Probing-Enhanced Stochastic Programming

\(\) We consider a two-stage stochastic decision problem where the decision-maker has the opportunity to obtain information about the distribution of the random variables $\xi$ that appear in the problem through a set of discrete actions that we refer to as probing. Probing components of a random vector $\eta$ that is jointly-distributed with $\xi$ allows … Read more

Properties of Two-Stage Stochastic Multi-Objective Linear Programs

We consider a two-stage stochastic multi-objective linear program (TSSMOLP) which is a natural multi-objective generalization of the well-studied two-stage stochastic linear program. The second-stage recourse decision is governed by an uncertain multi-objective linear program whose solution maps to an uncertain second-stage nondominated set. The TSSMOLP then comprises the objective function, which is the Minkowsi sum … Read more

Contextual Stochastic Programs with Expected-Value Constraints

Expected-value-constrained programming (ECP) formulations are a broad class of stochastic programming problems including integrated chance constraints, risk models, and stochastic dominance formulations. Given the wide availability of data, it is common in applications to have independent contextual information associated with the target or dependent random variables of the problem. We show how to incorporate such … Read more

A progressive decoupling algorithm for minimizing the difference of convex and weakly convex functions over a linear subspace

Commonly, decomposition and splitting techniques for optimization problems strongly depend on convexity. Implementable splitting methods for nonconvex and nonsmooth optimization problems are scarce and often lack convergence guarantees. Among the few exceptions is the Progressive Decoupling Algorithm (PDA), which has local convergence should convexity be elicitable. In this work, we furnish PDA with a descent … Read more

Benders decomposition with scaled cuts for multistage stochastic mixed-integer programs

We consider Benders decomposition algorithms for multistage stochastic mixed-integer programs (SMIPs) with general mixed-integer decision variables at every node in the scenario tree. We derive a hierarchy of convex polyhedral lower bounds for the value functions and expected cost to-go functions in multistage SMIPs using affine parametric cutting planes in extended spaces for the feasible … Read more

Exploiting Overlap Information in Chance-constrained Program with Random Right-hand Side

We consider the chance-constrained program (CCP) with random right-hand side under a finite discrete distribution. It is known that the standard mixed integer linear programming (MILP) reformulation of the CCP is generally difficult to solve by general-purpose solvers as the branch-and-cut search trees are enormously large, partly due to the weak linear programming relaxation. In … Read more

Applying random coordinate descent in a probability maximization scheme

Gradient computation of multivariate distribution functions calls for considerable effort. A standard procedure is component-wise computation, hence coordinate descent is an attractive choice. This paper deals with constrained convex problems. We apply random coordinate descent in an approximation scheme that is an inexact cutting-plane method from a dual viewpoint. We present convergence proofs and a … Read more

Distributionally Fair Stochastic Optimization using Wasserstein Distance

A traditional stochastic program under a finite population typically seeks to optimize efficiency by maximizing the expected profits or minimizing the expected costs, subject to a set of constraints. However, implementing such optimization-based decisions can have varying impacts on individuals, and when assessed using the individuals’ utility functions, these impacts may differ substantially across demographic … Read more

Active Set-based Inexact Proximal Bundle Algorithm for Stochastic Quadratic Programming

In this paper, we examine two-stage stochastic quadratic programming problems, where the objective function of the first and second stages are quadratic functions, and the constraints are linear. The uncertainty is associated with the second-stage right-hand side and variable bounds. In large-scale settings, when the number of scenarios necessary to represent the underlying stochastic process … Read more

A hybrid branch-and-bound and interior-point algorithm for stochastic mixed-integer nonlinear second-order cone programming

One of the chief attractions of stochastic mixed-integer second-order cone programming is its diverse applications, especially in engineering (Alzalg and Alioui, {\em IEEE Access}, 10:3522-3547, 2022). The linear and nonlinear versions of this class of optimization problems are still unsolved yet. In this paper, we develop a hybrid optimization algorithm coupling branch-and-bound and primal-dual interior-point … Read more