We present a probabilistic model for stochastic iterative algorithms with the use case of optimization algorithms in mind. Based on this model, we present PAC-Bayesian generalization bounds for functions that are defined on the trajectory of the learned algorithm, for example, the expected (non-asymptotic) convergence rate and the expected time to reach the stopping criterion. … Read more
\(\) This paper is devoted to study the convergence rates of a second-order dynamical system and its corresponding discretizations associated with a nonsmooth bilinearly coupled convex-concave saddle point problem. We derive the convergence rate of the primal-dual gap for the second-order dynamical system with asymptotically vanishing damping term. Based on the implicit discretization, we propose … Read more
Sandwiching algorithms, also known as Benson-type algorithms, approximate the nondominated set of convex bounded multiobjective optimization problems by constructing and iteratively improving polyhedral inner and outer approximations. Using a set-valued metric, an estimate of the approximation quality is determined as the distance between the inner and outer approximation. The convergence of the algorithm is evaluated … Read more
We prove the first convergence guarantees for a subgradient method minimizing a generic Lipschitz function over generic Lipschitz inequality constraints. No smoothness or convexity (or weak convexity) assumptions are made. Instead, we utilize a sequence of recent advances in Lipschitz unconstrained minimization, which showed convergence rates of $O(1/\delta\epsilon^3)$ towards reaching a “Goldstein” stationary point, that … Read more
\(\) We study the convergence of the last iterate in subgradient methods applied to the minimization of a nonsmooth convex function with bounded subgradients. We first introduce a proof technique that generalizes the standard analysis of subgradient methods. It is based on tracking the distance between the current iterate and a different reference point at … Read more
We propose an algorithm which appears to be the first bridge between the fields of conditional gradient methods and abs-smooth optimization. Our problem setting is motivated by various applications that lead to nonsmoothness, such as $\ell_1$ regularization, phase retrieval problems, or ReLU activation in machine learning. To handle the nonsmoothness in our problem, we propose … Read more
Motivated by the prediction-correction framework constructed by He and Yuan [SIAM J. Numer. Anal. 50: 700-709, 2012], we propose a unified prediction-correction framework to accelerate Lagrangian-based methods. More precisely, for strongly convex optimization, general linearized Lagrangian method with indefinite proximal term, alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) with the step size of Lagrangian multiplier not … Read more
We study convergence rates of the classic proximal bundle method for a variety of nonsmooth convex optimization problems. We show that, without any modification, this algorithm adapts to converge faster in the presence of smoothness or a Hölder growth condition. Our analysis reveals that with a constant stepsize, the bundle method is adaptive, yet it … Read more
We investigate a class of constrained sparse regression problem with cardinality penalty, where the feasible set is defined by box constraint, and the loss function is convex, but not necessarily smooth. First, we put forward a smoothing fast iterative hard thresholding (SFIHT) algorithm for solving such optimization problems, which combines smoothing approximations, extrapolation techniques and … Read more
We explore generalizations of some integrated learning and optimization frameworks for data-driven contextual stochastic optimization that can adapt to heteroscedasticity. We identify conditions on the stochastic program, data generation process, and the prediction setup under which these generalizations possess asymptotic and finite sample guarantees for a class of stochastic programs, including two-stage stochastic mixed-integer programs … Read more