Related papers: On Convergence of Binary Trust-Region Steepest Des…
Block coordinate descent is an optimization paradigm that iteratively updates one block of variables at a time, making it quite amenable to big data applications due to its scalability and performance. Its convergence behavior has been…
In this paper we present a novel randomized block coordinate descent method for the minimization of a convex composite objective function. The method uses (approximate) partial second-order (curvature) information, so that the algorithm…
We propose a nonsmooth trust-region method for solving optimization problems with locally Lipschitz continuous functions, with application to problems constrained by variational inequalities of the second kind. Under suitable assumptions on…
A novel distributed algorithm is proposed for finite-time converging to a feasible consensus solution satisfying global optimality to a certain accuracy of the distributed robust convex optimization problem (DRCO) subject to bounded…
This letter presents an almost sure convergence of the zeroth-order mirror descent algorithm. The algorithm admits non-smooth convex functions and a biased oracle which only provides noisy function value at any desired point. We approximate…
We consider the optimization problem of minimizing an objective functional, which admits a variational form and is defined over probability distributions on the constrained domain, which poses challenges to both theoretical analysis and…
Solving stochastic optimal control problems with quadratic control costs can be viewed as approximating a target path space measure, e.g. via gradient-based optimization. In practice, however, this optimization is challenging in particular…
Performing efficient inference on Bayesian Networks (BNs), with large numbers of densely connected variables is challenging. With exact inference methods, such as the Junction Tree algorithm, clustering complexity can grow exponentially…
This paper extends the optimal covariance steering problem for linear stochastic systems subject to chance constraints to account for optimal risk allocation. Previous works have assumed a uniform risk allocation to cast the optimal control…
Gradient Descent Ascent (GDA) methods for min-max optimization problems typically produce oscillatory behavior that can lead to instability, e.g., in bilinear settings. To address this problem, we introduce a dissipation term into the GDA…
In safety-critical domains, reinforcement learning (RL) agents must often satisfy strict, zero-cost safety constraints while accomplishing tasks. Existing model-free methods frequently either fail to achieve near-zero safety violations or…
Cyclic coordinate descent is a classic optimization method that has witnessed a resurgence of interest in machine learning. Reasons for this include its simplicity, speed and stability, as well as its competitive performance on $\ell_1$…
Relax, Compensate and then Recover (RCR) is a paradigm for approximate inference in probabilistic graphical models that has previously provided theoretical and practical insights on iterative belief propagation and some of its…
Hybrid controlled trials (HCTs), which augment randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with external controls (ECs), are increasingly receiving attention as a way to address limited power, slow accrual, and ethical concerns in clinical…
Optimization of slow-time transmit sequence endows cognitive radar with the ability to suppress strong clutter in the range-Doppler domain. However, in practice, inaccurate target velocity information or random phase error would induce…
Convex and nonconvex finite-sum minimization arises in many scientific computing and machine learning applications. Recently, first-order and second-order methods where objective functions, gradients and Hessians are approximated by…
A novel trust region method for solving linearly constrained nonlinear programs is presented. The proposed technique is amenable to a distributed implementation, as its salient ingredient is an alternating projected gradient sweep in place…
The mirror descent algorithm is known to be effective in situations where it is beneficial to adapt the mirror map to the underlying geometry of the optimization model. However, the effect of mirror maps on the geometry of distributed…
The Steiner tree problem is one of the most prominent problems in network design. Given an edge-weighted undirected graph and a subset of the vertices, called terminals, the task is to compute a minimum-weight tree containing all terminals…
For a general entropy-regularized stochastic control problem on an infinite horizon, we prove that a policy iteration algorithm (PIA) converges to an optimal relaxed control. Contrary to the standard stochastic control literature, classical…