Neural Combinatorial Optimization

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4 papers in the last four weeks, against 2 the four weeks before. 0.0% of all new papers.

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MiLoop: Selective Memory Propagation for Neural Combinatorial Optimization
Oct 1, 2026Changliang Zhou, Yuanyao Chen, Rongsheng Chen +2Neural Combinatorial Optimization Neural Network Optimization
School of Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China · Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Fully Actuated System Control Theory and Technology, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China · Pengcheng Laboratory, Shenzhen, China
Learning to Cover Locally: Graph Neural Combinatorial Optimization under a Hard Information Horizon
Sep 30, 2026Johannes F. Loevenich, Thies Moehlenhof, Laurin Holz +3Neural Combinatorial Optimization Combinatorial Optimization
cortAIx Labs, Thales Deutschland, Ditzingen, Germany · Department of Mathematics/Computer Science, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany
Understanding Decision-Making Mechanisms in Neural Routing Solvers
Sep 28, 2026Fatemeh Askari, Mazdak Teymourian, Mohammad Izadi +1Neural Combinatorial Optimization Decisions
Department of Computer EngineeringSharif University of Technology
Depot-Closed Multi-Component Construction for Neural Vehicle Routing
Sep 28, 2026Shinichiro Hamada, Hisashi KashimaVehicle Routing Problem Neural Combinatorial Optimization
Core Technology, R&D Division Panasonic Connect Co., Ltd. · Graduate School of Informatics Kyoto University
Self-Supervised Combinatorial Optimization with Constraints via Frank-Wolfe
Sep 22, 2026Akbar Rafiey, Yifei Xu, Nikolaos KaraliasNeural Combinatorial Optimization Combinatorial Optimization
NYU · MIT
HyCO: A Hybrid Neural Solver for Combinatorial Optimization
Sep 7, 2026Yuheng Li, Di Yang, Haipeng Chen +1Neural Combinatorial Optimization Neural Solvers
Department of Data Science College of William & Mary
GeoPAR: Large-Scale Multi-Agent Combinatorial Optimization with Geometry-Guided Parallel Autoregressive Learning
Sep 1, 2026Wenjian Wu, Zesheng Jia, Jiaying Tang +2Neural Combinatorial Optimization Geogs-Slam
School of Future Science and Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
A hybrid quantum-classical neural network for learning to route
Aug 31, 2026Marcus Rolf Peter Ritt, Alexsandro Santos da Rosa Júnior, Marcos Vinicius Reballo +2Quantum Neural Networks Neural Combinatorial Optimization
Instituto de Pesquisas Eldorado – Porto Alegre – RS – Brazil · Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis 88040-900, SC, Brazil
Sampling Luck Masquerades as Allocation Gain: Auditing Test-Time Budget Allocation for Neural Combinatorial Optimization
Aug 13, 2026Jinhyung BaeNeural Combinatorial Optimization Token Budget Allocation
Department of Industrial and Management Engineering and the AI Data Convergence program, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Yongin, Republic of Korea
SSPO: Structure-Aware Similarity-Weighted Preference Optimization for Neural Combinatorial Optimization
Aug 12, 2026Yuanyu Li, Jintao Xu, Zijiang Liu +6Neural Combinatorial Optimization Backtranslation Augmented Direct Preference Optimization
Supply Chain Tech Team Y, JD.com, Beijing, China · Department of Industrial Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China · Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Business and Economics, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Stabilized Best-of- $K$ Training for Neural Combinatorial Optimization
Jul 31, 2026Melveena Jolly, Midhun XavierNeural Combinatorial Optimization Reward Signal
1Independent Researcher
Geometric Self-Supervised Pre-training for Neural Combinatorial Optimization
Jul 31, 2026David Aguado, Daniel Fuertes, Carlos R. del-Blanco +1Neural Combinatorial Optimization Neural Network Optimization
Grupo de Tratamiento de Imágenes, Information Processing and Telecomunications Center, ETSI Telecomunicación, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040, Madrid, Spain
AutoPref: Automatic Discovery of Task-Specific Preference Objectives for Neural Combinatorial Optimization
Jul 30, 2026Shengda Gu, Kai Li, Xinyi Ke +3Neural Combinatorial Optimization Self
C2DL, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences · School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences · Tencent AI Lab +1
Neural Certificate Pricing for Combinatorial Optimization Problems
Jul 1, 2026Jingyi Chen, Xinyuan Zhang, Xinwu QianNeural Combinatorial Optimization Combinatorial Optimization
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University, Houston, TX
Learning to Place Guards by Reinforcement: A Geo-Free Neural Policy for the Vertex-Guard Art Gallery Problem
Jun 19, 2026Domagoj Ševerdija, Jurica Maltar, Nathan Chappel +1Neural Combinatorial Optimization Neural Policies
School of Applied Mathematics and Informatics, University J. J. Strossmayer of Osijek, Croatia
Interpreting Neural Combinatorial Optimization via Evolving Programmatic Bottlenecks
Jun 18, 2026Haocheng Duan, Yuxin Guo, Jieyi Bi +4Neural Combinatorial Optimization Concept Bottleneck Models
1Carnegie Mellon University · 2Nanyang Technological University · 3Microsoft Research +1
N(CO) $^2$ : Neural Combinatorial Optimization with Chance Constraints to Solve Stochastic Orienteering
Jun 16, 2026Anas Saeed, Marcos Abel Zuzuárregui, Stefano CarpinNeural Combinatorial Optimization Combinatorial Optimization
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of California, Merced, CA, USA
Baseline-Free Policy Optimization for Neural Combinatorial Optimization
Jun 9, 2026Carlos S. Sepúlveda, Gonzalo A. RuzNeural Combinatorial Optimization Repair-Based Group-Relative Policy Optimization
Leveraging Structural Constraints for Diffusion-based Neural TSP Solvers
Jun 8, 2026Mickaël Basson, Philippe PreuxSalesman Problem Neural Combinatorial Optimization
CRIStAL, Scool · Université de Lille, France · CNRS, France +2
Learning Empirically Admissible Neural Heuristics for Combinatorial Search
Jun 3, 2026Siddharth SahayHeuristics Neural Combinatorial Optimization
Independent Researcher, India
Smart Transportation Without Neurons -- Fair Metro Network Expansion with Tabular Reinforcement Learning
Jun 2, 2026Dimitris Michailidis, Sennay Ghebreab, Fernando P. SantosBringing Network Coding Neural Combinatorial Optimization
Socially Intelligent Artificial Systems University of Amsterdam
Beyond Static Priors: Dynamic Neural Guidance for Large-Scale Ant Colony Optimization
Jun 2, 2026Dat Thanh Tran, Van Khu Vu, Yining MaNeural Combinatorial Optimization Particle Swarm Optimization
Center for AI Research VinUniversity Hanoi, Vietnam · College of Engineering and Computer Science VinUniversity Hanoi, Vietnam · Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA, USA
Regularized Large Neighborhood Search
Jun 1, 2026Germain Vivier-Ardisson, Laurent Demonet, Axel Parmentier +1Neural Combinatorial Optimization Large Neighborhood Search
Google DeepMind & CERMICS · Google Research · CERMICS, ENPC, CNRS, IPP +1
Edge-aware Decoding for Neural Asymmetric Routing
Jun 1, 2026Li Liang, Jinbiao Chen, Zizhen ZhangNeural Combinatorial Optimization Edge-Aware
Sun Yat-Sen University · Department of Industrial Systems Engineering and Management, National University of Singapore
DynaSchedBench: Calibrated Dynamic Scheduling Benchmarks and Observability Paradox in LLM-based Scheduling Agents
May 26, 2026Shijie Cao, Yuan Yuan, Jing LiuJob Shop Scheduling Schedule
School of Computer Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China · Shenzhen Loop Area Institute, Shenzhen, China · Qingdao Research Institute, Beihang University +3
Constraint-Anchored Attribution: Feasibility-Certified Counterfactuals and Bonferroni-PAC Sufficient Subsets for Neural CO Policies
May 24, 2026Sohaib LafifiNeural Combinatorial Optimization Credit Assignment
Univ. Artois, UR 3926, Laboratoire de Génie Informatique et d’Automatique de l’Artois (LGI2A) Béthune, France
WeCon: An Efficient Weight-Conditioned Neural Solver for Multi-Objective Combinatorial Optimization Problems
May 20, 2026Xuan Wu, Jinbiao Chen, Yang Li +7Neural Combinatorial Optimization Neural Solvers
Key Laboratory of Symbolic Computation and Knowledge Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Computer Science and Technology, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China · Department of Industrial Systems Engineering and Management, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576, Singapore · College of Software, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China +3
An Amortized Efficiency Threshold for Comparing Neural and Heuristic Solvers in Combinatorial Optimization
May 14, 2026Sohaib AfifiNeural Combinatorial Optimization Combinatorial Optimization
Univ. Artois, UR 3926, Laboratoire de Génie Informatique et d’Automatique de l’Artois (LGI2A), F-62400 Béthune, France
Rethinking Positional Encoding for Neural Vehicle Routing
May 12, 2026Chuanbo Hua, Federico Berto, Andre Hottung +8Vehicle Routing Problem Positional Encoding
KAIST · Radical Numerics · Bielefeld University +3
NCO: A Versatile Plug-in for Handling Negative Constraints in Decoding
May 11, 2026Hyundong Jin, Yo-Sub HanConstrained Decoding Large Language Model Generation
Yonsei University Seoul, Republic of Korea
Neural Cluster First, Route Second: Capacitated Vehicle Routing via Differentiable Optimal Transport
May 10, 2026Samuel J. K. Chin, Maximilian SchifferVehicle Routing Problem Neural Combinatorial Optimization
MIT · TUM
LINC: Decoupling Local Consequence Scoring from Hidden Matching in Constructive Neural Routing
May 7, 2026Shaofeng Qin, Li WangVehicle Routing Problem Neural Combinatorial Optimization
Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications
FiLMMeD: Feature-wise Linear Modulation for Cross-Problem Multi-Depot Vehicle Routing
Apr 30, 2026Arthur Corrêa, Paulo Nascimento, Samuel MonizVehicle Routing Problem Neural Combinatorial Optimization
University of Coimbra, CEMMPRE, ARISE, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Coimbra, 3030-788, Portugal
Crystal structure prediction using graph neural combinatorial optimization
Apr 27, 2026Stavros Gerolymatos, J. Kyle Brubaker, Martin J. A. Schuetz +1Crystal Structure Prediction Crystal
School of Computer Science and Informatics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, England, UK · Amazon Advanced Solutions Lab, Seattle, Washington 98170, USA · Arm Inc., San Jose, California 95134
NCO4CVRP: Neural Combinatorial Optimization for the Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem
Apr 17, 2026Mahir Labib Dihan, Md. Ashrafur Rahman Khan, Wasif Jalal +2Neural Combinatorial Optimization Vehicle Routing Problem
Department of Computer Science and Engineering Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
Enabling Population-Based Architectures for Neural Combinatorial Optimization
Jan 13, 2026Andoni Irazusta Garmendia, Josu Ceberio, Alexander MendiburuNeural Combinatorial Optimization Metaheuristics
University of the Basque Country (EHU), Department of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, San Sebastian, Spain.
A General Neural Backbone for Mixed-Integer Linear Optimization via Dual Attention
Jan 8, 2026Peixin Huang, Yaoxin Wu, Yining Ma +3Mixed-Integer Programming Neural Combinatorial Optimization
Shenzhen Research Institute, Shandong University, China
Recurrent State Encoders for Efficient Neural Combinatorial Optimization
Sep 5, 2025Tim Dernedde, Daniela Thyssens, Lars Schmidt-ThiemeNeural Combinatorial Optimization Vehicle Routing Problem
Information Systems and Machine Learning Lab (ISMLL) Institute of Computer Science University of Hildesheim
Primal-dual algorithm for contextual stochastic combinatorial optimization
May 7, 2025Louis Bouvier, Thibault Prunet, Vincent Leclère +1Stochastic Optimization Neural Combinatorial Optimization
Co-innovation lab, ENPC, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, Marne-la-Vallée, France · Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, INRIA, IMB, UMR 5251, Talence, France · CERMICS, CNRS, ENPC, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, Marne-la-Vallée, France
Leader Reward for POMO-Based Neural Combinatorial Optimization
May 22, 2024Chaoyang Wang, Pengzhi Cheng, Jingze Li +1Neural Combinatorial Optimization Combinatorial Optimization
Fudan University
Improving Natural-Language Combinatorial-Optimization Accuracy in Resource-Constrained Language Models via Formal Abstractions
Date pendingShrenil Shaun Sharma, Avi SharmaOptimization Modeling Neural Combinatorial Optimization
Independent Researcher San Francisco, CA, USA · Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences University of California, Berkeley

Oct 1, 2026, cs.LGJ/K move · Enter open · S save

MiLoop: Selective Memory Propagation for Neural Combinatorial Optimization

Changliang Zhou, Yuanyao Chen, Rongsheng Chen, Zhiyun Lin+1

School of Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China · Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Fully Actuated System Control Theory and Technology, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China · Pengcheng Laboratory, Shenzhen, China

Neural Combinatorial Optimization Neural Network Optimization

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Constructive neural combinatorial optimization (NCO) has emerged as a promising paradigm that learns to construct solutions to combinatorial optimization problems (COPs) step by step, which reduces reliance on handcrafted rules and enables fast inference. While many methods with dynamic embeddings generalize well, they typically rebuild subproblem representations from scratch at each step using deep attention stacks. Many high-performing methods in this category rely on solution labels or pseudo-labels for efficient training, or on aggressive search space pruning during reinforcement learning (RL). To address these limitations, we propose Memory-in-the-Loop (MiLoop), a purely RL-based constructive framework that leverages the multi-step computation already required by a rollout for selective memory propagation. Each rollout provides solution-quality feedback for learning while propagating historical representations, thereby enabling a shallow policy to learn effective dynamic embeddings without external solution labels or training-time search-space pruning. Specifically, MiLoop fuses current embeddings with historical memory before the attention layers and applies adaptive gated updates afterward. The updated representations support both current decisions and stepwise reuse. Extensive experiments across four COPs demonstrate that MiLoop consistently produces high-quality solutions on instances ranging from 100 to 10 million nodes, highlighting its strong generalization ability.

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