Head-and-shoulder-branching in integer programming

Abstract

A combination of the branching procedures suggested for integer programming by Land and Doig (1960) and Dakin (1965) is presented. It consists of a controlled number of "head branches" setting a variable equal to integers, and two "shoulder branches" which restrict the value of this variable by a lower bound and by an upper bound, respectively. This branching procedure combines the advantages of both parents techniques.