A proximal technique for computing the Karcher mean of symmetric positive definite matrices

This paper presents a proximal point approach for computing the Riemannian or intrinsic Karcher mean of symmetric positive definite matrices. Our method derives from proximal point algorithm with Schur decomposition developed to compute minimum points of convex functions on symmetric positive definite matrices set when it is seen as a Hadamard manifold. The main idea … Read more

On the Complexity Analysis of Randomized Block-Coordinate Descent Methods

In this paper we analyze the randomized block-coordinate descent (RBCD) methods for minimizing the sum of a smooth convex function and a block-separable convex function. In particular, we extend Nesterov’s technique (SIOPT 2012) for analyzing the RBCD method for minimizing a smooth convex function over a block-separable closed convex set to the aforementioned more general … Read more

Cutting-planes for optimization of convex functions over nonconvex sets

Motivated by mixed-integer, nonlinear optimization problems, we derive linear inequality characterizations for sets of the form conv{(x, q ) \in R^d × R : q \in Q(x), x \in R^d – int(P )} where Q is convex and differentiable and P \subset R^d . We show that in several cases our characterization leads to polynomial-time … Read more

Dual equilibrium problems: how a succession of aspiration points converges to an equilibrium

We consider an equilibrium problem defined on a convex set, whose cost bifunction may not be monotone. We show that this problem can be solved by the inexact partial proximal method with quasi distance. As an application, at the psychological level of behavioral dynamics, this paper shows two points: i) how a dual equilibrium problem … Read more

Computing in Operations Research using Julia

The state of numerical computing is currently characterized by a divide between highly efficient yet typically cumbersome low-level languages such as C, C++, and Fortran and highly expressive yet typically slow high-level languages such as Python and MATLAB. This paper explores how Julia, a modern programming language for numerical computing which claims to bridge this … Read more

A Trust-Region Method for Unconstrained Multiobjective Problems with Applications in Satisficing Processes

Multiobjective optimization has a significant number of real life applications. For this reason, in this paper, we consider the problem of finding Pareto critical points for unconstrained multiobjective problems and present a trust-region method to solve it. Under certain assumptions, which are derived in a very natural way from assumptions used by \citet{conn} to establish … Read more

On a generalization of Pólya’s and Putinar-Vasilescu’s Positivstellensätze

In this paper we provide a generalization of two well-known positivstellensätze, namely the positivstellensatz from Pólya [Georg Pólya. Über positive darstellung von polynomen vierteljschr. In Naturforsch. Ges. Zürich, 73: 141-145, 1928] and the positivestellensatz from Putinar and Vasilescu [Mihai Putinar and Florian-Horia Vasilescu. Positive polynomials on semialgebraic sets. Comptes Rendus de l’Académie des Sciences – … Read more

A matrix-free approach to build band preconditioners for large-scale bound-constrained optimization

We propose a procedure for building symmetric positive definite band preconditioners for large-scale symmetric, possibly indefinite, linear systems, when the coefficient matrix is not explicitly available, but matrix-vector products involving it can be computed. We focus on linear systems arising in Newton-type iterations within matrix-free versions of projected methods for bound-constrained nonlinear optimization. In this … Read more

Strategic Health Workforce Planning

Analysts predict impending shortages in the health care workforce, yet wages for health care workers already account for over half of U.S. health expenditures. It is thus increasingly important to adequately plan to meet health workforce demand at reasonable cost. Using infinite linear programming methodology, we propose an infinite-horizon model for health workforce planning in … Read more

Near-Optimal Algorithms for Capacity Constrained Assortment Optimization

Assortment optimization is an important problem that arises in many practical applications such as retailing and online advertising. In an assortment optimization problem, the goal is to select a subset of items that maximizes the expected revenue in the presence of the substitution behavior of consumers specified by a choice model. In this paper, we … Read more