From aae88b4620e3b267915c59678bde1a6f0d2c14e3 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Stratis Ioannidis <stratis@stratis-Latitude-E6320.(none)>
Date: Mon, 5 Nov 2012 11:20:02 -0800
Subject: muthu changes

---
 main.tex | 118 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++------------------
 1 file changed, 85 insertions(+), 33 deletions(-)

(limited to 'main.tex')

diff --git a/main.tex b/main.tex
index 65128b1..6fdf39c 100644
--- a/main.tex
+++ b/main.tex
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ considered.
 %its value as a singleton set: $V(\{i\})$. If there is no ambiguity, we will write
 %$V(i)$ instead of $V(\{i\})$.
 Unfortunately, even for the full information case, the greedy algorithm gives an
-unbounded approximation ratio. Instead, we have:
+unbounded approximation ratio. Instead, 
 \junk{
  Let  $i^*
 = \argmax_{i\in\mathcal{N}} V(i)$ be the element of maximum value.
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ following result from Singer \cite{singer-influence} which follows from
 Chen \emph{et al.}~\cite{chen}: \stratis{Is it Singer or Chen? Also, we need to introduce $V(i)$ somewhere...}
 }
 }
-
+\junk{
 \begin{lemma}~\cite{singer-influence}\label{lemma:greedy-bound}
 Let $S_G$ be the set computed by the greedy algorithm and let 
 %define $i^*$:
@@ -53,9 +53,11 @@ We have:
 OPT \leq \frac{e}{e-1}\big( 3 V(S_G) + 2 V(i^*)\big).
 \end{displaymath}
 \end{lemma}
-
-Hence, taking the maximum between $V(S_G)$ and $V(i^*)$ yields an approximation
-ratio of $\frac{5e}{e-1}$. However, 
+}
+let
+$i^* = \argmax_{i\in\mathcal{N}} V(i).$
+Taking the maximum between $V(S_G)$ and $V(i^*)$ yields an approximation
+ratio of $\frac{5e}{e-1}$. ~\cite{singer-influence}. However, 
 this approach breaks incentive compatibility and therefore cannot be directly
 applied to the strategic case.~\cite{singer-influence}
 \junk{
@@ -69,7 +71,7 @@ the allocation function and hence also truthfulness, by Myerson's Theorem.
 
 For the strategic case, 
 \begin{itemize}
-\iem
+\item
 When the underlying
 full information problem \eqref{eq:non-strategic} can be solved in
 polynomial time, Chen et al. \cite{chen} prove that  
@@ -79,8 +81,22 @@ $V(i^*) \geq C\cdot OPT_{-i^*}$ (for some constant $C$)
 and to $S_G$ otherwise yields a 8.34-approximation mechanism. However, this is not a poly-time mechanism when the underlying problem is NP hard (unless P=NP), as is the case for \EDP.
 
 \item
-
-
+For  NP-hard 
+problems, consider 
+the optimal value of a \emph{fractional relaxation} of the function $V$ over the set
+$\mathcal{N}$. A function $R:[0, 1]^{n}\to\reals_+$ defined on the hypercube  $[0, 1]^{n}$ is a fractional relaxation of $V$
+over the set $\mathcal{N}$ if %(a) $R$ is a function defined on the hypercube $[0, 1]^{n}$ and (b) 
+  $R(\id_S) = V(S)$ for all $S\subseteq\mathcal{N}$, where
+$\id_S$ denotes the indicator vector of $S$. The optimization program
+\eqref{eq:non-strategic} extends naturally to such relaxations:
+\begin{align}
+    OPT' = \argmax_{\lambda\in[0, 1]^{n}}
+    \left\{R(\lambda) \mid \sum_{i=1}^{n} \lambda_i c_i
+    \leq B\right\}\label{relax}
+\end{align}
+Substituting $OPT'_{-i^*}$ for $OPT_{-i^*}$ like before works for specific problems like \textsc{Knapsack}~\cite{chen} and 
+\textsc{Coverage}~\cite{singer-influence}. For other instances of sub modular function, this overall technology
+has to be applied and extended.
 \end{itemize}
 
 
@@ -99,7 +115,7 @@ full information problem \eqref{eq:non-strategic} can be solved in
 polynomial time, Chen et al. \cite{chen} prove that  $OPT_{-i^*}$, the optimal solution to \eqref{eq:non-strategic} when $i^*$ is excluded from set $\mathcal{N}$, can play the role of this quantity: that is, allocating to $i^*$ when
 $V(i^*) \geq C\cdot OPT_{-i^*}$ (for some constant $C$)
 and to $S_G$ otherwise yields a 8.34-approximation mechanism. However, this is not a poly-time mechanism when the underlying problem is NP hard (unless P=NP), as is the case for \EDP.
-}
+
 
 \fussy
 For  NP-hard 
@@ -120,15 +136,28 @@ $\id_S$ denotes the indicator vector of $S$. The optimization program
 \end{align}
 To attain truthful constant approximation mechanism for \textsc{Knapsack},  Chen \emph{et al.}~\cite{chen}  substitute $OPT'_{-i^*}$ for $OPT_{-i^*}$ in the above program, where $R$ is a relaxation of the \textsc{Knapsack} objective.
 Similarly, Singer~\cite{singer-influence} follows the same approach to obtain a mechanism for \textsc{Coverage}.
+}
 
-A relaxation which is commonly used, due to its well-behaved properties in the
-context of maximizing submodular functions, is the \emph{multi-linear}
+\paragraph{Our approach}
+We build on~\cite{chen,singer-influence}. 
+We introduce a relaxation specifically tailored to the value
+function of \EDP.
+$P_\mathcal{N}^\lambda(S)$ is the probability of choosing the set $S$ if
+we select each element $i$ in $\mathcal{N}$  independently with probability
+$\lambda_i$: %or to reject it with probability $1-\lambda_i$:
+\begin{displaymath}
+    P_\mathcal{N}^\lambda(S) = \prod_{i\in S} \lambda_i
+    \prod_{i\in\mathcal{N}\setminus S}( 1 - \lambda_i)
+\end{displaymath}
+Consider  the general \emph{multi-linear}
 extension:
 \begin{equation}\label{eq:multilinear}
     F(\lambda) 
     = \mathbb{E}_{S\sim P_\mathcal{N}^\lambda}\left[V(S)\right]
     = \sum_{S\subseteq\mathcal{N}} P_\mathcal{N}^\lambda(S) V(S)
 \end{equation}
+\junk{
+
 $P_\mathcal{N}^\lambda(S)$ is the probability of choosing the set $S$ if
 we select each element $i$ in $\mathcal{N}$  independently with probability
 $\lambda_i$: %or to reject it with probability $1-\lambda_i$:
@@ -145,13 +174,19 @@ extension using the \emph{pipage rounding} method of Ageev and Sviridenko
 \cite{pipage}.
 
 Here, following these ideas, we introduce a relaxation specifically tailored to the value
-function of \EDP. The multi-linear extension of \eqref{modified} can be written:
+function of \EDP. 
+}
+For \EDP\  the multi-linear extension 
+%of \eqref{modified} 
+can be written:
 \begin{displaymath}
     F(\lambda) = \mathbb{E}_{S\sim
     P_\mathcal{N}^\lambda}\Big[\log\det \big(I_d + \sum_{i\in S} x_i\T{x_i}\big) \Big].
 \end{displaymath}
-As in the case of \textsc{Coverage}, \eqref{relax} is not a convex optimization problem, and is not easy to solve directly. %As in ~\cite{singer-influence},
-We thus introduce an additional relaxation $L$. Our relaxation follows naturally by swapping the expectation and the $\log\det$
+%As in the case of \textsc{Coverage}, 
+\eqref{relax} is not a convex optimization problem, and is not easy to solve directly. %As in ~\cite{singer-influence},
+We consider an additional relaxation $L$ that 
+follows naturally by swapping the expectation and the $\log\det$
 in the above formula:
 \begin{align}\label{eq:concave}
     L(\lambda) & \defeq \log\det\Big(\mathbb{E}_{S\sim
@@ -163,10 +198,16 @@ This function is well-known to be concave and even self-concordant (see \emph{e.
 \cite{boyd2004convex}). In this case, the analysis of Newton's method for
 self-concordant functions in \cite{boyd2004convex}, shows that it is possible
 to find the maximum of $L$ to any precision $\varepsilon$ in
-a number of iterations $O(\log\log\varepsilon^{-1})$. The main challenge will
-be to prove that $OPT'$, for the relaxation $R=L$, is close to $V(S_G)$. To do so, our
+a number of iterations $O(\log\log\varepsilon^{-1})$. 
+The main challenge will
+be to prove that $OPT'$ in~\ref{relax}, for the relaxation $R=L$, is close to $V(S_G)$, which we will address later and is the technical
+bulk of the 
+paper. 
+\junk{
+To do so, our
 main technical contribution is to prove that $L$ has a bounded
 approximation ratio to the value function $V$ (Lemma~\ref{lemma:relaxation}).
+}
 
 \begin{algorithm}[!t]
     \caption{Mechanism for \EDP{}}\label{mechanism}
@@ -191,23 +232,30 @@ approximation ratio to the value function $V$ (Lemma~\ref{lemma:relaxation}).
     \end{algorithmic}
 \end{algorithm}
 
-The resulting mechanism for \EDP{} is composed of (a) the allocation function
-presented in Algorithm~\ref{mechanism}, and (b) the payment function which pays each
-allocated agent $i$ her threshold payment as described in Myerson's Theorem. The constant $C$ is an absolute
-constant that determined in Section~\ref{sec:proofofmainthm}
-(see \eqref{eq:c}). 
+The resulting mechanism for \EDP{} is composed of
+\begin{itemize}
+\item
+ the allocation function
+presented in Algorithm~\ref{mechanism}, and 
+\item
+he payment function which pays each
+allocated agent $i$ her threshold payment as described in Myerson's Theorem. 
+%The constant $C$ is an absolute
+%constant that determined in Section~\ref{sec:proofofmainthm}
+%(see \eqref{eq:c}). 
  In the case where
 $\{i^*\}$ is the allocated set, her threshold payment is $B$ (she would be have
 been dropped on line 1 of Algorithm~\ref{mechanism} had she reported a higher
 cost). In the case where $S_G$ is the allocated set, threshold payments'
-characterization from Singer \cite{singer-mechanisms} gives a formula to
+characterization from~\cite{singer-mechanisms} gives a formula to
  compute these payments.
+ \end{itemize}
 
 We can now state our main result:
 \begin{theorem}\label{thm:main}
     The allocation described in Algorithm~\ref{mechanism}, along with threshold payments, is truthful, individually rational 
     and budget feasible. Furthermore, for any $\varepsilon>0$, the mechanism
-    has  complexity $O\left(\text{poly}(n, d,
+  runs in time  $O\left(\text{poly}(n, d,
     \log\log \varepsilon^{-1})\right)$ and returns a set $S^*$ such that:
     \begin{align*}
         OPT
@@ -218,7 +266,7 @@ We can now state our main result:
 \end{theorem}
 %\stratis{Add lowerbound here too.}
 Note that this implies we construct a poly-time mechanism with accuracy arbitrarily close to 19.68, by taking $\varepsilon = \ldots$\stratis{fix me}.
-In addition, we prove the following lower bound.
+In addition, we prove the following simple lower bound.
 \begin{theorem}\label{thm:lowerbound}
 There is no $2$-approximate, truthful, budget feasible, individually rational mechanism for EDP. 
 \end{theorem}
@@ -230,9 +278,10 @@ Suppose, for contradiction, that such a mechanism exists. Consider two experimen
 \subsection{Proof of Theorem~\ref{thm:main}}\label{sec:proofofmainthm}
 %\stratis{individual rationality???}
 %The proof of the properties of the mechanism is broken down into lemmas.
+
 We now present the proof of Theorem~\ref{thm:main}. Truthfulness and individual
 rationality follows from monotonicity and threshold payments.  Monotonicity and
-budget feasibility follows from the analysis of Chen \emph{et al.} \cite{chen};
+budget feasibility follow more or less from the analysis of Chen \emph{et al.} \cite{chen};
 we briefly restate the proofs below for the sake of completeness.
  Our proof of the approximation ratio and uses a bound on our concave relaxation
 $L$ (Lemma~\ref{lemma:relaxation}). This is our main technical
@@ -270,10 +319,12 @@ The mechanism is monotone.
 The mechanism is budget feasible.
 \end{lemma}
 \begin{proof}
-Suppose that $L(\xi) < C V(i^*)$. Then the mechanism selects $i^*$; as the bid of $i^*$ does not affect the above condition, the threshold payment of $i^*$ is $B$ and the mechanism is budget feasible.
-Suppose thus that $L(\xi) \geq C V(i^*)$. 
+Suppose that $L(\xi) < C V(i^*)$. Then the mechanism selects $i^*$. Since the bid of $i^*$ does not affect the above condition, the threshold payment of $i^*$ is $B$ and the mechanism is budget feasible.
+Suppose  that $L(\xi) \geq C V(i^*)$. 
 Denote by $S_G$ the set selected by the greedy algorithm, and for $i\in S_G$,  denote by
-$S_i$ the subset of the solution set that was selected by the greedy algorithm just prior to the addition of $i$---both sets determined for the present cost vector $c$. Chen \emph{et al.}~\cite{chen} show that, for any submodular function $V$, and for all $i\in S_G$:
+$S_i$ the subset of the solution set that was selected by the greedy algorithm just prior to the addition of $i$---both sets determined for the present cost vector $c$. 
+%Chen \emph{et al.}~\cite{chen} show that, 
+Then for any submodular function $V$, and for all $i\in S_G$:
 %the reported cost of an agent selected by the greedy heuristic, and holds for
 %any submodular function $V$:
 \begin{equation}\label{eq:budget}
@@ -297,25 +348,26 @@ Hence, the total payment is bounded by the telescopic sum:
 \end{lemma}
 
 \begin{proof}
-    The value function $V$ \eqref{modified} can be computed in time
+    The value function $V$ in \eqref{modified} can be computed in time
     $O(\text{poly}(n, d))$ and the mechanism only involves a linear
     number of queries to the function $V$. 
-
     The function $\log\det$ is concave and self-concordant (see
     \cite{boyd2004convex}), so for any $\varepsilon$, its maximum can be find
     to a precision $\varepsilon$ in $O(\log\log\varepsilon^{-1})$  of iterations of Newton's method. Each iteration  can be
     done in time $O(\text{poly}(n, d))$. Thus, line 3 of
     Algorithm~\ref{mechanism} can be computed in time
     $O(\text{poly}(n, d, \log\log \varepsilon^{-1}))$. Hence the allocation
-    function's complexity is as stated.
-
+    function's complexity is as stated. 
+    %Payments can be easily computed in time  $O(\text{poly}(n, d))$ as in prior work.
+\junk{
     Using Singer's characterization of the threshold payments
     \cite{singer-mechanisms}, one can verify that they can be computed in time
     $O(\text{poly}(n, d))$.
+    }
 \end{proof}
 
 Finally, we prove the approximation ratio of the mechanism. We use the
-following lemma, which establishes that $OPT'$, the optimal value \eqref{relax} of the fractional relaxation $L$ under the budget constraints
+following lemma which we prove later, which establishes that $OPT'$, the optimal value \eqref{relax} of the fractional relaxation $L$ under the budget constraints
  is not too far from $OPT$.  
 \begin{lemma}\label{lemma:relaxation}
     %\begin{displaymath}
-- 
cgit v1.2.3-70-g09d2


From ec33fdd2abaa9342ea6613bee4e59a5125009de9 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Stratis Ioannidis <stratis@stratis-Latitude-E6320.(none)>
Date: Mon, 5 Nov 2012 11:21:44 -0800
Subject: muthu changes

---
 main.tex | 7 +++++--
 1 file changed, 5 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

(limited to 'main.tex')

diff --git a/main.tex b/main.tex
index 6fdf39c..384800b 100644
--- a/main.tex
+++ b/main.tex
@@ -367,7 +367,7 @@ Hence, the total payment is bounded by the telescopic sum:
 \end{proof}
 
 Finally, we prove the approximation ratio of the mechanism. We use the
-following lemma which we prove later, which establishes that $OPT'$, the optimal value \eqref{relax} of the fractional relaxation $L$ under the budget constraints
+following lemma  which establishes that $OPT'$, the optimal value \eqref{relax} of the fractional relaxation $L$ under the budget constraints
  is not too far from $OPT$.  
 \begin{lemma}\label{lemma:relaxation}
     %\begin{displaymath}
@@ -375,9 +375,12 @@ following lemma which we prove later, which establishes that $OPT'$, the optimal
         + 2\max_{i\in\mathcal{N}}V(i)$
     %\end{displaymath}
 \end{lemma}
+The proof of Lemma~\ref{lemma:relaxation} is our main technical contribution, and can be found in Section \ref{sec:relaxation}.
+
+
+\paragraph{Finishing Proof of }
 Note that the lower bound $OPT' \geq  OPT
 $ also holds trivially, as $L$ is a fractional relaxation of $V$ over $\mathcal{N}$.
-The proof of Lemma~\ref{lemma:relaxation} is our main technical contribution, and can be found in Section \ref{sec:relaxation}.
 Using this lemma, we can complete the proof of Theorem~\ref{thm:main} by showing that, %\begin{lemma}\label{lemma:approx}
     %C_{\textrm{max}} = \max\left(1+C,\frac{3e}{e-1}\left( 1 + \frac{8e}{C
     %(e-1) -10e  +2}\right)\right)
-- 
cgit v1.2.3-70-g09d2

