In this paper, we consider the sparse inverse covariance selection problem which is equivalent to structure recovery of a Markov Network over Gaussian variables. We introduce a simple but efficient greedy algorithm, called {\em SINCO}, for solving the Sparse INverse COvariance problem. Our approach is based on coordinate ascent method which naturally preserves the sparsity … Read more
In the Black-Scholes-Merton model, as well as in more general stochastic models in finance, the price of an American option solves a system of partial differential variational inequalities. When these inequalities are discretized, one obtains a linear complementarity problem that must be solved at each time step. This paper presents an algorithm for the solution … Read more
SFSDP is a Matlab package for solving a sensor network localization problem. These types of problems arise in monitoring and controlling applications using wireless sensor networks. SFSDP implements the semidefinite programming (SDP) relaxation proposed in Kim et al. [2009] for sensor network localization problems, as a sparse version of the full semidefinite programming relaxation (FSDP) … Read more
We consider minimization of nonsmooth functions which can be represented as the composition of a positively homogeneous convex function and a smooth mapping. This is a sufficiently rich class that includes max-functions, largest eigenvalue functions, and norm-1 regularized functions. The bundle method uses an oracle that is able to compute separately the function and subgradient … Read more
To obtain a primal-dual pair of conic programming problems having zero duality gap, two methods have been proposed: the facial reduction algorithm due to Borwein and Wolkowicz [1,2] and the conic expansion method due to Luo, Sturm, and Zhang [5]. We establish a clear relationship between them. Our results show that although the two methods … Read more
Mixed Integer Nonlinear Programming (MINLP) problems present two main challenges: the integrality of a subset of variables and nonconvex (nonlinear) objective function and constraints. Many exact solvers for MINLP are branch-and-bound algorithms that compute a lower bound on the optimal solution using a linear programming relaxation of the original problem. In order to solve these … Read more
We introduce an algebraic modeling language, named ROME, for a class of robust optimization problems. ROME serves as an intermediate layer between the modeler and optimization solver engines, allowing modelers to express robust optimization problems in a mathematically meaningful way. In this paper, we highlight key features of ROME which expediates the modeling and subsequent … Read more
NOMAD is software that implements the MADS algorithm (Mesh Adaptive Direct Search) for black-box optimization under general nonlinear constraints. Blackbox optimization is about optimizing functions that are usually given as costly programs with no derivative information and no function values returned for a significant number of calls attempted. NOMAD is designed for such problems and … Read more
This work analyzes constrained black box optimization in which the functions defining the problem are periodic with respect to some or all the variables. We show that the natural strategy of mapping trial points into the interval defined by the period in the Mesh Adaptive Direct Search (MADS) framework can be easily done in practice, … Read more
We study the uniform nonsingularity property recently proposed by the authors and present its applications to nonlinear complementarity problems over a symmetric cone. In particular, by addressing theoretical issues such as the existence of Newton directions, the boundedness of iterates and the nonsingularity of B-subdifferentials, we show that the non-interior continuation method proposed by Xin … Read more