TACO – A Toolkit for AMPL Control Optimization

We describe a set of extensions to the AMPL modeling language to conveniently model mixed-integer optimal control problems for ODE or DAE dynamic processes. These extensions are realized as AMPL user functions and suffixes and do not require intrusive changes to the AMPL language standard or implementation itself. We describe and provide TACO, a Toolkit … Read more

A First-Order Smoothing Technique for a Class of Large-Scale Linear Programs

We study a class of linear programming (LP) problems motivated by large-scale machine learning applications. After reformulating the LP as a convex nonsmooth problem, we apply Nesterov’s primal-dual smoothing technique. It turns out that the iteration complexity of the smoothing technique depends on a parameter $\th$ that arises because we need to bound the originally … Read more

The Triangle Closure is a Polyhedron

Recently, cutting planes derived from maximal lattice-free convex sets have been studied intensively by the integer programming community. An important question in this research area has been to decide whether the closures associated with certain families of lattice-free sets are polyhedra. For a long time, the only result known was the celebrated theorem of Cook, … Read more

Approximating the Exponential, the Lanczos Method and an \tilde{O}(m)-Time Spectral Algorithm for Balanced Separator

We give a novel spectral approximation algorithm for the balanced separator problem that, given a graph G, a constant balance b \in (0,1/2], and a parameter \gamma, either finds an \Omega(b)-balanced cut of conductance O(\sqrt{\gamma}) in G, or outputs a certificate that all b-balanced cuts in G have conductance at least \gamma, and runs in … Read more

Robust counterparts of inequalities containing sums of maxima of linear functions

This paper adresses the robust counterparts of optimization problems containing sums of maxima of linear functions and proposes several reformulations. These problems include many practical problems, e.g. problems with sums of absolute values, and arise when taking the robust counterpart of a linear inequality that is affine in the decision variables, affine in a parameter … Read more

A Primal Barrier Function Phase I Algorithm for Nonsymmetric Conic Optimization Problems

We call a positive semidefinite matrix whose elements are nonnegative a doubly nonnegative matrix, and the set of those matrices the doubly nonnegative cone (DNN cone). The DNN cone is not symmetric but can be represented as the projection of a symmetric cone embedded in a higher dimension. In \cite{aYOSHISE10}, the authors demonstrated the efficiency … Read more

Sensitivity analysis for two-level value functions with applications to bilevel programming

This paper contributes to a deeper understanding of the link between a now conventional framework in hierarchical optimization spread under the name of the optimistic bilevel problem and its initial more dicult formulation that we call here the original optimistic bilevel optimization problem. It follows from this research that, although the process of deriving necessary … Read more

New optimality conditions for the semivectorial bilevel optimization problem

The paper is concerned with the optimistic formulation of a bilevel optimization problem with multiobjective lower-level problem. Considering the scalarization approach for the multiobjective program, we transform our problem into a scalar-objective optimization problem with inequality constraints by means of the well-known optimal value reformulation. Completely detailed rst-order necessary optimality conditions are then derived in … Read more

Sample Size Selection in Optimization Methods for Machine Learning

This paper presents a methodology for using varying sample sizes in batch-type optimization methods for large scale machine learning problems. The first part of the paper deals with the delicate issue of dynamic sample selection in the evaluation of the function and gradient. We propose a criterion for increasing the sample size based on variance … Read more

An extension of the elimination method for a sparse SOS polynomial

We propose a method to reduce the sizes of SDP relaxation problems for a given polynomial optimization problem (POP). This method is an extension of the elimination method for a sparse SOS polynomial in [Kojima et al., Mathematical Programming] and exploits sparsity of polynomials involved in a given POP. In addition, we show that this … Read more