Addressing Estimation Errors through Robust Portfolio Optimization

It is well known that the performance of the classical Markowitz model for portfolio optimization is extremely sensitive to estimation errors on the expected asset returns. Robust optimization mitigates this issue. We focus on ellipsoidal uncertainty sets around a point estimate of the expected asset returns. An important issue is the choice of the parameters … Read more

An analytical lower bound for a class of minimizing quadratic integer optimization problems

Lower bounds on minimization problems are essential for convergence of both branching-based and iterative solution methods for optimization problems. They are also required for evaluating the quality of feasible solutions by providing conservative optimality gaps. We provide an analytical lower bound for a class of quadratic optimization problems with binary decision variables. In contrast to … Read more

An inexact ADMM for separable nonconvex and nonsmooth optimization

An Inexact Alternating Direction Method of Multiplies (I-ADMM) with an expansion linesearch step was developed for solving a family of separable minimization problems subject to linear constraints, where the objective function is the sum of a smooth but possibly nonconvex function and a possibly nonsmooth nonconvex function. Global convergence and linear convergence rate of the … Read more

On the strength of Burer’s lifted convex relaxation to quadratic programming with ball constraints

We study quadratic programs with m ball constraints, and the strength of a lifted convex relaxation for it recently proposed by Burer (2024). Burer shows this relaxation is exact when m=2. For general m, Burer (2024) provides numerical evidence that this lifted relaxation is tighter than the Kronecker product based Reformulation Linearization Technique (RLT) inequalities … Read more

A mathematical introduction to SVMs with self-concordant kernel

A derivation of so-called “soft-margin support vector machines with kernel” is presented along with elementary proofs that do not rely on concepts from functional analysis such as Mercer’s theorem or reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces which are frequently cited in this context. The analysis leads to new continuity properties of the kernel functions, in particular a … Read more

The if-then Polytope: Conditional Relations over Multiple Sets of Binary Variables

Inspired by its occurrence as a substructure in a stochastic railway timetabling model, we study in this work a special case of the bipartite boolean quadric polytope. It models conditional relations across three sets of binary variables, where selections within two “if” sets imply a choice in a corresponding “then” set. We call this polytope … Read more

A Parametric Approach for Solving Convex Quadratic Optimization with Indicators Over Trees

This paper investigates convex quadratic optimization problems involving $n$ indicator variables, each associated with a continuous variable, particularly focusing on scenarios where the matrix $Q$ defining the quadratic term is positive definite and its sparsity pattern corresponds to the adjacency matrix of a tree graph. We introduce a graph-based dynamic programming algorithm that solves this … Read more

A Polyhedral Characterization of Linearizable Quadratic Combinatorial Optimization Problems

We introduce a polyhedral framework for characterizing instances of quadratic combinatorial optimization programs (QCOPs) that are linearizable, meaning that the quadratic objective can be equivalently rewritten as linear in such a manner that preserves the objective function value at all feasible solutions. In particular, we show that an instance is linearizable if and only if … Read more

Uncertainty Quantification for Multiobjective Stochastic Convex Quadratic Programs

A multiobjective stochastic convex quadratic program (MOSCQP) is a multiobjective optimization problem with convex quadratic objectives that are observed with stochastic error. MOSCQP is a useful problem formulation arising, for example, in model calibration and nonlinear system identification when a single regression model combines data from multiple distinct sources, resulting in a multiobjective least squares … Read more

Quadratic Optimization Through the Lens of Adjustable Robust Optimization

Quadratic optimization (QO) has been studied extensively in the literature due to its applicability in many practical problems. While practical, it is known that QO problems are generally NP-hard. So, researchers developed many approximation methods to find good solutions. In this paper, we go beyond the norm and analyze QO problems using robust optimization techniques. … Read more