Related papers: A Framework for Finding Local Saddle Points in Two…
We consider stochastic optimization problems in multi-agent settings, where a network of agents aims to learn parameters which are optimal in terms of a global objective, while giving preference to locally observed streaming information. To…
This paper presents a special type of distributed optimization problems, where the summation of agents' local cost functions (i.e., global cost function) is convex, but each individual can be non-convex. Unlike most distributed optimization…
We investigate different aspects of area convexity [Sherman '17], a mysterious tool introduced to tackle optimization problems under the challenging $\ell_\infty$ geometry. We develop a deeper understanding of its relationship with more…
Game theory finds nowadays a broad range of applications in engineering and machine learning. However, in a derivative-free, expensive black-box context, very few algorithmic solutions are available to find game equilibria. Here, we propose…
We consider convex-concave saddle point problems, and more generally convex optimization problems we refer to as $\textit{saddle problems}$, which include the partial supremum or infimum of convex-concave saddle functions. Saddle problems…
Bayesian optimization (BO) is a popular approach for expensive black-box optimization, with applications including parameter tuning, experimental design, robotics. BO usually models the objective function by a Gaussian process (GP), and…
We present a data-driven Bayesian nonparametric approach for global optimization (DaBNO) of stochastic black-box function. The function value depends on the distribution of a random vector. However, this distribution is usually complex and…
This paper addresses black-box smooth optimization problems, where the objective and constraint functions are not explicitly known but can be queried. The main goal of this work is to generate a sequence of feasible points converging…
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.,…
The min-max problem, also known as the saddle point problem, is a class of optimization problems which minimizes and maximizes two subsets of variables simultaneously. This class of problems can be used to formulate a wide range of signal…
Local search heuristics for non-convex optimizations are popular in applied machine learning. However, in general it is hard to guarantee that such algorithms even converge to a local minimum, due to the existence of complicated saddle…
We consider escaping saddle points of nonconvex problems where only the function evaluations can be accessed. Although a variety of works have been proposed, the majority of them require either second or first-order information, and only a…
We consider strongly-convex-strongly-concave saddle point problems assuming we have access to unbiased stochastic estimates of the gradients. We propose a stochastic accelerated primal-dual (SAPD) algorithm and show that SAPD sequence,…
The aim of black-box optimization is to optimize an objective function within the constraints of a given evaluation budget. In this problem, it is generally assumed that the computational cost for evaluating a point is large; thus, it is…
Substantial progress has been made recently on developing provably accurate and efficient algorithms for low-rank matrix factorization via nonconvex optimization. While conventional wisdom often takes a dim view of nonconvex optimization…
Bilevel optimization problems involve two nested objectives, where an upper-level objective depends on a solution to a lower-level problem. When the latter is non-convex, multiple critical points may be present, leading to an ambiguous…
Multi-objective Bayesian optimization (MOBO) provides a principled framework for optimizing expensive black-box functions with multiple objectives. However, existing MOBO methods often struggle with coverage, scalability with respect to the…
An optimization algorithm for nonsmooth nonconvex constrained optimization problems with upper-C2 objective functions is proposed and analyzed. Upper-C2 is a weakly concave property that exists in difference of convex (DC) functions and…
Bayesian optimization is a powerful tool for expensive stochastic black-box optimization problems such as simulation-based optimization or machine learning hyperparameter tuning. Many stochastic objective functions implicitly require a…
Bayesian Optimization is a popular approach for optimizing expensive black-box functions. Its key idea is to use a surrogate model to approximate the objective and, importantly, quantify the associated uncertainty that allows a sequential…