In this thesis, we settle the computational complexity of some fundamental questions in polynomial optimization. These include the questions of (i) finding a local minimum, (ii) testing local minimality of a candidate point, and (iii) deciding attainment of the optimal value. Our results characterize the complexity of these three questions for all degrees of the … Read more
We show that unless P=NP, there cannot be a polynomial-time algorithm that finds a point within Euclidean distance $c^n$ (for any constant $c \ge 0$) of a local minimizer of an $n$-variate quadratic function over a polytope. This result (even with $c=0$) answers a question of Pardalos and Vavasis that appeared in 1992 on a … Read more
We consider the notions of (i) critical points, (ii) second-order points, (iii) local minima, and (iv) strict local minima for multivariate polynomials. For each type of point, and as a function of the degree of the polynomial, we study the complexity of deciding (1) if a given point is of that type, and (2) if … Read more
In this note, we consider several polynomial optimization formulations of the max- imum independent set problem and the use of the Lasserre hierarchy with these different formulations. We demonstrate using computational experiments that the choice of formulation may have a significant impact on the resulting bounds. We also provide theoretical justifications for the observed behavior. … Read more
Polynomial optimization problems over binary variables can be expressed as integer programs using a linearization with extra monomials in addition to those arising in the given polynomial. We characterize when such a linearization yields an integral relaxation polytope, generalizing work by Del Pia and Khajavirad (SIAM Journal on Optimization, 2018) and Buchheim, Crama and RodrÃguez-Heck … Read more
Random projections map a set of points in a high dimensional space to a lower dimen- sional one while approximately preserving all pairwise Euclidean distances. While random projections are usually applied to numerical data, we show they can be successfully applied to quadratic programming formulations over a set of linear inequality constraints. Instead of solving … Read more
We consider the semi-infinite system of polynomial inequalities of the form \[ \mathbf{K}:=\{x\in\mathbb{R}^m\mid p(x,y)\ge 0,\ \ \forall y\in S\subseteq\mathbb{R}^n\}, \] where $p(X,Y)$ is a real polynomial in the variables $X$ and the parameters $Y$, the index set $S$ is a basic semialgebraic set in $\mathbb{R}^n$, $-p(X,y)$ is convex in $X$ for every $y\in S$. We … Read more
We construct norming meshes for polynomial optimization by the classical Markov inequality on general convex bodies in R^d, and by a tangential Markov inequality via an estimate of Dubiner distance on smooth convex bodies. These allow to compute a (1−eps)-approximation to the minimum of any polynomial of degree not exceeding n by O((n/sqrt(eps))^(ad)) samples, with … Read more
We construct web-shaped norming meshes on starlike polygons, by radial and boundary Chebyshev points. Via the approximation theoretic notion of Dubiner distance, we get a (1-eps)-approximation to the minimum of an arbitrary polynomial of degree n by O(n^2/eps) sampling points. Citation Preprint, July 2018 Article Download View Polynomial Optimization on Chebyshev-Dubiner Webs of Starlike Polygons
We consider the problem of approximating numerically the moments and the supports of measures which are invariant with respect to the dynamics of continuousand discrete-time polynomial systems, under semialgebraic set constraints. First, we address the problem of approximating the density and hence the support of an invariant measure which is absolutely continuous with respect to … Read more