Solving Linear Systems over Tropical Semirings through Normalization Method and its Applications

Abstract

In this paper, we introduce and analyze a normalization method for solving a system of linear equations over tropical semirings. We use a normalization method to construct an associated normalized matrix, which gives a technique for solving the system. If solutions exist, the method can also determine the degrees of freedom of the system. Moreover, we present a procedure to determine the column rank and the row rank of a matrix. Flowcharts for this normalization method and its applications are included as well.