On cones of nonnegative quadratic functions

We derive LMI-characterizations and dual decomposition algorithms for certain matrix cones which are generated by a given set using generalized co-positivity. These matrix cones are in fact cones of non-convex quadratic functions that are nonnegative on a certain domain. As a domain, we consider for instance the intersection of a (upper) level-set of a quadratic … Read more

Upper Bounds on ATSP Neighborhood Size

We consider the Asymmetric Traveling Salesman Problem (ATSP) and use the definition of neighborhood by Deineko and Woeginger (see Math. Programming 87 (2000) 519-542). Let $\mu(n)$ be the maximum cardinality of polynomial time searchable neighborhood for the ATSP on $n$ vertices. Deineko and Woeginger conjectured that $\mu (n)< \beta (n-1)!$ for any constant $\beta >0$ … Read more

On the Convergence of Newton Iterations to Non-Stationary Points

We study conditions under which line search Newton methods for nonlinear systems of equations and optimization fail due to the presence of singular non-stationary points. These points are not solutions of the problem and are characterized by the fact that Jacobian or Hessian matrices are singular. It is shown that, for systems of nonlinear equations, … Read more

Analyticity of the central path at the boundary point in semidefinite programming

In this paper we study the limiting behavior of the central path for semidefinite programming. We show that the central path is an analytic function of the barrier parameter even at the limit point, provided that the semidefinite program has a strictly complementary solution. A consequence of this property is that the derivatives – of … Read more

A study of preconditioners for network interior point methods

We study and compare preconditioners available for network interior point methods. We derive upper bounds for the condition number of the preconditioned matrices used in the solution of systems of linear equations defining the algorithm search directions. The preconditioners are tested using PDNET, a state-of-the-art interior point code for the minimum cost network flow problem. … Read more

Decomposition Algorithms for Stochastic Programming on a Computational Grid

We describe algorithms for two-stage stochastic linear programming with recourse and their implementation on a grid computing platform. In particular, we examine serial and asynchronous versions of the L-shaped method and a trust-region method. The parallel platform of choice is the dynamic, heterogeneous, opportunistic platform provided by the Condor system. The algorithms are of master-worker … Read more

An Attractor-Repeller Approach to Floorplanning

The floorplanning (or facility layout) problem consists in finding the optimal positions for a given set of modules of fixed area (but perhaps varying dimensions) within a facility such that the distances between pairs of modules that have a positive connection cost are minimized. This is a hard discrete optimization problem; even the restricted version … Read more

Extra-Updates Criterion for the Limited Memory BFGS Algorithm for Large Scale Nonlinear Optimization

This paper studies recent modifications of the limited memory BFGS (L-BFGS) method for solving large scale unconstrained optimization problems. Each modification technique attempts to improve the quality of the L-BFGS Hessian by employing (extra) updates in certain sense. Because at some iterations these updates might be redundant or worsen the quality of this Hessian, this … Read more

Self-scaled barriers for irreducible symmetric cones

Self-scaled barrier functions are fundamental objects in the theory of interior-point methods for linear optimization over symmetric cones, of which linear and semidefinite programming are special cases. We are classifying all self-scaled barriers over irreducible symmetric cones and show that these functions are merely homothetic transformations of the universal barrier function. Together with a decomposition … Read more

Fast iterative solution of saddle point problems in optimal control based on wavelets

In this paper, wavelet techniques are employed for the fast numerical solution of a control problem governed by an elliptic boundary value problem with boundary control. A quadratic cost functional involving natural norms of the state and the control is to be minimized. Firstly the constraint, the elliptic boundary value problem, is formulated in an … Read more