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TSP Using Branch and Bound

The Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) involves finding the shortest possible route that visits a set of cities and returns to the origin. The Branch and Bound method systematically explores potential tours, dividing the problem into smaller subproblems, calculating bounds to prune non-optimal solutions, and ultimately identifying the optimal tour. An example illustrates the process using a distance matrix for four cities, demonstrating how branching, bounding, and pruning lead to the optimal solution.

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108 views5 pages

TSP Using Branch and Bound

The Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) involves finding the shortest possible route that visits a set of cities and returns to the origin. The Branch and Bound method systematically explores potential tours, dividing the problem into smaller subproblems, calculating bounds to prune non-optimal solutions, and ultimately identifying the optimal tour. An example illustrates the process using a distance matrix for four cities, demonstrating how branching, bounding, and pruning lead to the optimal solution.

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deepuqwert1234
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© © All Rights Reserved
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The Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) is a classic optimization problem in which a salesman

must visit a set of cities exactly once and return to the starting city, minimizing the total distance
traveled. It can be formulated mathematically as follows:

Branch and Bound Method for TSP

The Branch and Bound (B&B) method is a systematic way of solving the TSP by exploring the
search space of all possible tours in a tree structure. The basic idea is to divide the problem into
smaller subproblems (branching) and calculate bounds on the minimum possible cost of tours
within these subproblems to discard (prune) subproblems that cannot yield an optimal solution.

Steps in Branch and Bound for TSP:

1. Initialization:
o Start with an initial bound (e.g., using a greedy algorithm or any heuristic).
o The root node represents the starting city with no other cities visited.
2. Branching:
o From the current node (city), create child nodes representing possible next cities
to visit.
o For a node representing a partial tour ending in city kkk, generate child nodes for
tours that extend to unvisited cities.
3. Bounding:
o Calculate a lower bound on the total distance for each partial tour (node).
o A common way to compute a lower bound is to use the reduced cost matrix,
which adjusts the original distance matrix to reflect the minimum additional cost
required to complete the tour.
4. Pruning:
o If the lower bound of a node is greater than or equal to the current best known
solution (upper bound), prune that node and do not explore its children.
o If a node represents a complete tour and its cost is lower than the current best
known solution, update the best known solution.
5. Selection:
o Select the next node to explore (typically the one with the smallest lower bound).
6. Termination:
o The process continues until all nodes have been either explored or pruned.
o The best known solution at the end of the process is the optimal tour.

Mathematical Approach with an Example

1. Initial Bound Calculation:


o Assume an initial bound UUU using a simple heuristic like the nearest neighbor
algorithm.
2. Branching Example:
o Starting from city 1, create branches to all other cities (e.g., 2, 3, 4).
3. Bounding Example:
o Suppose we have a partial tour [1, 2]. Calculate the lower bound by:
 Reducing the distance matrix.
 For each row and column, subtract the smallest element from all elements
of that row/column.
 Sum the smallest elements subtracted from the rows and columns to get a
reduced cost matrix.
 Add this reduction cost to the cost of the partial tour.
4. Pruning and Selection Example:
o If the lower bound for the partial tour [1, 2] is 20, and the current best solution has
a cost of 25, keep this node for further exploration.
o If another partial tour [1, 3] has a lower bound of 30, prune this branch.
o Select the branch with the lowest bound for the next step.
5. Completing the Tour:
o Continue branching, bounding, and pruning until all possible tours are considered
or pruned.
o The best feasible solution found is the optimal tour.
How Does the Branch and Bound Technique Help in Solving TSP?

The branch and bound technique is a method used to solve combinatorial optimization problems
like TSP. It systematically explores all possible solutions to find the optimal one while pruning
suboptimal solutions to reduce the search space. Here's how it works for TSP:

1. Branching: Divide the problem into smaller subproblems, creating a tree structure where
each node represents a partial solution (a set of cities visited).
2. Bounding: Calculate a lower bound on the total travel cost for each node. If the lower
bound of a node is higher than the current best solution, prune that branch.
3. Pruning: Eliminate branches that cannot yield a better solution than the current best one.
4. Backtracking: Explore other branches when a dead end is reached or a branch is pruned.

Example of Solving TSP with Branch and Bound

Let's solve a simple TSP with 4 cities: A, B, C, and D, with the following distances:

 A to B: 10, A to C: 15, A to D: 20
 B to C: 35, B to D: 25
 C to D: 30
 (assume symmetric distances)

1. Initial Setup:
o Represent the problem as a distance matrix.

Distance Matrix:

A B C D

A 0 10 15 20

B 10 0 35 25

C 15 35 0 30

D 20 25 30 0

 Branching:

 Start at city A and branch out to the other cities.


 First branch: A → B, A → C, A → D.

 Bounding:

 Calculate the lower bound for each branch.


 For branch A → B:
o Minimum cost from A to B: 10.
o Estimate the remaining cost using the minimum edge costs from the remaining
nodes.
o Lower bound for A → B: 10 + (minimum cost of edges covering B, C, D).

 Exploring and Pruning:


 Explore the next city from B, say B → C.
 Calculate the lower bound for A → B → C.
 Continue this process, calculating bounds and pruning paths that exceed the current
known shortest path.

 Example Calculation:

 Assume starting at A.
 From A → B (cost = 10).
 From B → D (cost = 10 + 25 = 35).
 From D → C (cost = 35 + 30 = 65).
 Return to A from C (cost = 65 + 15 = 80).
 Path: A → B → D → C → A with total cost = 80.
 Continue exploring other branches: A → C, A → D, etc., and calculate their bounds.
 Prune branches where bounds exceed 80.

 Optimal Solution:

 Through systematic branching, bounding, and pruning, find the optimal path.
 Let's assume A → B → C → D → A gives the optimal cost (e.g., 75).

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