Multi-cut stochastic approximation methods for solving stochastic convex composite optimization

The development of a multi-cut stochastic approximation (SA) method for solving stochastic convex composite optimization (SCCO) problems has remained an open challenge. The difficulty arises from the fact that the stochastic multi-cut model, constructed as the pointwise maximum of individual stochastic linearizations, provides a biased estimate of the objective function, with the error being uncontrollable. … Read more

Variance Reduction and Low Sample Complexity in Stochastic Optimization via Proximal Point Method

This paper proposes a stochastic proximal point method to solve a stochastic convex composite optimization problem. High probability results in stochastic optimization typically hinge on restrictive assumptions on the stochastic gradient noise, for example, sub-Gaussian distributions. Assuming only weak conditions such as bounded variance of the stochastic gradient, this paper establishes a low sample complexity … Read more