Related papers: On the Approximation of Submodular Functions
A number of discrete and continuous optimization problems in machine learning are related to convex minimization problems under submodular constraints. In this paper, we deal with a submodular function with a directed graph structure, and…
The problem of reconstructing functions from their asymptotic expansions in powers of a small variable is addressed by deriving a novel type of approximants. The derivation is based on the self-similar approximation theory, which presents…
Submodular functions have been studied extensively in machine learning and data mining. In particular, the optimization of submodular functions over the integer lattice (integer submodular functions) has recently attracted much interest,…
In this paper, we introduce a novel technique for constrained submodular maximization, inspired by barrier functions in continuous optimization. This connection not only improves the running time for constrained submodular maximization but…
We consider classes of objective functions of cardinality constrained maximization problems for which the greedy algorithm guarantees a constant approximation. We propose the new class of $\gamma$-$\alpha$-augmentable functions and prove…
We consider non-monotone DR-submodular function maximization, where DR-submodularity (diminishing return submodularity) is an extension of submodularity for functions over the integer lattice based on the concept of the diminishing return…
We study the problem of ranking with submodular valuations. An instance of this problem consists of a ground set $[m]$, and a collection of $n$ monotone submodular set functions $f^1, \ldots, f^n$, where each $f^i: 2^{[m]} \to R_+$. An…
We study the problem of approximating and learning coverage functions. A function $c: 2^{[n]} \rightarrow \mathbf{R}^{+}$ is a coverage function, if there exists a universe $U$ with non-negative weights $w(u)$ for each $u \in U$ and subsets…
It has been well established that first order optimization methods can converge to the maximal objective value of concave functions and provide constant factor approximation guarantees for (non-convex/non-concave) continuous submodular…
Motivated by a wide range of applications in data mining and machine learning, we consider the problem of maximizing a submodular function subject to supermodular cost constraints. In contrast to the well-understood setting of cardinality…
We consider the problem of maximizing submodular functions; while this problem is known to be NP-hard, several numerically efficient local search techniques with approximation guarantees are available. In this paper, we propose a novel…
In this paper, we study the problem of maximizing $k$-submodular functions subject to a knapsack constraint. For monotone objective functions, we present a $\frac{1}{2}(1-e^{-2})\approx 0.432$ greedy approximation algorithm. For the…
In this paper, we study classes of discrete convex functions: submodular functions on modular semilattices and L-convex functions on oriented modular graphs. They were introduced by the author in complexity classification of minimum…
Shannon entropy is a polymatroidal set function and lies at the foundation of information theory, yet the class of entropic polymatroids is strictly smaller than the class of all submodular functions. In parallel, submodular and…
We extend the work of Narasimhan and Bilmes [30] for minimizing set functions representable as a dierence between submodular functions. Similar to [30], our new algorithms are guaranteed to monotonically reduce the objective function at…
We present an efficient algorithm to find non-empty minimizers of a symmetric submodular function over any family of sets closed under inclusion. This for example includes families defined by a cardinality constraint, a knapsack constraint,…
Robust Optimization is becoming increasingly important in machine learning applications. This paper studies the problem of robust submodular minimization subject to combinatorial constraints. Constrained Submodular Minimization arises in…
With the extensive application of submodularity, its generalizations are constantly being proposed. However, most of them are tailored for special problems. In this paper, we focus on quasi-submodularity, a universal generalization, which…
In contrast to the many continuous global optimization methods that assume the objective function and constraints are factorable, we study how to find globally maximal solutions to problems that are not factorable, focusing on a particular…
The problem of maximizing non-negative monotone submodular functions under a certain constraint has been intensively studied in the last decade. In this paper, we address the problem for functions defined over the integer lattice. Suppose…