A Parallel Local Search Framework for the Fixed-Charge Multicommodity Network Flow Problem

We present a parallel local search approach for obtaining high quality solutions to the Fixed Charge Multi-commodity Network Flow problem (FCMNF). The approach proceeds by improving a given feasible solution by solving restricted instances of the problem where flows of certain commodities are fixed to those in the solution while the other commodities are locally … Read more

Symmetric confidence regions and confidence intervals for normal map formulations of stochastic variational inequalities

Stochastic variational inequalities (SVI) model a large class of equilibrium problems subject to data uncertainty, and are closely related to stochastic optimization problems. The SVI solution is usually estimated by a solution to a sample average approximation (SAA) problem. This paper considers the normal map formulation of an SVI, and proposes a method to build … Read more

On Lipschitz optimization based on gray-box piecewise linearization

We address the problem of minimizing objectives from the class of piecewise differentiable functions whose nonsmoothness can be encapsulated in the absolute value function. They possess local piecewise linear approximations with a discrepancy that can be bounded by a quadratic proximal term. This overestimating local model is continuous but generally nonconvex. It can be generated … Read more

Steplength Thresholds for Invariance Preserving of Discretization Methods of Dynamical Systems on a Polyhedron

Steplength thresholds for invariance preserving of three types of discretization methods on a polyhedron are considered. For Taylor approximation type discretization methods we prove that a valid steplength threshold can be obtained by finding the first positive zeros of a finite number of polynomial functions. Further, a simple and efficient algorithm is proposed to numerically … Read more

Robust optimization criteria: state-of-the-art and new issues

Uncertain parameters appear in many optimization problems raised by real-world applications. To handle such problems, several approaches to model uncertainty are available, such as stochastic programming and robust optimization. This study is focused on robust optimization, in particular, the criteria to select and determine a robust solution. We provide an overview on robust optimization criteria … Read more

Individual confidence intervals for true solutions to stochastic variational inequalities

Stochastic variational inequalities (SVI) provide a means for modeling various optimization and equilibrium problems where data are subject to uncertainty. Often it is necessary to estimate the true SVI solution by the solution of a sample average approximation (SAA) problem. This paper proposes three methods for building confidence intervals for components of the true solution, … Read more

A Class of Randomized Primal-Dual Algorithms for Distributed Optimization

Based on a preconditioned version of the randomized block-coordinate forward-backward algorithm recently proposed in [Combettes,Pesquet,2014], several variants of block-coordinate primal-dual algorithms are designed in order to solve a wide array of monotone inclusion problems. These methods rely on a sweep of blocks of variables which are activated at each iteration according to a random rule, … Read more

Clustering Categories in Support Vector Machines

Support Vector Machines (SVM) is the state-of-the-art in Supervised Classification. In this paper the Cluster Support Vector Machines (CLSVM) methodology is proposed with the aim to reduce the complexity of the SVM classifier in the presence of categorical features. The CLSVM methodology lets categories cluster around their peers and builds an SVM classifier using the … Read more

A polyhedral study of the diameter constrained minimum spanning tree problem

This paper provides a study of integer linear programming formulations for the diameter constrained spanning tree problem (DMSTP) in the natural space of edge design variables. After presenting a straightforward model based on the well known jump inequalities a new stronger family of circular-jump inequalities is introduced. These inequalities are further generalized in two ways: … Read more

A Primal-Dual Algorithmic Framework for Constrained Convex Minimization

We present a primal-dual algorithmic framework to obtain approximate solutions to a prototypical constrained convex optimization problem, and rigorously characterize how common structural assumptions affect the numerical efficiency. Our main analysis technique provides a fresh perspective on Nesterov’s excessive gap technique in a structured fashion and unifies it with smoothing and primal-dual methods. For instance, … Read more