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We study the minimax problem $\min_{x\in M} \max_y f_r(x,y):=f(x,y)-h(y)$, where $M$ is a compact submanifold, $f$ is continuously differentiable in $(x, y)$, $h$ is a closed, weakly-convex (possibly non-smooth) function and we assume that…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2025-12-09 Necdet Serhat Aybat , Jiang Hu , Zhanwang Deng

In this paper, the problem of safe global maximization (it should not be confused with robust optimization) of expensive noisy black-box functions satisfying the Lipschitz condition is considered. The notion "safe" means that the objective…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2020-08-18 Yaroslav D. Sergeyev , Antonio Candelieri , Dmitri E. Kvasov , Riccardo Perego

We present a novel black box optimization algorithm called Hessian Estimation Evolution Strategy. The algorithm updates the covariance matrix of its sampling distribution by directly estimating the curvature of the objective function. This…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2020-06-11 Tobias Glasmachers , Oswin Krause

This paper addresses the development of a covariance matrix self-adaptation evolution strategy (CMSA-ES) for solving optimization problems with linear constraints. The proposed algorithm is referred to as Linear Constraint CMSA-ES…

Neural and Evolutionary Computing · Computer Science 2018-09-24 Patrick Spettel , Hans-Georg Beyer , Michael Hellwig

This paper considers stochastic first-order algorithms for convex-concave minimax problems of the form $\min_{\bf x}\max_{\bf y}f(\bf x, \bf y)$, where $f$ can be presented by the average of $n$ individual components which are $L$-average…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2022-02-01 Luo Luo , Guangzeng Xie , Tong Zhang , Zhihua Zhang

Majorization-minimization algorithms consist of successively minimizing a sequence of upper bounds of the objective function. These upper bounds are tight at the current estimate, and each iteration monotonically drives the objective…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2015-02-03 Julien Mairal

Model merging has emerged as a cost-effective alternative to training large language models (LLMs) from scratch, enabling researchers to combine pre-trained models into more capable systems without full retraining. Evolutionary approaches…

Neural and Evolutionary Computing · Computer Science 2026-05-13 Md. Robiul Islam Niloy

This paper is devoted to the study (common in many applications) of the black-box optimization problem, where the black-box represents a gradient-free oracle $\tilde{f} = f(x) + \xi$ providing the objective function value with some…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2024-07-08 Aleksandr Lobanov

This study targets the mixed-integer black-box optimization (MI-BBO) problem where continuous and integer variables should be optimized simultaneously. The CMA-ES, our focus in this study, is a population-based stochastic search method that…

Neural and Evolutionary Computing · Computer Science 2024-01-12 Ryoki Hamano , Shota Saito , Masahiro Nomura , Shinichi Shirakawa

We consider the problem of optimizing a grey-box objective function, i.e., nested function composed of both black-box and white-box functions. A general formulation for such grey-box problems is given, which covers the existing grey-box…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2023-08-03 Wenjie Xu , Yuning Jiang , Bratislav Svetozarevic , Colin N. Jones

Despite the state-of-the-art performance of the covariance matrix adaptation evolution strategy (CMA-ES), high-dimensional black-box optimization problems are challenging tasks. Such problems often involve a property called low effective…

Neural and Evolutionary Computing · Computer Science 2024-12-03 Kento Uchida , Teppei Yamaguchi , Shinichi Shirakawa

Minimax optimization has been central in addressing various applications in machine learning, game theory, and control theory. Prior literature has thus far mainly focused on studying such problems in the continuous domain, e.g.,…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2021-11-03 Arman Adibi , Aryan Mokhtari , Hamed Hassani

Classically, a mainstream approach for solving a convex-concave min-max problem is to instead solve the variational inequality problem arising from its first-order optimality conditions. Is it possible to solve min-max problems faster by…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2025-11-06 Henry Shugart , Jason M. Altschuler

We consider black-box optimization in which only an extremely limited number of function evaluations, on the order of around 100, are affordable and the function evaluations must be performed in even fewer batches of a limited number of…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2021-03-19 Carlos Ansotegui , Meinolf Sellmann , Tapan Shah , Kevin Tierney

This paper is devoted to a new modification of a recently proposed adaptive stochastic mirror descent algorithm for constrained convex optimization problems in the case of several convex functional constraints. Algorithms, standard and its…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2020-01-22 Mohammad S. Alkousa

Based on the ideas of arXiv:1710.06612, we consider the problem of minimization of the Holder-continuous non-smooth functional $f$ with non-positive convex (generally, non-smooth) Lipschitz-continuous functional constraint. We propose some…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2022-01-03 Fedor Stonyakin , Alexey Stepanov , Alexander Gasnikov , Alexander Titov

This paper investigates the control of an ML component within the Covariance Matrix Adaptation Evolution Strategy (CMA-ES) devoted to black-box optimization. The known CMA-ES weakness is its sample complexity, the number of evaluations of…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2013-08-20 Ilya Loshchilov , Marc Schoenauer , Michèle Sebag

The selection of the most appropriate algorithm to solve a given problem instance, known as algorithm selection, is driven by the potential to capitalize on the complementary performance of different algorithms across sets of problem…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2024-06-12 Gjorgjina Cenikj , Ana Nikolikj , Gašper Petelin , Niki van Stein , Carola Doerr , Tome Eftimov

A major approach to saddle point optimization $\min_x\max_y f(x, y)$ is a gradient based approach as is popularized by generative adversarial networks (GANs). In contrast, we analyze an alternative approach relying only on an oracle that…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2021-04-02 Youhei Akimoto

This study focuses on mixed-variable black-box optimization (MV-BBO), addressing continuous, integer, and categorical variables. Many real-world MV-BBO problems involve dependencies among these different types of variables, requiring…

Neural and Evolutionary Computing · Computer Science 2026-01-08 Ryoki Hamano , Masahiro Nomura , Shota Saito , Kento Uchida , Shinichi Shirakawa