A first-order primal-dual algorithm with linesearch

The paper proposes a linesearch for the primal-dual method. Each iteration of the linesearch requires to update only the dual (or primal) variable. For many problems, in particular for regularized least squares, the linesearch does not require any additional matrix-vector multiplications. We prove convergence of the proposed method under the standard assumptions. We also show … Read more

Elementary polytopes with high lift-and-project ranks for strong positive semidefinite operators

We consider operators acting on convex subsets of the unit hypercube. These operators are used in constructing convex relaxations of combinatorial optimization problems presented as a 0,1 integer programming problem or a 0,1 polynomial optimization problem. Our focus is mostly on operators that, when expressed as a lift-and-project operator, involve the use of semidefiniteness constraints … Read more

New analysis of linear convergence of gradient-type methods via unifying error bound conditions

The subject of linear convergence of gradient-type methods on non-strongly convex optimization has been widely studied by introducing several notions as sufficient conditions. Influential examples include the error bound property, the restricted strongly convex property, the quadratic growth property, and the Kurdyka-{\L}ojasiewicz property. In this paper, we first define a group of error bound conditions … Read more

Linear Convergence of Gradient and Proximal-Gradient Methods Under the Polyak-Lojasiewicz Condition

In 1963, Polyak proposed a simple condition that is sufficient to show a global linear convergence rate for gradient descent. This condition is a special case of the Lojasiewicz inequality proposed in the same year, and it does not require strong convexity (or even convexity). In this work, we show that this much-older Polyak-Lojasiewicz (PL) … Read more

Improving an ADMM-like Splitting Method via Positive-Indefinite Proximal Regularization for Three-Block Separable Convex Minimization

The augmented Lagrangian method (ALM) is fundamental for solving convex minimization models with linear constraints. When the objective function is separable such that it can be represented as the sum of more than one function without coupled variables, various splitting versions of the ALM have been well studied in the literature such as the alternating … Read more

A simple preprocessing algorithm for semidefinite programming

We propose a very simple preprocessing algorithm for semidefinite programming. Our algorithm inspects the constraints of the problem, deletes redundant rows and columns in the constraints, and reduces the size of the variable matrix. It often detects infeasibility. Our algorithm does not rely on any optimization solver: the only subroutine it needs is Cholesky factorization, … Read more

Constructing New Weighted l1-Algorithms for the Sparsest Points of Polyhedral Sets

The l0-minimization problem that seeks the sparsest point of a polyhedral set is a longstanding challenging problem in the fields of signal and image processing, numerical linear algebra and mathematical optimization. The weighted l1-method is one of the most plausible methods for solving this problem. In this paper, we develop a new weighted l1-method through … Read more

Exploiting Problem Structure in Optimization under Uncertainty via Online Convex Optimization

In this paper, we consider two paradigms that are developed to account for uncertainty in optimization models: robust optimization (RO) and joint estimation-optimization (JEO). We examine recent developments on efficient and scalable iterative first-order methods for these problems, and show that these iterative methods can be viewed through the lens of online convex optimization (OCO). … Read more

Linearized Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers via Positive-Indefinite Proximal Regularization for Convex Programming

The alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) is being widely used for various convex minimization models with separable structures arising in a variety of areas. In the literature, the proximalversion of ADMM which allows ADMM’s subproblems to be proximally regularized has been well studied. Particularly the linearized version of ADMM can be yielded when the … Read more

Convex Relaxations for Quadratic On/Off Constraints and Applications to Optimal Transmission Switching

This paper studies mixed-integer nonlinear programs featuring disjunctive constraints and trigonometric functions. We first characterize the convex hull of univariate quadratic on/off constraints in the space of original variables using perspective functions. We then introduce new tight quadratic relaxations for trigonometric functions featuring variables with asymmetrical bounds. These results are used to further tighten recent … Read more