The Rectangular Spiral or the n_1 × n_2 × · · · × n_k Points Problem

A generalization of Ripà’s square spiral solution for the n × n × ··· × n Points Upper Bound Problem. Additionally, we provide a non-trivial lower bound for the k-dimensional n_1 × n_2 × ··· × n_k Points Problem. In this way, we can build a range in which, with certainty, all the best possible … Read more

A Row-wise Algorithm for Graph Realization

Given a \(\{0,1\}\)-matrix \(M\), the graph realization problem for \(M\) asks if there exists a spanning forest such that the columns of \(M\) are incidence vectors of paths in the forest. The problem is closely related to the recognition of network matrices, which are a large subclass of totally unimodular matrices and have many applications … Read more

An Asymptotically Optimal Coordinate Descent Algorithm for Learning Bayesian Networks from Gaussian Models

This paper studies the problem of learning Bayesian networks from continuous observational data, generated according to a linear Gaussian structural equation model. We consider an \(\ell_0\)-penalized maximum likelihood estimator for this problem which is known to have favorable statistical properties but is computationally challenging to solve, especially for medium-sized Bayesian networks. We propose a new … Read more

A Markovian Model for Learning-to-Optimize

We present a probabilistic model for stochastic iterative algorithms with the use case of optimization algorithms in mind. Based on this model, we present PAC-Bayesian generalization bounds for functions that are defined on the trajectory of the learned algorithm, for example, the expected (non-asymptotic) convergence rate and the expected time to reach the stopping criterion. … Read more

Probing-Enhanced Stochastic Programming

We consider a two-stage stochastic decision problem where the decision-maker has the opportunity to obtain information about the distribution of the random variables $\xi$ that appear in the problem through a set of discrete actions that we refer to as probing. Probing components of a random vector $\eta$ that is jointly-distributed with $\xi$ allows the … Read more

Double-proximal augmented Lagrangian methods with improved convergence condition

In this paper, we consider a family of linearly constrained convex minimization problems whose objective function is not necessarily smooth. A basic double-proximal augmented Lagrangian method (DP-ALM) is developed, which enjoys a flexible dual stepsize and a proximal subproblem with relatively smaller proximal parameter. By a novel prediction-correction reformulation for the proposed DP-ALM and by … Read more

Analytic Formulas for Alternating Projection Sequences for the Positive Semidefinite Cone and an Application to Convergence Analysis

We derive analytic formulas for the alternating projection method applied to the cone \(S^n_+\) of positive semidefinite matrices and an affine subspace. More precisely, we find recursive relations on parameters representing a sequence constructed by the alternating projection method. By applying these formulas, we analyze the alternating projection method in detail and show that the … Read more

Machine Learning for Optimization-Based Separation: the Case of Mixed-Integer Rounding Cuts

Mixed-Integer Rounding (MIR) cuts are effective at improving the dual bound in Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MIP). However, in practice, MIR cuts are separated heuristically rather than using optimization as the latter is prohibitively expensive. We present a hybrid cut generation framework in which we train a Machine Learning (ML) model to inform cut generation for … Read more

The Blessing of Strategic Customers in Personalized Pricing

We consider a feature-based personalized pricing problem in which the buyer is strategic: given the seller’s pricing policy, the buyer can augment the features that they reveal to the seller to obtain a low price for the product. We model the seller’s pricing problem as a stochastic program over an infinite-dimensional space of pricing policies … Read more

Optimizing the lead time of operational flexibility trading from distributed industrial energy systems in future energy and flexibility markets

To meet the challenges of increasing volatile and distributed renewable energy generation in the electric grid, local flexibility and energy markets are currently investigated. These markets aim to encourage prosumers to trade their available flexible power locally, to be used if a grid congestion is being predicted. The markets are emerging, but the characterizing parameter … Read more