Convergence rate of inexact proximal point methods with relative error criteria for convex optimization

In this paper, we consider a class of inexact proximal point methods for convex optimization which allows a relative error tolerance in the approximate solution of each proximal subproblem. By exploiting the special structure of convex optimization problems, we are able to derive surprising complexity bounds for the aforementioned class. As a consequence, we show … Read more

Iteration-complexity of block-decomposition algorithms and the alternating minimization augmented Lagrangian method

In this paper, we consider the monotone inclusion problem consisting of the sum of a continuous monotone map and a point-to-set maximal monotone operator with a separable two-block structure and introduce a framework of block-decomposition prox-type algorithms for solving it which allows for each one of the single-block proximal subproblems to be solved in an … Read more

Double smoothing technique for infinite-dimensional optimization problems with applications to Optimal Control.

In this paper, we propose an efficient technique for solving some infinite-dimensional problems over the sets of functions of time. In our problem, besides the convex point-wise constraints on state variables, we have convex coupling constraints with finite-dimensional image. Hence, we can formulate a finite-dimensional dual problem, which can be solved by efficient gradient methods. … Read more

A Practical Relative Error Criterion for Augmented Lagrangians

This paper develops a new error criterion for the approximate minimization of augmented Lagrangian subproblems. This criterion is practical in the sense that it requires only information that is ordinarily readily available, such as the gradient (or a subgradient) of the augmented Lagrangian. It is also “relative” in the sense of relative error criteria for … Read more

Complexity of variants of Tseng’s modified F-B splitting and Korpelevich’s methods for generalized variational inequalities with applications to saddle point and convex optimization problems

In this paper, we consider both a variant of Tseng’s modified forward-backward splitting method and an extension of Korpelevich’s method for solving generalized variational inequalities with Lipschitz continuous operators. By showing that these methods are special cases of the hybrid proximal extragradient (HPE) method introduced by Solodov and Svaiter, we derive iteration-complexity bounds for them … Read more

Optimal Stochastic Approximation Algorithms for Strongly Convex Stochastic Composite Optimization I: a Generic Algorithmic Framework

In this paper we present a generic algorithmic framework, namely, the accelerated stochastic approximation (AC-SA) algorithm, for solving strongly convex stochastic composite optimization (SCO) problems. While the classical stochastic approximation (SA) algorithms are asymptotically optimal for solving differentiable and strongly convex problems, the AC-SA algorithm, when employed with proper stepsize policies, can achieve optimal or … Read more

A splitting method for separate convex programming with linking linear constraints

We consider the separate convex programming problem with linking linear constraints, where the objective function is in the form of the sum of m individual functions without crossed variables. The special case with m=2 has been well studied in the literature and some algorithms are very influential, e.g. the alternating direction method. The research for … Read more

Alternating proximal algorithms for constrained variational inequalities. Application to domain decomposition for PDE’s

Let $\cX,\cY,\cZ$ be real Hilbert spaces, let $f : \cX \rightarrow \R\cup\{+\infty\}$, $g : \cY \rightarrow \R\cup\{+\infty\}$ be closed convex functions and let $A : \cX \rightarrow \cZ$, $B : \cY \rightarrow \cZ$ be linear continuous operators. Let us consider the constrained minimization problem $$ \min\{f(x)+g(y):\quad Ax=By\}.\leqno (\cP)$$ Given a sequence $(\gamma_n)$ which tends toward … Read more

A first-order primal-dual algorithm for convex problems with applications to imaging

In this paper we study a first-order primal-dual algorithm for convex optimization problems with known saddle-point structure. We prove convergence to a saddle-point with rate O(1/N ) in finite dimensions, which is optimal for the complete class of non-smooth problems we are considering in this paper. We further show accelerations of the proposed algorithm to … Read more

Central Swaths (A Generalization of the Central Path)

We develop a natural generalization to the notion of the central path — a notion that lies at the heart of interior-point methods for convex optimization. The generalization is accomplished via the “derivative cones” of a “hyperbolicity cone,” the derivatives being direct and mathematically-appealing relaxations of the underlying (hyperbolic) conic constraint, be it the non-negative … Read more