Javier F. Peña Given a separable strongly self-concordant function f:Rn -> R, we show the associated spectral function F(X)= (foL)(X) is also strongly self-concordant function. In addition, there is a universal constant O such that, if f(x) is separable self-concordant barrier then O^2F(X) is a self-concordant barrier. We estimate that for the universal constant we have O
We propose a new gradient based scheme to approximate Nash equilibria of large sequential two-player, zero-sum games. The algorithm uses modern smoothing techniques for saddle-point problems tailored specifically for the polytopes used in the Nash equilibrium problem. CitationWorking Paper, Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon UniversityArticleDownload View PDF
We propose a novel optimization model for risk-averse investors to obtain robust solutions for portfolio allocation problems. Unlike related models in the literature, no historical data or statistical estimation techniques are used to compute the parameters of the model. Instead, the parameters are directly obtained from current prices of options on the assets being considered. … Read more
We show that the problem of computing sharp upper and lower static-arbitrage bounds on the price of a European basket option, given the prices of other similar options, can be cast as a linear program (LP). The LP formulations readily yield super-replicating (sub-replicating) strategies for the upper (lower) bound problem. The dual counterparts of the … Read more
We propose a novel solution approach for polynomial programming problems with equality constraints. By means of a generic transformation, we show that solution schemes for the (typically simpler) problem without equalities can be used to address the problem with equalities. In particular, we propose new solution schemes for mixed binary programs, pure 0-1 quadratic programs, … Read more
Computing semiparametric bounds for option prices is a widely studied pricing technique. In contrast to parametric pricing techniques, such as Monte-Carlo simulations, semiparametric pricing techniques do not re- quire strong assumptions about the underlying asset price distribution. We extend classical results in this area in two main directions. First, we derive closed-form semiparametric bounds for … Read more
We study certain linear and semidefinite programming lifting approximation schemes for computing the stability number of a graph. Our work is based on, and refines De Klerk and Pasechnik’s approach to approximating the stability number via copositive programming (SIAM J. Optim. 12 (2002), 875–892). We provide a closed-form expression for the values computed by the … Read more
Recently, tools from algebraic geometry have been successfully applied to develop solution schemes for new classes of optimization problems. A central idea in these constructions is to express a polynomial that is positive on a given domain in terms of polynomials of higher degree so that its positivity is readily revealed. This resembles the “lifting” … Read more
We show that the block-structured distance to non-surjectivity of a set-valued sublinear mapping equals the reciprocal of a suitable block-structured norm of its inverse. This gives a natural generalization of the classical Eckart and Young identity for square invertible matrices. CitationMathematical Programming 103 (2005) pp. 561–573.
It is known that linear conic systems are a special case of set-valued sublinear mappings. Hence the latter subsumes the former. In this note we observe that linear conic systems also contain set-valued sublinear mappings as a special case. Consequently, the former also subsumes the latter. CitationOperations Research Letters 32 (2004) pp. 463–467.