Related papers: Swarm gradient dynamics for global optimization: t…
Metaheuristic algorithms are powerful tools for global optimization, particularly for non-convex and non-differentiable problems where exact methods are often impractical. Particle-based optimization methods, inspired by swarm intelligence…
We consider a composite optimization problem where the sum of a continuously differentiable and a merely lower semicontinuous function has to be minimized. The proximal gradient algorithm is the classical method for solving such a problem…
We uncover the gradient structure to investigate the convergence of solutions in nonlocal nonlinear dynamical systems. Mainly but not exclusively, we use the Lojasiewicz inequality to prove convergence results in various spaces with…
Many statistical $M$-estimators are based on convex optimization problems formed by the combination of a data-dependent loss function with a norm-based regularizer. We analyze the convergence rates of projected gradient and composite…
Most non-convex optimization theory is built around gradient dynamics, leaving global convergence largely unexplored. The dominant paradigm focuses on stationarity, certifying only that the gradient norm vanishes, which is often a weak…
Large-scale nonconvex optimization problems are ubiquitous in modern machine learning, and among practitioners interested in solving them, Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD) reigns supreme. We revisit the analysis of SGD in the nonconvex…
We propose an algorithmic framework, that employs active subspace techniques, for scalable global optimization of functions with low effective dimension (also referred to as low-rank functions). This proposal replaces the original…
Simulated annealing is a popular method for approaching the solution of a global optimization problem. Existing results on its performance apply to discrete combinatorial optimization where the optimization variables can assume only a…
We formulate the swarming optimization problem as a weakly coupled, dissipative dynamical system governed by a controlled energy dissipation rate and initial velocities that adhere to the nonequilibrium Onsager principle. In this framework,…
Accelerated gradient methods have had significant impact in machine learning -- in particular the theoretical side of machine learning -- due to their ability to achieve oracle lower bounds. But their heuristic construction has hindered…
Optimization is at the heart of machine learning, statistics and many applied scientific disciplines. It also has a long history in physics, ranging from the minimal action principle to finding ground states of disordered systems such as…
This paper investigates a category of constrained fractional optimization problems that emerge in various practical applications. The objective function for this category is characterized by the ratio of a numerator and denominator, both…
We show that the subgradient method converges only to local minimizers when applied to generic Lipschitz continuous and subdifferentially regular functions that are definable in an o-minimal structure. At a high level, the argument we…
Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) has emerged as a powerful metaheuristic global optimization approach over the past three decades. Its appeal lies in its ability to tackle complex multidimensional problems that defy conventional…
We consider stochastic gradient estimation using only black-box function evaluations, where the function argument lies within a probability simplex. This problem is motivated from gradient-descent optimization procedures in multiple…
Multi-objective optimization is central to many engineering and machine learning applications, where multiple objectives must be optimized in balance. While multi-gradient based optimization methods combine these objectives in each step,…
Much of the existing theory on first-order non-smooth optimization is built on a restrictive assumption that the gradients of the objective function are uniformly bounded. We introduce a much more realistic class of generalized Lipschitz…
We focus on a class of non-smooth optimization problems over the Stiefel manifold in the decentralized setting, where a connected network of $n$ agents cooperatively minimize a finite-sum objective function with each component being weakly…
In this paper, the global optimization problem $\min_{y\in S} F(y)$ with $S$ being a hyperinterval in $\Re^N$ and $F(y)$ satisfying the Lipschitz condition with an unknown Lipschitz constant is considered. It is supposed that the function…
The stochastic inverse eigenvalue problem aims to reconstruct a stochastic matrix from its spectrum. While there exists a large literature on the existence of solutions for special settings, there are only few numerical solution methods…