 339 1 b Solution 2026-09-28
Associate a nonnegative Lagrange multiplier with each inequality. The Lagrangian dual problem begins withIts infimum over is finite exactly when , in which case it equals . The dual linear program is consequentlyFor any primal-feasible and dual-feasible ,which proves weak duality. Strong duality means equality of the two optimal values. The stated strict feasibility is the Slater condition; together with finiteness of the primal optimum it gives strong duality and an attained dual optimum .