Publications

2026

• Planning in Branch-and-Bound: Model-Based Reinforcement Learning for Exact Combinatorial Optimization
  
  • Strang Paul
  • Alès Zacharie
  • Bissuel Côme
  • Juan Olivier
  • Kedad-Sidhoum Safia
  • Rachelson Emmanuel
  , 2025. Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP) lies at the core of many real-world combinatorial optimization (CO) problems, traditionally solved by branch-and-bound (B&B). A key driver influencing B&B solvers efficiency is the variable selection heuristic that guides branching decisions. Looking to move beyond static, hand-crafted heuristics, recent work has explored adapting traditional reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms to the B&B setting, aiming to learn branching strategies tailored to specific MILP distributions. In parallel, RL agents have achieved remarkable success in board games, a very specific type of combinatorial problems, by leveraging environment simulators to plan via Monte Carlo Tree Search (MCTS). Building on these developments, we introduce Plan-and-Branch-and-Bound (PlanB&B), a model-based reinforcement learning (MBRL) agent that leverages a learned internal model of the B&B dynamics to discover improved branching strategies. Computational experiments empirically validate our approach, with our MBRL branching agent outperforming previous state-of-the-art RL methods across four standard MILP benchmarks.
• Early-Reverberation Imaging Functions for Bounded Elastic Domains
  
  • Ducasse Eric
  • Rodriguez Samuel
  • Bonnet Marc
  Acta Acustica, EDP Sciences, 2026, 10, pp.2. For the ultrasonic inspection of bounded elastic structures, finite-duration imaging functions are derived in the Fourier-Laplace domain.The signals involved are exponentially windowed, so that early reflections are taken into account more strongly than later ones in the imaging methodology.Applying classical approaches to the general case of anisotropic elasticity, we express the Fréchet derivatives of the relevant data-misfit functional with respect to arbitrary perturbations of the mass density and stiffnesses in terms of forward and adjoint solutions.Their definitions incorporate the exponentially decaying weighting. The proposed finite-duration imaging functions are then defined on that basis.As some areas of the structure are less insonified than others, it is necessary to define normalized imaging functions to compensate for these variations.Our approach in particular aims to overcome the difficulty of dealing with bounded domains containing defects not located in direct line of sight from the transducers and measured signals of long duration.For this initiation work, we demonstate the potential of the proposed method on a two-dimensional test case featuring the imaging of mass and elastic stiffness variations in a region of a bounded isotropic medium that is not directly visible from the transducers. (10.1051/aacus/2025069)
  DOI : 10.1051/aacus/2025069
• An entropy penalized approach for stochastic control problems. Complete version
  
  • Bourdais Thibaut
  • Oudjane Nadia
  • Russo Francesco
  SIAM Journal on Control and Optimization, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, 2026, 64 (1), pp.363-386. In this paper, we propose an original approach to stochastic control problems. We consider a weak formulation that is written as an optimization (minimization) problem on the space of probability measures. We then introduce a penalized version of this problem obtained by splitting the minimization variables and penalizing the discrepancy between the two variables via an entropy term. We show that the penalized problem provides a good approximation of the original problem when the weight of the entropy penalization term is large enough. Moreover, the penalized problem has the advantage of giving rise to two optimization subproblems that are easy to solve in each of the two optimization variables when the other is fixed. We take advantage of this property to propose an alternating optimization procedure that converges to the infimum of the penalized problem with a rate $O(1/k)$, where $k$ is the number of iterations. The relevance of this approach is illustrated by solving a high-dimensional stochastic control problem aimed at controlling consumption in electrical systems. (10.1137/25M1741364)
  DOI : 10.1137/25M1741364
• Analysis of time-harmonic electromagnetic problems with elliptic material coefficients
  
  • Ciarlet Patrick
  • Modave Axel
  Mathematical Methods in the Applied Sciences, Wiley, 2026, 49, pp.3797-3815. We consider time-harmonic electromagnetic problems with material coefficients represented by elliptic fields, covering a wide range of complex and anisotropic material media. The properties of elliptic fields are analyzed, with particular emphasis on scalar fields and normal tensor fields. Time-harmonic electromagnetic problems with general elliptic material fields are then studied. Well-posedness results for classical variational formulations with different boundary conditions are reviewed, and hypotheses for the coercivity of the corresponding sesquilinear forms are investigated. Finally, the proposed framework is applied to examples of media used in the literature: isotropic lossy media, geometric media, and gyrotropic media. (10.1002/mma.70318)
  DOI : 10.1002/mma.70318
• Squirmers with arbitrary shape and slip: modeling, simulation, and optimization
  
  • Das Kausik
  • Zhu Hai
  • Bonnet Marc
  • Veerapaneni Shravan
  , 2026. We consider arbitrary-shaped microswimmers of spherical topology and propose a framework for expressing their slip velocity in terms of tangential basis functions defined on the boundary of the swimmer using the Helmholtz decomposition. Given a time-independent slip velocity profile, we show that the trajectory followed by the microswimmer is a circular helix. We derive analytical expressions for the translational and rotational velocities of a prolate spheroid swimmer in terms of its Helmholtz decomposition modes and explore the effect of aspect ratio on these rigid body velocities. Then, for a given arbitrary swimmer shape of spherical topology, we investigate which slip profile minimizes the total power loss. A partial minimization is performed in which the direction of net motion of the swimmer is prescribed, followed by a global optimization procedure in which the best net motion direction is determined. The optimization results suggest that the competition between linear and rotational optimal motion is linked to symmetries in the shape of the microswimmer.
• Concentration inequalities for semidefinite least squares based on data
  
  • Fabiani Filippo
  • Simonetto Andrea
  IEEE Signal Processing Letters, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2026, 33, pp.326-330. We study data-driven least squares (LS) problems with semidefinite (SD) constraints and derive finite-sample guarantees on the spectrum of their optimal solutions when these constraints are relaxed. In particular, we provide a high confidence bound allowing one to solve a simpler program in place of the full SDLS problem, while ensuring that the eigenvalues of the resulting solution are $\varepsilon$-close of those enforced by the SD constraints. The developed certificate, which consistently shrinks as the number of data increases, turns out to be easy-to-compute, distribution-free, and only requires independent and identically distributed samples. Moreover, when the SDLS is used to learn an unknown quadratic function, we establish bounds on the error between a gradient descent iterate minimizing the surrogate cost obtained with no SD constraints and the true minimizer. (10.1109/LSP.2025.3643385)
  DOI : 10.1109/LSP.2025.3643385
• Predicting topologically protected interface state with high-frequency homogenization
  
  • Touboul Marie
  • Lombard Bruno
  • Coutant Antonin
  Comptes-Rendus-de-l'Academie-des-Sciences, 2026, 354, pp.269-291. When two semi-infinite periodic media are joined together, a localized interface mode may exist, whose frequency belongs to their common band gap. Moreover, if certain spatial symmetries are satisfied, this mode is topologically protected and thus is robust to defects. A method has recently been proposed to identify the existence and the frequency of this mode, based on the computation of surface impedances at all the frequencies in the gap. In this work, we approximate the surface impedances thanks to highfrequency effective models, and therefore get a prediction of topologically protected interface states while only computing the solution of an eigenvalue problem at the edges of the bandgaps. We also show that the nearby eigenvalues high-frequency effective models give rise to a better approximation of the surface impedance.
• Differentiability and Regularization of Parametric Convex Value Functions in Stochastic Multistage Optimization
  
  • Le Franc Adrien
  • Carpentier Pierre
  • Chancelier Jean-Philippe
  • de Lara Michel
  Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications, Springer Verlag, 2026, 208 (3), pp.111. In multistage decision problems, it is often the case that an initial strategic decision (such as investment) is followed by many operational ones (operating the investment). Such initial strategic decision can be seen as a parameter affecting a multistage decision problem. More generally, we study in this paper a standard multistage stochastic optimization problem depending on a parameter. When the parameter is fixed, Stochastic Dynamic Programming provides a way to compute the optimal value of the problem. Thus, the value function depends both on the state (as usual) and on the parameter. Our aim is to investigate on the possibility to efficiently compute gradients of the value function with respect to the parameter, when these objects exist. When nondifferentiable, we propose a regularization method based on the Moreau-Yosida envelope. We present a numerical test case from day-ahead power scheduling. (10.1007/s10957-025-02876-1)
  DOI : 10.1007/s10957-025-02876-1
• Analysis of the interior transmission problem in an unbounded locally perturbed periodic strip
  
  • Haddar Houssem
  • Jenhani Nouha
  Inverse Problems and Imaging, AIMS American Institute of Mathematical Sciences, 2026, 20, pp.305-329. We analyze the interior transmission problem in a locally perturbed infinite periodic domain, considering the case where the perturbation intersects the periodic background. An equivalent formulation as coupled quasiperiodic problems is obtained by applying the Floquet-Bloch transform. We perform a discretization with respect to the Floquet-Bloch variable and prove the well-posedness of the semi-discretized problem. We then establish some a priori estimates under regularity assumptions that allow us to prove the convergence of the discrete sequence to the solution of the problem. (10.3934/ipi.2025028)
  DOI : 10.3934/ipi.2025028
• Crouzeix-Raviart elements on simplicial meshes in $d$ dimensions
  
  • Bohne Nis-Erik
  • Ciarlet Patrick
  • Sauter Stefan
  Foundations of Computational Mathematics, Springer Verlag, 2026. In this paper we introduce Crouzeix-Raviart elements of general polynomial order $k$ and spatial dimension $d\geq2$ for simplicial finite element meshes. We give explicit representations of the non-conforming basis functions and prove that the conforming companion space, i.e., the conforming finite element space of polynomial order $k$ is contained in the Crouzeix-Raviart space. We prove a direct sum decomposition of the Crouzeix-Raviart space into (a subspace of) the conforming companion space and the span of the non-conforming basis functions. Degrees of freedom are introduced which are bidual to the basis functions and give rise to the definition of a local approximation/interpolation operator. In two dimensions or for $k=1$, these freedoms can be split into simplex and $(d-1)$ dimensional facet integrals in such a way that, in a basis representation of Crouzeix-Raviart functions, all coefficients which belong to basis functions related to lower-dimensional faces in the mesh are determined by these facet integrals. It will also be shown that such a set of degrees of freedom does not exist in higher space dimension and $k>1$.
• Exploring low-rank structure for an inverse scattering problem with far-field data
  
  • Zhou Yuyuan
  • Audibert Lorenzo
  • Meng Shixu
  • Zhang Bo
  SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, 2026, 86 (1), pp.160-186. The inverse scattering problem exhibits an inherent low-rank structure due to its ill-posed nature; however developing low-rank structures for the inverse scattering problem remains challenging. In this work, we introduce a novel low-rank structure tailored for solving the inverse scattering problem. The particular low-rank structure is given by the generalized prolate spheroidal wave functions, computed stably and accurately via a Sturm-Liouville problem. We first process the far-field data to obtain a post-processed data set within a disk domain. Subsequently, the post-processed data are projected onto a low-rank space given by the low-rank structure. The unknown is approximately solved in this low-rank space, by dropping higher-order terms. The low-rank structure leads to a H\"{o}lder-logarithmic type stability estimate for arbitrary unknown functions, and a Lipschitz stability estimate for unknowns belonging to a finite dimensional low-rank space. Various numerical experiments are conducted to validate its performance, encompassing assessments of resolution capability, robustness against randomly added noise and modeling errors, and demonstration of increasing stability. (10.1137/24M1663922)
  DOI : 10.1137/24M1663922
• Verification theorem related to a zero sum stochastic differential game, based on a chain rule for non-smooth functions
  
  • Ciccarella Carlo
  • Russo Francesco
  SIAM Journal on Control and Optimization, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, 2026, 64 (1), pp.409-431. In the framework of stochastic zero-sum differential games, we establish a verification theorem, inspired by those existing in stochastic control, to provide sufficient conditions for a pair of feedback controls to form a Nash equilibrium. Suppose the validity of the classical Isaacs' condition and the existence of a (what is termed) quasi-strong solution to the Bellman-Isaacs (BI) equations. If the diffusion coefficient of the state equation is non-degenerate, we are able to show the existence of a saddle point constituted by a couple of feedback controls that achieve the value of the game: moreover, the latter is equal to the (necessarily unique) solution of the BI equations. A suitable generalization is available when the diffusion is possibly degenerate. Similarly we have also improved a well-known verification theorem in stochastic control theory. The techniques of stochastic calculus via regularization we use, in particular specific chain rules, are borrowed from a companion paper of the authors. (10.1137/24M1696676)
  DOI : 10.1137/24M1696676
• A hybridizable discontinuous Galerkin method with transmission variables for time-harmonic electromagnetic problems
  
  • Rappaport Ari
  • Chaumont-Frelet Théophile
  • Modave Axel
  SIAM Journal on Scientific Computing, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, 2026. The CHDG method is a hybridizable discontinuous Galerkin (HDG) finite element method suitable for the iterative solution of time-harmonic wave propagation problems. Hybrid unknowns corresponding to transmission variables are introduced at the element interfaces and the physical unknowns inside the elements are eliminated, resulting in a hybridized system with favorable properties for fast iterative solution. In this paper, we extend the CHDG method, initially studied for the Helmholtz equation, to the time-harmonic Maxwell equations. We prove that the local problems stemming from hybridization are well-posed and that the fixed-point iteration naturally associated to the hybridized system is contractive. We propose a 3D implementation with a discrete scheme based on nodal basis functions. The resulting solver and different iterative strategies are studied with several numerical examples using a high-performance parallel C++ code.
• Solving numerically the two-dimensional time harmonic Maxwell problem with sign-changing coefficients
  
  • Chaaban Farah
  • Ciarlet Patrick
  • Rihani Mahran
  ESAIM: Mathematical Modelling and Numerical Analysis, Société de Mathématiques Appliquées et Industrielles (SMAI) / EDP, 2026. We are investigating the numerical solution to the 2D time-harmonic Maxwell equations in the presence of a classical medium and a metamaterial, that is with sign-changing coefficients. As soon as the problem has a (unique) solution, we are able to build a converging numerical approximation based on the finite element method, for which there is no constraint on the meshes related to the sign-changing behavior. To that aim, we use Lagrange finite elements to approximate the scalar potentials appearing in the Helmholtz decomposition of the vector-valued electromagnetic fields. Convergence in strong norm is proven for the fields. Numerical examples illustrate the theory.