Related papers: Uniform non-convex optimisation via Extremum Seeki…
In this paper we build provably near-optimal, in the minimax sense, estimates of linear forms and, more generally, "$N$-convex functionals" (the simplest example being the maximum of several fractional-linear functions) of unknown "signal"…
This paper extends the algorithm schemes proposed in \cite{Nesterov2007a} and \cite{Nesterov2007b} to the minimization of the sum of a composite objective function and a convex function. Two proximal point-type schemes are provided and…
We propose and analyze asymptotic proximal point (APP) methods to find the global minimizer for a class of nonconvex, nonsmooth, or even discontinuous multiple minima functions. The method is based on an asymptotic representation of…
Most systems and learning algorithms optimize average performance or average loss -- one reason being computational complexity. However, many objectives of practical interest are more complex than simply average loss. This arises, for…
We obtain an optimal deviation from the mean upper bound \begin{equation} D(x)\=\sup_{f\in \F}\mu\{f-\E_{\mu} f\geq x\},\qquad\ \text{for}\ x\in\R\label{abstr} \end{equation} where $\F$ is the class of the integrable, Lipschitz functions on…
We address composite optimization problems, which consist in minimizing the sum of a smooth and a merely lower semicontinuous function, without any convexity assumptions. Numerical solutions of these problems can be obtained by proximal…
The paper considers the problem of network-based computation of global minima in smooth nonconvex optimization problems. It is known that distributed gradient-descent-type algorithms can achieve convergence to the set of global minima by…
In the present paper, a systematic study is made of quantitative semicontinuity (a.k.a. Lipschitzian) properties of certain multifunctions, which are defined as a solution map associated to a family of parameterized ``split" feasibility…
Using uniform global Carleman estimates for discrete elliptic and semi-discrete hyperbolic equations, we study Lipschitz and logarithmic stability for the inverse problem of recovering a potential in a semi-discrete wave equation,…
The problem of minimizing the maximum of $N$ convex, Lipschitz functions plays significant roles in optimization and machine learning. It has a series of results, with the most recent one requiring $O(N\epsilon^{-2/3} + \epsilon^{-8/3})$…
We study contextual dynamic pricing, where a decision maker posts personalized prices based on observable contexts and receives binary purchase feedback indicating whether the customer's valuation exceeds the price. Each valuation is…
We prove that the finite-difference based derivative-free descent (FD-DFD) methods have a capability to find the global minima for a class of multiple minima problems. Our main result shows that, for a class of multiple minima objectives…
In this paper, we address stochastic optimization problems involving a composition of a non-smooth outer function and a smooth inner function, a formulation frequently encountered in machine learning and operations research. To deal with…
The current best algorithms for convex body chasing problem in online algorithms use the notion of the Steiner point of a convex set. In particular, the algorithm which always moves to the Steiner point of the request set is $O(d)$…
In this paper we provide an analytical framework for investigating the efficiency of a consensus-based model for tackling global optimization problems. This work justifies the optimization algorithm in the mean-field sense showing the…
A subgradient method is presented for solving general convex optimization problems, the main requirement being that a strictly-feasible point is known. A feasible sequence of iterates is generated, which converges to within user-specified…
This paper establishes the argmin of a random objective function to be unique almost surely. This paper first formulates a general result that proves almost sure uniqueness without convexity of the objective function. The general result is…
In practice, objective functions of real-time control systems can have multiple local minimums or can dramatically change over the function space, making them hard to optimize. To efficiently optimize such systems, in this paper, we develop…
Machine learning algorithms typically perform optimization over a class of non-convex functions. In this work, we provide bounds on the fundamental hardness of identifying the global minimizer of a non convex function. Specifically, we…
We study the minimization of the non-convex and non-differentiable objective function $v \mapsto \mathrm{E} ( \| X - v \| \| X + v \| - \| X \|^2 )$ in $\mathbb{R}^p$. In particular, we show that its minimizers recover the first principal…