Globally Solving the Trust Region Subproblem Using Simple First-Order Methods

We consider the trust region subproblem which is given by a minimization of a quadratic, not necessarily convex, function over the Euclidean ball. Based on the well-known second-order necessary and sufficient optimality conditions for this problem, we present two sufficient optimality conditions defined solely in terms of the primal variables. Each of these conditions corresponds … Read more

Randomized Similar Triangles Method: A Unifying Framework for Accelerated Randomized Optimization Methods (Coordinate Descent, Directional Search, Derivative-Free Method)

In this paper, we consider smooth convex optimization problems with simple constraints and inexactness in the oracle information such as value, partial or directional derivatives of the objective function. We introduce a unifying framework, which allows to construct different types of accelerated randomized methods for such problems and to prove convergence rate theorems for them. … Read more

Convergence of first-order methods via the convex conjugate

This paper gives a unified and succinct approach to the $O(1/\sqrt{k}), O(1/k),$ and $O(1/k^2)$ convergence rates of the subgradient, gradient, and accelerated gradient methods for unconstrained convex minimization. In the three cases the proof of convergence follows from a generic bound defined by the convex conjugate of the objective function. Citation Working Paper, Carnegie Mellon … Read more

Chambolle-Pock and Tseng’s methods: relationship and extension to the bilevel optimization

In the first part of the paper we focus on two problems: (a) regularized least squares and (b) nonsmooth minimization over an affine subspace. For these problems we establish the connection between the primal-dual method of Chambolle-Pock and Tseng’s proximal gradient method. For problem (a) it allows us to derive a nonergodic $O(1/k^2)$ convergence rate … Read more

Revisiting Approximate Linear Programming Using a Saddle Point Approach

Approximate linear programs (ALPs) are well-known models for computing value function approximations (VFAs) of intractable Markov decision processes (MDPs) arising in applications. VFAs from ALPs have desirable theoretical properties, define an operating policy, and provide a lower bound on the optimal policy cost, which can be used to assess the suboptimality of heuristic policies. However, … Read more

Iteration-complexity of a Jacobi-type non-Euclidean ADMM for multi-block linearly constrained nonconvex programs

This paper establishes the iteration-complexity of a Jacobi-type non-Euclidean proximal alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) for solving multi-block linearly constrained nonconvex programs. The subproblems of this ADMM variant can be solved in parallel and hence the method has great potential to solve large scale multi-block linearly constrained nonconvex programs. Moreover, our analysis allows the … Read more

Iteration-Complexity of a Linearized Proximal Multiblock ADMM Class for Linearly Constrained Nonconvex Optimization Problems

This paper analyzes the iteration-complexity of a class of linearized proximal multiblock alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) for solving linearly constrained nonconvex optimization problems. The subproblems of the linearized ADMM are obtained by partially or fully linearizing the augmented Lagrangian with respect to the corresponding minimizing block variable. The derived complexity bounds do not … Read more

Dynamic Data-Driven Estimation of Non-Parametric Choice Models

We study non-parametric estimation of choice models, which was introduced to alleviate unreasonable assumptions in traditional parametric models, and are prevalent in several application areas. Existing literature focuses only on the static observational setting where all of the observations are given upfront, and lacks algorithms that provide explicit convergence rate guarantees or an a priori … Read more

Optimality condition and complexity analysis for linearly-constrained optimization without differentiability on the boundary

In this paper we consider the minimization of a continuous function that is potentially not differentiable or not twice differentiable on the boundary of the feasible region. By exploiting an interior point technique, we present first- and second-order optimality conditions for this problem that reduces to classical ones when the derivative on the boundary is … Read more

Convergence rate bounds for a proximal ADMM with over-relaxation stepsize parameter for solving nonconvex linearly constrained problems

This paper establishes convergence rate bounds for a variant of the proximal alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) for solving nonconvex linearly constrained optimization problems. The variant of the proximal ADMM allows the inclusion of an over-relaxation stepsize parameter belonging to the interval (0,2). To the best of our knowledge, all related papers in the … Read more