Related papers: Efficient Implementation of Second-Order Stochasti…
We introduce deterministic perturbation schemes for the recently proposed random directions stochastic approximation (RDSA) [17], and propose new first-order and second-order algorithms. In the latter case, these are the first second-order…
Optimization in machine learning, both theoretical and applied, is presently dominated by first-order gradient methods such as stochastic gradient descent. Second-order optimization methods, that involve second derivatives and/or second…
In this paper, we design, analyze, and implement a variant of the two-loop L-shaped algorithms for solving two-stage stochastic programming problems that arise from important application areas including revenue management and power systems.…
In this paper we propose two algorithms in the tabular setting and an algorithm for the function approximation setting for the Stochastic Shortest Path (SSP) problem. SSP problems form an important class of problems in Reinforcement…
Successive quadratic approximations, or second-order proximal methods, are useful for minimizing functions that are a sum of a smooth part and a convex, possibly nonsmooth part that promotes regularization. Most analyses of iteration…
Computation of the large sparse matrix exponential has been an important topic in many fields, such as network and finite-element analysis. The existing scaling and squaring algorithm (SSA) is not suitable for the computation of the large…
Process monitoring based on neural networks is getting more and more attention. Compared with classical neural networks, high-order neural networks have natural advantages in dealing with heteroscedastic data. However, high-order neural…
Escaping saddle points is a central research topic in nonconvex optimization. In this paper, we propose a simple gradient-based algorithm such that for a smooth function $f\colon\mathbb{R}^n\to\mathbb{R}$, it outputs an…
Recently, Stochastic Variational Inference (SVI) has been increasingly attractive thanks to its ability to find good posterior approximations of probabilistic models. It optimizes the variational objective with stochastic optimization,…
It has long been a goal to efficiently compute and use second order information on a function ($f$) to assist in numerical approximations. Here it is shown how, using only basic physics and a numerical approximation, such information can be…
Optimization under heavy-tailed noise has become popular recently, since it better fits many modern machine learning tasks, as captured by empirical observations. Concretely, instead of a finite second moment on gradient noise, a bounded…
Sequential testing problems involve a complex system with several components, each of which is "working" with some independent probability. The outcome of each component can be determined by performing a test, which incurs some cost. The…
We present adaptive sequential SAA (sample average approximation) algorithms to solve large-scale two-stage stochastic linear programs. The iterative algorithm framework we propose is organized into \emph{outer} and \emph{inner} iterations…
We developed a corporative stochastic approximation (CSA) type algorithm for semi-infinite programming (SIP), where the cut generation problem is solved inexactly. First, we provide general error bounds for inexact CSA. Then, we propose two…
The graduated optimization approach, also known as the continuation method, is a popular heuristic to solving non-convex problems that has received renewed interest over the last decade. Despite its popularity, very little is known in terms…
This paper deals with composite optimization problems having the objective function formed as the sum of two terms, one has Lipschitz continuous gradient along random subspaces and may be nonconvex and the second term is simple and…
The distributed nonconvex optimization problem of minimizing a global cost function formed by a sum of $n$ local cost functions by using local information exchange is considered. This problem is an important component of many machine…
AC-OPF (Alternative Current Optimal Power Flow)aims at minimizing the operating costs of a power gridunder physical constraints on voltages and power injections.Its mathematical formulation results in a nonconvex polynomial…
We give an algorithm to compute a one-dimensional shape-constrained function that best fits given data in weighted-$L_{\infty}$ norm. We give a single algorithm that works for a variety of commonly studied shape constraints including…
This paper studies second-order methods for convex-concave minimax optimization. Monteiro and Svaiter (2012) proposed a method to solve the problem with an optimal iteration complexity of $\mathcal{O}(\epsilon^{-3/2})$ to find an…