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Alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) is a popular optimization tool for the composite and constrained problems in machine learning. However, in many machine learning problems such as black-box attacks and bandit feedback, ADMM…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2019-07-31 Feihu Huang , Shangqian Gao , Songcan Chen , Heng Huang

We propose a single time-scale stochastic subgradient method for constrained optimization of a composition of several nonsmooth and nonconvex functions. The functions are assumed to be locally Lipschitz and differentiable in a generalized…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2020-12-22 Andrzej Ruszczynski

This paper considers zeroth-order optimization for stochastic convex minimization problem. We propose a parameter-free stochastic zeroth-order method (POEM) by introducing a step-size scheme based on the distance over finite difference and…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2025-05-06 Kunjie Ren , Luo Luo

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

We study fundamental limits of first-order stochastic optimization in a range of nonconvex settings, including L-smooth functions satisfying Quasar-Convexity (QC), Quadratic Growth (QG), and Restricted Secant Inequalities (RSI). While the…

Machine Learning · Statistics 2025-06-03 El Mehdi Saad , Wei-Cheng Lee , Francesco Orabona

An algorithm is proposed for solving optimization problems with stochastic objective and deterministic equality and inequality constraints. This algorithm is objective-function-free in the sense that it only uses the objective's gradient…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2026-04-01 S. Gratton , Ph. L. Toint

This paper studies decentralized stochastic nonconvex optimization problem over row-stochastic networks. We consider the heavy-tailed gradient noise which is empirically observed in many popular real-world applications. Specifically, we…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2026-01-19 Menglian Wang , Zhuanghua Liu , Luo Luo

In this work, we consider convex optimization problems with smooth objective function and nonsmooth functional constraints. We propose a new stochastic gradient algorithm, called Stochastic Halfspace Approximation Method (SHAM), to solve…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2024-12-04 Nitesh Kumar Singh , Ion Necoara

This paper reviews the gradient sampling methodology for solving nonsmooth, nonconvex optimization problems. An intuitively straightforward gradient sampling algorithm is stated and its convergence properties are summarized. Throughout this…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2018-05-01 James V. Burke , Frank E. Curtis , Adrian S. Lewis , Michael L. Overton , Lucas E. A. Simões

In this work, we develop analysis and algorithms for a class of (stochastic) bilevel optimization problems whose lower-level (LL) problem is strongly convex and linearly constrained. Most existing approaches for solving such problems rely…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2025-04-08 Prashant Khanduri , Ioannis Tsaknakis , Yihua Zhang , Sijia Liu , Mingyi Hong

Saddle-point problems have recently gained increased attention from the machine learning community, mainly due to applications in training Generative Adversarial Networks using stochastic gradients. At the same time, in some applications…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2021-09-07 Abdurakhmon Sadiev , Aleksandr Beznosikov , Pavel Dvurechensky , Alexander Gasnikov

In this paper, we consider mixed-integer nonsmooth constrained optimization problems whose objective/constraint functions are available only as the output of a black-box zeroth-order oracle (i.e., an oracle that does not provide derivative…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2021-07-02 Tommaso Giovannelli , Giampaolo Liuzzi , Stefano Lucidi , Francesco Rinaldi

We propose a stochastic gradient framework for solving stochastic composite convex optimization problems with (possibly) infinite number of linear inclusion constraints that need to be satisfied almost surely. We use smoothing and homotopy…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2019-02-04 Olivier Fercoq , Ahmet Alacaoglu , Ion Necoara , Volkan Cevher

We present new algorithms for optimizing non-smooth, non-convex stochastic objectives based on a novel analysis technique. This improves the current best-known complexity for finding a $(\delta,\epsilon)$-stationary point from…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2025-08-08 Ashok Cutkosky , Harsh Mehta , Francesco Orabona

In order to solve the minimization of a nonsmooth convex function, we design an inertial second-order dynamic algorithm, which is obtained by approximating the nonsmooth function by a class of smooth functions. By studying the asymptotic…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2021-12-20 Xin Qu , Wei Bian

In this work, we present new simple and optimal algorithms for solving the variational inequality (VI) problem for $p^{th}$-order smooth, monotone operators -- a problem that generalizes convex optimization and saddle-point problems. Recent…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2022-06-01 Deeksha Adil , Brian Bullins , Arun Jambulapati , Sushant Sachdeva

This paper develops negative curvature methods for continuous nonlinear unconstrained optimization in stochastic settings, in which function, gradient, and Hessian information is available only through probabilistic oracles, i.e., oracles…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2026-03-05 Albert S. Berahas , Raghu Bollapragada , Wanping Dong

In this paper, we present a new stochastic algorithm, namely the stochastic block mirror descent (SBMD) method for solving large-scale nonsmooth and stochastic optimization problems. The basic idea of this algorithm is to incorporate the…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2013-09-10 Cong D. Dang , Guanghui Lan

In this paper, we analyze gradient-free methods with one-point feedback for stochastic saddle point problems $\min_{x}\max_{y} \varphi(x, y)$. For non-smooth and smooth cases, we present analysis in a general geometric setup with arbitrary…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2022-09-12 Aleksandr Beznosikov , Vasilii Novitskii , Alexander Gasnikov

We present an optimal gradient method for smooth strongly convex optimization. The method is optimal in the sense that its worst-case bound on the distance to an optimal point exactly matches the lower bound on the oracle complexity for the…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2022-06-15 Adrien Taylor , Yoel Drori