An Exceptionally Difficult Binary Quadratic Optimization Problem with Symmetry: a Challenge for The Largest Unsolved QAP Instance Tai256c

Tai256c is the largest unsolved quadratic assignment problem (QAP) instance in QAPLIB. It is known that QAP tai256c can be converted into a 256 dimensional binary quadratic optimization problem (BQOP) with a single cardinality constraint which requires the sum of the binary variables to be 92. As the BQOP is much simpler than the original … Read more

Hierarchically constrained multi-fidelity blackbox optimization

This work introduces a novel multi-fidelity blackbox optimization algorithm designed to alleviate the resource-intensive task of evaluating infeasible points. This algorithm is an intermediary component bridging a direct search solver and a blackbox, resulting in reduced computation time per evaluation, all while preserving the efficiency and convergence properties of the chosen solver. This is made … Read more

Doubly stochastic primal dual splitting algorithm with variance reduction for saddle point problems

The (structured) saddle-point problem involving the infimal convolution in real Hilbert spaces finds applicability in many applied mathematics disciplines. For this purpose, we develop a stochastic primal-dual splitting (PDS) algorithm with loopless variance-reduction (VR) for solving this generic problem. A PDS algorithm aims to overcome the well-known shortcomings of common splitting methods by solving the … Read more

Singular value half thresholding algorithm for lp regularized matrix optimization problems

In this paper, we study the low-rank matrix optimization problem, where the penalty term is the $\ell_p~(0<p<1)$ regularization. Inspired by the good performance of half thresholding function in sparse/low-rank recovery problems, we propose a singular value half thresholding (SVHT) algorithm to solve the $\ell_p$ regularized matrix optimization problem. The main iteration in SVHT algorithm makes … Read more

Near-optimal closed-loop method via Lyapunov damping for convex optimization

We introduce an autonomous system with closed-loop damping for first-order convex optimization. While, to this day, optimal rates of convergence are only achieved by non-autonomous methods via open-loop damping (e.g., Nesterov’s algorithm), we show that our system is the first one featuring a closed-loop damping while exhibiting a rate arbitrarily close to the optimal one. … Read more

An outer approximation method for solving mixed-integer convex quadratic programs with indicators

Mixed-integer convex quadratic programs with indicator variables (MIQP) encompass a wide range of applications, from statistical learning to energy, finance, and logistics. The outer approximation (OA) algorithm has been proven efficient in solving MIQP, and the key to the success of an OA algorithm is the strength of the cutting planes employed. In this paper, … Read more

Local Convergence Analysis of an Inexact Trust-Region Method for Nonsmooth Optimization

In [R. J. Baraldi and D. P. Kouri, Mathematical Programming, (2022), pp. 1–40], we introduced an inexact trust-region algorithm for minimizing the sum of a smooth nonconvex function and a nonsmooth convex function in Hilbert space—a class of problems that is ubiquitous in data science, learning, optimal control, and inverse problems. This algorithm has demonstrated … Read more

Efficient Proximal Subproblem Solvers for a Nonsmooth Trust-Region Method

In [R. J. Baraldi and D. P. Kouri, Mathematical Programming, (2022), pp. 1-40], we introduced an inexact trust-region algorithm for minimizing the sum of a smooth nonconvex and nonsmooth convex function. The principle expense of this method is in computing a trial iterate that satisfies the so-called fraction of Cauchy decrease condition—a bound that ensures … Read more

Budget-Constrained Maximization of “Cobb-Douglas with Linear Components” Utility Function

In what follows, we provide the demand analysis associated with budget-constrained linear utility maximization for each of several categories of goods, with the marginal rate of consumption expenditure-as a share of wealth- being a positive constant less than or equal to one. The marginal rate of consumption expenditure is endogenously determined, by a budget-constrained “Cobb-Douglas … Read more

The limitation of neural nets for approximation and optimization

We are interested in assessing the use of neural networks as surrogate models to approximate and minimize objective functions in optimization problems. While neural networks are widely used for machine learning tasks such as classification and regression, their application in solving optimization problems has been limited. Our study begins by determining the best activation function … Read more