Swaroop Darbha

Bio: Swaroop Darbha is an academic researcher from Texas A&M University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Travelling salesman problem & Approximation algorithm. The author has an hindex of 28, co-authored 162 publications receiving 3767 citations. Previous affiliations of Swaroop Darbha include Air Force Research Laboratory & University of California, Berkeley.

An approximation algorithm for a 2-Depot, heterogeneous vehicle routing problem

Abstract: Routing problems involving heterogeneous vehicles naturally arise in several civil and military applications due to fuel and motion constraints of the vehicles. These vehicles can differ either in their motion constraints or sensing capabilities. Approximation algorithms are useful for solving these routing problems because they produce solutions that can be efficiently computed and are relatively less sensitive to the noise in the data. In this paper, we present the first approximation algorithm for a 2-Depot, Heterogeneous Vehicle Routing Problem when the cost of direct travel between any pair of locations is no costlier than the cost of travel between the same locations and going through any intermediate location.

Mobility and Safety Benefits of Connectivity in CACC Vehicle Strings

Abstract: In this paper, we re-examine the notion of string stability as it relates to safety by providing an upper bound on the maximum spacing error of any vehicle in a homogeneous platoon in terms of the input of the leading vehicle. We reinforce our previous work on lossy CACC platoons by accommodating for burst-noise behavior in the V2V link. Further, through Monte Carlo type simulations, we demonstrate that connectivity can enhance traffic mobility and safety in a CACC string even when the deceleration capabilities of the vehicles in the platoon are heterogeneous.

Computation of a Lower Bound for a Vehicle Routing Problem With Motion Constraints

Abstract: Given a set of targets that need to be monitored and a vehicle, we consider a combinatorial motion planning problem where the objective is to find a path for the vehicle such that each target is visited at least once by the vehicle, the path satisfies the motion constraints of the vehicle and the length of the path is a minimum. This is an NP-hard problem and currently, there are no algorithms that can find an optimal solution to this problem. In this article, we model the motion of the vehicle as a Dubins car and develop a method that can provide tight lower bounds to the motion planning problem. We accomplish this by relaxing the constraints corresponding to the angle of approach at each of the targets and then penalizing them whenever they are violated. The solution to the Lagrangian relaxation gives a lower bound, and this lower bound is maximized over the penalty variables using subgradient optimization. The proposed method is the first of its kind for finding tight lower bounds for combinatorial motion planning problems and can be extended to similar problems with more general motion constraints.Copyright © 2012 by ASME

Optimal configurations to minimize disturbance propagation in manufacturing networks

Abstract: In this paper, we consider the problem of determining optimal configurations of Roll-to-Roll (R2R) process machines which consist of many interconnected dynamic elements to transport flexible materials (webs) on rollers. The problem is to optimally locate the controlled dynamic elements within the R2R machine so as to minimize the effect of disturbances propagated by the transported web. Typical disturbances on R2R machines include misalignment and out-of-roundness of rollers which cause web wrinkles and registration errors if unattenuated. The central contribution of this paper is to pose the combinatorial problem of determining the optimal configuration for a R2R machine as a Mixed-Integer Semi-Definite Program (MISDP) and provide an algorithm to efficiently compute feasible configurations and bounds on their sub-optimality. The proposed algorithm is based on tools such as McCormick relaxations, outer-approximation via eigenvalue cuts, and bound tightening procedures. We provide numerical results for representative R2R systems to show the efficiency of the proposed algorithm.

Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

Abstract: On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of $\sim 1.7\,{\rm{s}}$ with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of ${40}_{-8}^{+8}$ Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 $\,{M}_{\odot }$. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at $\sim 40\,{\rm{Mpc}}$) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One-Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient's position $\sim 9$ and $\sim 16$ days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC 4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta.

Distributed Control of Robotic Networks: A Mathematical Approach to Motion Coordination Algorithms

Abstract: This self-contained introduction to the distributed control of robotic networks offers a distinctive blend of computer science and control theory. The book presents a broad set of tools for understanding coordination algorithms, determining their correctness, and assessing their complexity; and it analyzes various cooperative strategies for tasks such as consensus, rendezvous, connectivity maintenance, deployment, and boundary estimation. The unifying theme is a formal model for robotic networks that explicitly incorporates their communication, sensing, control, and processing capabilities--a model that in turn leads to a common formal language to describe and analyze coordination algorithms.Written for first- and second-year graduate students in control and robotics, the book will also be useful to researchers in control theory, robotics, distributed algorithms, and automata theory. The book provides explanations of the basic concepts and main results, as well as numerous examples and exercises.Self-contained exposition of graph-theoretic concepts, distributed algorithms, and complexity measures for processor networks with fixed interconnection topology and for robotic networks with position-dependent interconnection topology Detailed treatment of averaging and consensus algorithms interpreted as linear iterations on synchronous networks Introduction of geometric notions such as partitions, proximity graphs, and multicenter functions Detailed treatment of motion coordination algorithms for deployment, rendezvous, connectivity maintenance, and boundary estimation

Masses, Radii, and the Equation of State of Neutron Stars

Abstract: We summarize our current knowledge of neutron-star masses and radii. Recent instrumentation and computational advances have resulted in a rapid increase in the discovery rate and precise timing of radio pulsars in binaries in the past few years, leading to a large number of mass measurements. These discoveries show that the neutron-star mass distribution is much wider than previously thought, with three known pulsars now firmly in the 1.9–2.0-M⊙ mass range. For radii, large, high-quality data sets from X-ray satellites as well as significant progress in theoretical modeling led to considerable progress in the measurements, placing them in the 10–11.5-km range and shrinking their uncertainties, owing to a better understanding of the sources of systematic errors. The combination of the massive-neutron-star discoveries, the tighter radius measurements, and improved laboratory constraints of the properties of dense matter has already made a substantial impact on our understanding of the composition and bulk p...

Short-Duration Gamma-Ray Bursts

Abstract: Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) display a bimodal duration distribution with a separation between the short- and long-duration bursts at about 2 s. The progenitors of long GRBs have been identified as massive stars based on their association with Type Ic core-collapse supernovae (SNe), their exclusive location in star-forming galaxies, and their strong correlation with bright UV regions within their host galaxies. Short GRBs have long been suspected on theoretical grounds to arise from compact object binary mergers (neutron star–neutron star or neutron star–black hole). The discovery of short GRB afterglows in 2005 provided the first insight into their energy scale and environments, as well as established a cosmological origin, a mix of host-galaxy types, and an absence of associated SNe. In this review, I summarize nearly a decade of short GRB afterglow and host-galaxy observations and use this information to shed light on the nature and properties of their progenitors, the energy scale and collimation of the relativistic outflow, and the properties of the circumburst environments. The preponderance of the evidence points to compact object binary progenitors, although some open questions remain. On the basis of this association, observations of short GRBs and their afterglows can shed light on the on- and off-axis electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational wave sources from the Advanced LIGO/Virgo experiments.

Origin of the heavy elements in binary neutron-star mergers from a gravitational-wave event

Abstract: Modelling the electromagnetic emission of kilonovae enables the mass, velocity and composition (with some heavy elements) of the ejecta from a neutron-star merger to be derived from the observations. Merging neutron stars are potential sources of gravitational waves and have long been predicted to produce jets of material as part of a low-luminosity transient known as a 'kilonova'. There is growing evidence that neutron-star mergers also give rise to short, hard gamma-ray bursts. A group of papers in this issue report observations of a transient associated with the gravitational-wave event GW170817—a signature of two neutron stars merging and a gamma-ray flash—that was detected in August 2017. The observed gamma-ray, X-ray, optical and infrared radiation signatures support the predictions of an outflow of matter from double neutron-star mergers and present a clear origin for gamma-ray bursts. Previous predictions differ over whether the jet material would combine to form light or heavy elements. These papers now show that the early part of the outflow was associated with lighter elements whereas the later observations can be explained by heavier elements, the origins of which have been uncertain. However, one paper (by Stephen Smartt and colleagues) argues that only light elements are needed for the entire event. Additionally, Eleonora Troja and colleagues report X-ray observations and radio emissions that suggest that the 'kilonova' jet was observed off-axis, which could explain why gamma-ray-burst detections are seen as dim. The cosmic origin of elements heavier than iron has long been uncertain. Theoretical modelling1,2,3,4,5,6,7 shows that the matter that is expelled in the violent merger of two neutron stars can assemble into heavy elements such as gold and platinum in a process known as rapid neutron capture (r-process) nucleosynthesis. The radioactive decay of isotopes of the heavy elements is predicted8,9,10,11,12 to power a distinctive thermal glow (a ‘kilonova’). The discovery of an electromagnetic counterpart to the gravitational-wave source13 GW170817 represents the first opportunity to detect and scrutinize a sample of freshly synthesized r-process elements14,15,16,17,18. Here we report models that predict the electromagnetic emission of kilonovae in detail and enable the mass, velocity and composition of ejecta to be derived from observations. We compare the models to the optical and infrared radiation associated with the GW170817 event to argue that the observed source is a kilonova. We infer the presence of two distinct components of ejecta, one composed primarily of light (atomic mass number less than 140) and one of heavy (atomic mass number greater than 140) r-process elements. The ejected mass and a merger rate inferred from GW170817 imply that such mergers are a dominant mode of r-process production in the Universe.