Algorithms for the circle packing problem based on mixed-integer DC programming

Circle packing problems are a class of packing problems which attempt to pack a given set of circles into a container with no overlap. In this paper, we focus on the circle packing problem proposed by L{\’o}pez et.al. The problem is to pack circles of unequal size into a fixed size circular container, so as … Read more

A note on solving nonlinear optimization problems in variable precision

This short note considers an efficient variant of the trust-region algorithm with dynamic accuracy proposed Carter (1993) and Conn, Gould and Toint (2000) as a tool for very high-performance computing, an area where it is critical to allow multi-precision computations for keeping the energy dissipation under control. Numerical experiments are presented indicating that the use … Read more

An Inexact First-order Method for Constrained Nonlinear Optimization

The primary focus of this paper is on designing inexact first-order methods for solving large-scale constrained nonlinear optimization problems. By controlling the inexactness of the subproblem solution, we can significantly reduce the computational cost needed for each iteration. A penalty parameter updating strategy during the subproblem solve enables the algorithm to automatically detect infeasibility. Global … Read more

Lectures on Parametric Optimization: An Introduction

The report aims to provide an overview over results from Parametric Optimization which could be called classical results on the subject. Parametric Optimization considers optimization problems depending on a parameter and describes how the feasible set, the value function, and the local or global minimizers of the program depend on changes in the parameter. After … Read more

Derivative-Free Optimization of Noisy Functions via Quasi-Newton Methods

This paper presents a finite difference quasi-Newton method for the minimization of noisy functions. The method takes advantage of the scalability and power of BFGS updating, and employs an adaptive procedure for choosing the differencing interval h based on the noise estimation techniques of Hamming (2012) and MorĂ© and Wild (2011). This noise estimation procedure … Read more

A Dynamic Penalty Parameter Updating Strategy for Matrix-Free Sequential Quadratic Optimization

This paper focuses on the design of sequential quadratic optimization (commonly known as SQP) methods for solving large-scale nonlinear optimization problems. The most computationally demanding aspect of such an approach is the computation of the search direction during each iteration, for which we consider the use of matrix-free methods. In particular, we develop a method … Read more

ADMM for Multiaffine Constrained Optimization

We propose an expansion of the scope of the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM). Specifically, we show that ADMM, when employed to solve problems with multiaffine constraints that satisfy certain easily verifiable assumptions, converges to the set of constrained stationary points if the penalty parameter in the augmented Lagrangian is sufficiently large. When the … Read more

Concise Complexity Analyses for Trust-Region Methods

Concise complexity analyses are presented for simple trust region algorithms for solving unconstrained optimization problems. In contrast to a traditional trust region algorithm, the algorithms considered in this paper require certain control over the choice of trust region radius after any successful iteration. The analyses highlight the essential algorithm components required to obtain certain complexity … Read more

Regional Complexity Analysis of Algorithms for Nonconvex Smooth Optimization

A strategy is proposed for characterizing the worst-case performance of algorithms for solving nonconvex smooth optimization problems. Contemporary analyses characterize worst-case performance by providing, under certain assumptions on an objective function, an upper bound on the number of iterations (or function or derivative evaluations) required until a pth-order stationarity condition is approximately satisfied. This arguably … Read more

New Constraint Qualifications with Second-Order Properties in Nonlinear Optimization

In this paper we present and discuss new constraint qualifications to ensure the validity of well known second-order properties in nonlinear optimization. Here, we discuss conditions related to the so-called basic second-order condition, where a new notion of polar pairing is introduced in order to replace the polar operation, useful in the first-order case. We … Read more