Related papers: Advancing the lower bounds: An accelerated, stocha…
We present novel algorithms for simulation optimization using random directions stochastic approximation (RDSA). These include first-order (gradient) as well as second-order (Newton) schemes. We incorporate both continuous-valued as well as…
In this paper we analyze a zeroth-order proximal stochastic gradient method suitable for the minimization of weakly convex stochastic optimization problems. We consider nonsmooth and nonlinear stochastic composite problems, for which…
This work provides the first finite-time convergence guarantees for linearly constrained stochastic bilevel optimization using only first-order methods, requiring solely gradient information without any Hessian computations or second-order…
Recently a majorization method for optimizing partition functions of log-linear models was proposed alongside a novel quadratic variational upper-bound. In the batch setting, it outperformed state-of-the-art first- and second-order…
An inexact framework for high-order adaptive regularization methods is presented, in which approximations may be used for the $p$th-order tensor, based on lower-order derivatives. Between each recalculation of the $p$th-order derivative…
Bilevel learning has gained prominence in machine learning, inverse problems, and imaging applications, including hyperparameter optimization, learning data-adaptive regularizers, and optimizing forward operators. The large-scale nature of…
In this paper we present a novel quasi-Newton algorithm for use in stochastic optimisation. Quasi-Newton methods have had an enormous impact on deterministic optimisation problems because they afford rapid convergence and computationally…
We study the connections between ordinary differential equations and optimization algorithms in a non-Euclidean setting. We propose a novel accelerated algorithm for minimising convex functions over a convex constrained set. This algorithm…
We present a finite-time analysis of two smoothed functional stochastic approximation algorithms for simulation-based optimization. The first is a two time-scale gradient-based method, while the second is a three time-scale Newton-based…
Stochastic coordinate descent algorithms are efficient methods in which each iterate is obtained by fixing most coordinates at their values from the current iteration, and approximately minimizing the objective with respect to the remaining…
In this paper, we consider non-smooth stochastic convex optimization with two function evaluations per round under infinite noise variance. In the classical setting when noise has finite variance, an optimal algorithm, built upon the…
Stochastic optimization is a vital field in the realm of mathematical optimization, finding applications in diverse areas ranging from operations research to machine learning. In this paper, we introduce a novel first-order optimization…
In this paper, we propose an Anderson-accelerated stochastic extragradient algorithm for solving a class of stochastic variational inequalities, by incorporating Anderson acceleration into the stochastic extragradient method under a…
Adaptive optimizers can reduce to normalized steepest descent (NSD) when only adapting to the current gradient, suggesting a close connection between the two algorithmic families. A key distinction between their analyses, however, lies in…
Convergence analysis of accelerated first-order methods for convex optimization problems are presented from the point of view of ordinary differential equation solvers. A new dynamical system, called Nesterov accelerated gradient flow, has…
We study stochastic second-order methods for solving general non-convex optimization problems. We propose using a special version of momentum to stabilize the stochastic gradient and Hessian estimates in Newton's method. We show that…
We provide improved convergence rates for various \emph{non-smooth} optimization problems via higher-order accelerated methods. In the case of $\ell_\infty$ regression, we achieves an $O(\epsilon^{-4/5})$ iteration complexity, breaking the…
Rapid advances in data collection and processing capabilities have allowed for the use of increasingly complex models that give rise to nonconvex optimization problems. These formulations, however, can be arbitrarily difficult to solve in…
Many important machine learning applications involve regularized nonconvex bi-level optimization. However, the existing gradient-based bi-level optimization algorithms cannot handle nonconvex or nonsmooth regularizers, and they suffer from…
There is widespread sentiment that it is not possible to effectively utilize fast gradient methods (e.g. Nesterov's acceleration, conjugate gradient, heavy ball) for the purposes of stochastic optimization due to their instability and error…