A Successive Proximal DC Penalty Method with an Application to Mathematical Programs with Complementarity Constraints

We develop a successive, proximal difference-of-convex (DC) function penalty method for solving DC programs with DC constraints. The proposed approach relies on a DC penalty function that measures the violation of constraints and leads to a penalty reformulation sharing the same solution set as the original problem. The resulting penalty problem is a DC program … Read more

Integral Inverse Optimization Problems

Inverse optimization problems are bilevel optimization problems in which the leader modifies the follower’s objective such that a prescribed feasible solution becomes an optimal solution of the follower. They capture hierarchical decision-making problems like parameter estimation tasks or situations where a planner wants to steer an agent’s choice. In this work, we study integral inverse … Read more

On the Complexity of Subgradient Methods for Trilevel Hierarchical Generalized Variational Inequalities

We study generalized variational inequalities with a three-level hierarchical structure. This setting extends nested GVI models beyond the bilevel case, for which $\mathcal{O}(\delta^{-4})$ complexity bounds are known for any prescribed positive tolerance $\delta$, to a fully three-level hierarchical structure. We analyze a projected averaged subgradient method combined with a Tikhonov-like regularization scheme. Under compactness, maximal … Read more

On Stationary Conditions and the Convergence of Augmented Lagrangian methods for Generalized Nash Equilibrium Problems

In this work, we study stationarity conditions and constraint qualifications (CQs) tailored to Generalized Nash Equilibrium Problems (GNEPs) and analyze their relationships and implications for the global convergence of algorithms. We recall that GNEPs generalize Nash Equilibrium Problems (NEPs) in that the feasible strategy set of each player depends on the strategies chosen by the … Read more

From Computational Certification to Exact Coordinates: Heilbronn’s Triangle Problem on the Unit Square Using Mixed-Integer Optimization

We develop an optimize-then-refine framework for the classical Heilbronn triangle problem that integrates global mixed-integer nonlinear programming with exact symbolic computation. A novel symmetry-breaking strategy, together with the exploitation of structural properties of determinants, yields a substantially stronger optimization model: for n=9, the problem can be solved to certified global optimality in 15 minutes on … Read more

Zimpler – Integer Programming, easier

This paper introduces Zimpler, a free tool built on the ZIMPL modeling language to streamline the solution of mixed-integer linear programs (MILP). Zimpler extends existing ZIMPL workflows by integrating native data sources—such as Excel spreadsheets—without requiring manual conversion to text-based tables. In addition, it supports solution refinement by adapting solver outputs into alternative formats, including … Read more

A Multi-Secant Limited-Memory BFGS Method

We develop multi-secant BFGS-like quasi-Newton updating scheme, which adaptively selects the number of imposed secant conditions and naturally preserves positivity of approximated Hessian. Compact representation and respective limited-memory formulation are also derived. Numerical stability is assured via unconventional damping technique, which symmetrically handles coordinate and gradient differences. Practical relevance of proposed method is demonstrated via … Read more

Water network design and operation optimization: Leveraging approximations

This study concerns the optimal design and operation of produced water and urban water networks. The optimization formulations of these problems have inherent nonconvexity, making them hard to solve. We address a key source of nonconvexity and difficulty in solving these problems: the representation of frictional pressure changes across network nodes using nonlinear constraints, typically … Read more

Fair Vehicle Routing via Bilevel Optimization

We propose a novel approach to modeling fairness in the Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) by introducing objective functions based on ordering route lengths, capturing both monotonic and non-monotonic equity measures. Our method ensures allocations that are efficient, capacity-feasible, and equitable according to criteria like min-max, range, Gini, variance, or absolute deviations. To prevent biased or … Read more