The accelerated gradient algorithm is known to have non-monotonic, periodic convergence behavior in the high momentum regime. If important function parameters like the condition number are known, the momentum can be adjusted to get linear convergence. Unfortunately these parameters are usually not accessible, so instead heuristics are used for deciding when to restart. One of … Read more
We develop an algorithm for minimax problems that arise in robust optimization in the absence of objective function derivatives. The algorithm utilizes an extension of methods for inexact outer approximation in sampling a potentially infinite-cardinality uncertainty set. Clarke stationarity of the algorithm output is established alongside desirable features of the model-based trust-region subproblems encountered. We … Read more
In a recent note [8], the author provides a counterexample to the global convergence of what his work refers to as “the DSOS and SDSOS hierarchies” for polynomial optimization problems (POPs) and purports that this refutes claims in our extended abstract [4] and slides in [3]. The goal of this paper is to clarify that … Read more
In recent years, techniques based on convex optimization and real algebra that produce converging hierarchies of lower bounds for polynomial minimization problems have gained much popularity. At their heart, these hierarchies rely crucially on Positivstellens\”atze from the late 20th century (e.g., due to Stengle, Putinar, or Schm\”udgen) that certify positivity of a polynomial on an … Read more
It is well-known that any sum of squares (SOS) program can be cast as a semidefinite program (SDP) of a particular structure and that therein lies the computational bottleneck for SOS programs, as the SDPs generated by this procedure are large and costly to solve when the polynomials involved in the SOS programs have a … Read more
The primal-dual hybrid gradient (PDHG) algorithm proposed by Esser, Zhang, and Chan, and by Pock, Cremers, Bischof, and Chambolle is known to include as a special case the Douglas-Rachford splitting algorithm for minimizing the sum of two convex functions. We show that, conversely, the PDHG algorithm can be viewed as a special case of the … Read more
We consider uniqueness and multiplicity of market equilibria in a short-run setup where traded quantities of electricity are transported through a capacitated network in which power flows have to satisfy the classical lossless DC approximation. The firms face fluctuating demand and decide on their production, which is constrained by given capacities. Today, uniqueness of such … Read more
Methods for distributed optimization have received significant attention in recent years owing to their wide applicability in various domains including machine learning, robotics and sensor networks. A distributed optimization method typically consists of two key components: communication and computation. More specifically, at every iteration (or every several iterations) of a distributed algorithm, each node in … Read more
We develop a manifold sampling algorithm for the minimization of a nonsmooth composite function $f \defined \psi + h \circ F$ when $\psi$ is smooth with known derivatives, $h$ is a known, nonsmooth, piecewise linear function, and $F$ is smooth but expensive to evaluate. The trust-region algorithm classifies points in the domain of $h$ as … Read more
An ADMM-based splitting method is proposed in [11] for solving convex minimization problems with linear constraints and multi-block separable objective functions; while a relatively large proximal parameter is required for theoretically ensuring the convergence. In this paper, we further study this method and find its optimal (smallest) proximal parameter. For succinctness, we focus on the … Read more