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This paper addresses the challenge of dynamic multi-objective optimization problems (DMOPs) by introducing novel approaches for accelerating prediction strategies within the evolutionary algorithm framework. Since the objectives of DMOPs…

Neural and Evolutionary Computing · Computer Science 2024-11-14 Ru Lei , Lin Li , Rustam Stolkin , Bin Feng

In this paper, we discuss distributed optimization over directed graphs, where doubly-stochastic weights cannot be constructed. Most of the existing algorithms overcome this issue by applying push-sum consensus, which utilizes…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2019-01-30 Ran Xin , Chenguang Xi , Usman A. Khan

This paper explores a method for solving constrained optimization problems when the derivatives of the objective function are unavailable, while the derivatives of the constraints are known. We allow the objective and constraint function to…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2024-02-20 Melody Qiming Xuan , Jorge Nocedal

Two families of directional direct search methods have emerged in derivative-free and blackbox optimization (DFO and BBO), each based on distinct principles: Mesh Adaptive Direct Search (MADS) and Sufficient Decrease Direct Search (SDDS).…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2025-08-01 Charles Audet , Théo Denorme , Youssef Diouane , Sébastien Le Digabel , Christophe Tribes

The Frank-Wolfe algorithm has become a popular first-order optimization algorithm for it is simple and projection-free, and it has been successfully applied to a variety of real-world problems. Its main drawback however lies in its…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2020-06-25 Cyrille W. Combettes , Sebastian Pokutta

The goal of offline black-box optimization (BBO) is to optimize an expensive black-box function using a fixed dataset of function evaluations. Prior works consider forward approaches that learn surrogates to the black-box function and…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2023-08-22 Siddarth Krishnamoorthy , Satvik Mehul Mashkaria , Aditya Grover

In many applications of mathematical optimization, one may wish to optimize an objective function without access to its derivatives. These situations call for derivative-free optimization (DFO) methods. Among the most successful approaches…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2025-12-11 Abraar Chaudhry , Katya Scheinberg

Proximal policy optimization (PPO) has yielded state-of-the-art results in policy search, a subfield of reinforcement learning, with one of its key points being the use of a surrogate objective function to restrict the step size at each…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2020-12-07 Wangshu Zhu , Andre Rosendo

This paper presents a directional proximal point method (DPPM) to derive the minimum of any C1-smooth function f. The proposed method requires a function persistent a local convex segment along the descent direction at any non-critical…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2022-04-29 Ming-Yu Chung , Jinn Ho , Wen-Liang Hwang

Bilevel optimization has recently attracted considerable attention due to its abundant applications in machine learning problems. However, existing methods rely on prior knowledge of problem parameters to determine stepsizes, resulting in…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2024-10-10 Yifan Yang , Hao Ban , Minhui Huang , Shiqian Ma , Kaiyi Ji

A sequential quadratic optimization algorithm is proposed for solving smooth nonlinear equality constrained optimization problems in which the objective function is defined by an expectation of a stochastic function. The algorithmic…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2023-03-17 Albert S. Berahas , Frank E. Curtis , Michael J. O'Neill , Daniel P. Robinson

Classical worst-case optimization theory neither explains the success of optimization in machine learning, nor does it help with step size selection. In this paper we demonstrate the viability and advantages of replacing the classical…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2024-10-16 Felix Benning , Leif Döring

In this paper, we present a novel derivative-free optimization framework for solving unconstrained stochastic optimization problems. Many problems in fields ranging from simulation optimization to reinforcement learning involve settings…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2024-04-19 Raghu Bollapragada , Cem Karamanli , Stefan M. Wild

In many optimization problems arising from scientific, engineering and artificial intelligence applications, objective and constraint functions are available only as the output of a black-box or simulation oracle that does not provide…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2019-08-15 Jeffrey Larson , Matt Menickelly , Stefan M. Wild

In this work, we are concerned with the worst case complexity analysis of "a posteriori" methods for unconstrained multi-objective optimization problems where objective function values can only be obtained by querying a black box. We…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2025-05-26 Giampaolo Liuzzi , Stefano Lucidi

Efficiently aligning large-scale video diffusion models with human intent requires a scalable and trajectory-aware pathway that bridges the inherent discrepancy between training noise distributions and practical inference trajectories.…

Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition · Computer Science 2026-05-11 Jingyuan Zhu , Biaolong Chen , Le Zhang , Aixi Zhang , Hao Jiang , Pipei Huang

Distributed optimization and learning algorithms are designed to operate over large scale networks enabling processing of vast amounts of data effectively and efficiently. One of the main challenges for ensuring a smooth learning process in…

Systems and Control · Electrical Eng. & Systems 2026-01-21 Apostolos I. Rikos , Nicola Bastianello , Themistoklis Charalambous , Karl H. Johansson

This paper considers non-smooth optimization problems where we seek to minimize the pointwise maximum of a continuously parameterized family of functions. Since the objective function is given as the solution to a maximization problem,…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2026-01-12 Dimitris Boskos , Jorge Cortés , Sonia Martínez

Direct Preference Optimization (DPO) has been proposed as a promising alternative to Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) based Reinforcement Learning with Human Feedback (RLHF). However, empirical evaluations consistently reveal suboptimal…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2025-03-03 Qinwei Ma , Jingzhe Shi , Can Jin , Jenq-Neng Hwang , Serge Belongie , Lei Li

Diffusion models have achieved impressive results in generative tasks such as text-to-image synthesis, yet they often struggle to fully align outputs with nuanced user intent and maintain consistent aesthetic quality. Existing…

Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition · Computer Science 2025-12-30 Dohyun Kim , Seungwoo Lyu , Seung Wook Kim , Paul Hongsuck Seo