## The Lyapunov rank of an improper cone

Let K be a closed convex cone with dual K^* in a finite-dimensional real inner-product space V. The complementarity set of K is C(K) = { (x, s) in K × K^* | = 0 }. We say that a linear transformation L : V -> V is Lyapunov-like on K if = 0 for all (x, … Read more

## Solving conic optimization problems via self-dual embedding and facial reduction: a unified approach

We establish connections between the facial reduction algorithm of Borwein and Wolkowicz and the self-dual homogeneous model of Goldman and Tucker when applied to conic optimization problems. Specifically, we show the self-dual homogeneous model returns facial reduction certificates when it fails to return a primal-dual optimal solution or a certificate of infeasibility. Using this observation, … Read more

## Linear conic formulations for two-party correlations and values of nonlocal games

In this work we study the sets of two-party correlations generated from a Bell scenario involving two spatially separated systems with respect to various physical models. We show that the sets of classical, quantum, no-signaling and unrestricted correlations can be expressed as projections of affine sections of appropriate convex cones. As a by-product, we identify … Read more

## Regularization vs. Relaxation: A convexification perspective of statistical variable selection

Variable selection is a fundamental task in statistical data analysis. Sparsity-inducing regularization methods are a popular class of methods that simultaneously perform variable selection and model estimation. The central problem is a quadratic optimization problem with an $\ell_0$-norm penalty. Exactly enforcing the $\ell_0$-norm penalty is computationally intractable for larger scale problems, so different sparsity-inducing penalty … Read more

## A Framework for Applying Subgradient Methods to Conic Optimization Problems (version 2)

A framework is presented whereby a general convex conic optimization problem is transformed into an equivalent convex optimization problem whose only constraints are linear equations and whose objective function is Lipschitz continuous. Virtually any subgradient method can be applied to solve the equivalent problem. Two methods are analyzed. (In version 2, the development of algorithms … Read more

## A Gentle, Geometric Introduction to Copositive Optimization

This paper illustrates the fundamental connection between nonconvex quadratic optimization and copositive optimization—a connection that allows the reformulation of nonconvex quadratic problems as convex ones in a unified way. We intend the paper for readers new to the area, and hence the exposition is largely self-contained. We focus on examples having just a few variables … Read more

## Variational Analysis of Circular Cone Programs

This paper conducts variational analysis of circular programs, which form a new class of optimization problems in nonsymmetric conic programming important for optimization theory and its applications. First we derive explicit formulas in terms of the initial problem data to calculate various generalized derivatives/coderivatives of the projection operator associated with the circular cone. Then we … Read more

## An inexact block-decomposition method for extra large-scale conic semidefinite programming

In this paper, we present an inexact block-decomposition (BD) first-order method for solving standard form conic semidefinite programming (SDP) which avoids computations of exact projections onto the manifold defined by the affine constraints and, as a result, is able to handle extra large SDP instances. The method is based on a two-block reformulation of the … Read more

## Robust Data-Driven Dynamic Programming

In stochastic optimal control the distribution of the exogenous noise is typically unknown and must be inferred from limited data before dynamic programming (DP)-based solution schemes can be applied. If the conditional expectations in the DP recursions are estimated via kernel regression, however, the historical sample paths enter the solution procedure directly as they determine … Read more

## Distributionally Robust Convex Optimization

Distributionally robust optimization is a paradigm for decision-making under uncertainty where the uncertain problem data is governed by a probability distribution that is itself subject to uncertainty. The distribution is then assumed to belong to an ambiguity set comprising all distributions that are compatible with the decision maker’s prior information. In this paper, we propose … Read more