Smooth Optimization Approach for Covariance Selection

In this paper we study a smooth optimization approach for solving a class of non-smooth {\it strongly} concave maximization problems. In particular, we apply Nesterov’s smooth optimization technique \cite{Nest83-1,Nest05-1} to their dual counterparts that are smooth convex problems. It is shown that the resulting approach has $\cO(1/{\sqrt{\epsilon}})$ iteration complexity for finding an $\epsilon$-optimal solution to … Read more

Gradient Projection for Sparse Reconstruction: Application to Compressed Sensing and Other Inverse Problems

Many problems in signal processing and statistical inference involve finding sparse solutions to under-determined, or ill-conditioned, linear systems of equations. A standard approach consists in minimizing an objective function which includes a quadratic (squared $\ell_2$) error term combined with a sparseness-inducing ($\ell_1$) regularization term.{\it Basis pursuit}, the {\it least absolute shrinkage and selection operator} (LASSO), … Read more

Guaranteed Minimum-Rank Solutions of Linear Matrix Equations via Nuclear Norm Minimization

The affine rank minimization problem consists of finding a matrix of minimum rank that satisfies a given system of linear equality constraints. Such problems have appeared in the literature of a diverse set of fields including system identification and control, Euclidean embedding, and collaborative filtering. Although specific instances can often be solved with specialized algorithms, … Read more

An iterative approach for cone complementarity problems for nonsmooth multibody dynamics

Aiming at a fast and robust simulation of large multibody systems with contacts and friction, this work presents a novel method for solving large cone complementarity problems by means of a fixed-point iteration. The method is an extension of the Gauss-Seidel and Gauss-Jacobi method with overrelaxation for symmetric convex linear complementarity problems. The method is … Read more

Graph Modeling for Quadratic Assignment Problem Associated with the Hypercube

In the paper we consider the quadratic ssignment problem arising from channel coding in communications where one coefficient matrix is the adjacency matrix of a hypercube in a finite dimensional space. By using the geometric structure of the hypercube, we first show that there exist at least $n$ different optimal solutions to the underlying QAPs. … Read more

A Coordinate Gradient Descent Method for Linearly Constrained Smooth Optimization and Support Vector Machines Training

Support vector machines (SVMs) training may be posed as a large quadratic program (QP) with bound constraints and a single linear equality constraint. We propose a (block) coordinate gradient descent method for solving this problem and, more generally, linearly constrained smooth optimization. Our method is closely related to decomposition methods currently popular for SVM training. … Read more

Exploiting group symmetry in truss topology optimization

We consider semidefinite programming (SDP) formulations of certain truss topology optimization problems, where a lower bound is imposed on the fundamental frequency of vibration of the truss structure. These SDP formulations were introduced in: [M. Ohsaki, K. Fujisawa, N. Katoh and Y. Kanno, Semi-definite programming for topology optimization of trusses under multiple eigenvalue constraints, Comp. … Read more

Modeling and Simulation of Metabolic Networks for Estimation of Biomass Accumulation Parameters

Metabolic networks are defined as the collection of biochemical reactions within a cell that define the functions of that cell. Due to the growing need to understand the functions of biological organisms for industrial and medical purposes, modeling and simulation of metabolic networks has attracted a lot of attention recently. Traditionally, metabolic networks are modeled … Read more

Efficiency of Maximum Likelihood Estimators under Different Censored Sampling Schemes for Rayleigh Distribution

The objective of this article is to study the effect of different types of censored sampling schemes on the estimation of the unknown parameter for Rayleigh distribution. The censored sampling schemes namely; type-I, type-II and progressive type-II censored sampling are to be considered. The comparisons made between the samples are based on the Fisher information, … Read more

A strengthened formulation for the open pit mine production scheduling problem

We present a strengthened integer programming formulation for the open pit mine production scheduling problem, where the precedence and production constraints are combined to form 0-1 knapsack inequalities. Addition of corresponding knapsack cover inequalities decreases the computational requirements to obtain the optimal integer solution, in many cases by a significant margin. Citation The University of … Read more