Related papers: Power Homotopy for Zeroth-Order Non-Convex Optimiz…
We propose a novel first-order method for non-convex optimization of the form $\max_{\bm{w}\in\mathbb{R}^d}\mathbb{E}_{\bm{x}\sim\mathcal{D}}[f_{\bm{w}}(\bm{x})]$, termed Progressive Power Homotopy (Prog-PowerHP). The method applies…
Alternating-Current Optimal Power Flow (AC-OPF) is framed as a NP-hard non-convex optimization problem that solves for the most economical dispatch of grid generation given the AC-network and device constraints. Although there are no…
First-order stochastic methods for solving large-scale non-convex optimization problems are widely used in many big-data applications, e.g. training deep neural networks as well as other complex and potentially non-convex machine learning…
We propose a novel method that solves global optimization problems in two steps: (1) perform a (exponential) power-$N$ transformation to the not-necessarily differentiable objective function $f$ and get $f_N$, and (2) optimize the…
This paper proposes a homogeneous second-order descent framework (HSODF) for nonconvex and convex optimization based on the generalized homogeneous model (GHM). In comparison to the Newton steps, the GHM can be solved by extremal symmetric…
The Gaussian homotopy (GH) method is a popular approach to finding better stationary points for non-convex optimization problems by gradually reducing a parameter value $t$, which changes the problem to be solved from an almost convex one…
In this paper, we develop a novel {\bf ho}moto{\bf p}y {\bf s}moothing (HOPS) algorithm for solving a family of non-smooth problems that is composed of a non-smooth term with an explicit max-structure and a smooth term or a simple…
This work aims to solve a stochastic nonconvex nonsmooth composite optimization problem. Previous works on composite optimization problem requires the major part to satisfy Lipschitz smoothness or some relaxed smoothness conditions, which…
This paper proposes a convex optimization based method that either locates all real roots of a set of power flow equations or declares no real solution exists in the given area. In the proposed method, solving the power flow equations is…
Gradient-free/zeroth-order methods for black-box convex optimization have been extensively studied in the last decade with the main focus on oracle calls complexity. In this paper, besides the oracle complexity, we focus also on iteration…
In this paper, we propose an exact general algorithm for solving non-convex optimization problems, where the non-convexity arises due to the presence of an inverse S-shaped function. The proposed method involves iteratively approximating…
This paper studies a compressed momentum-based single-point zeroth-order algorithm for stochastic distributed nonconvex optimization, aiming to alleviate communication overhead and address the unavailability of explicit gradient…
Developing efficient and guaranteed nonconvex algorithms has been an important challenge in modern machine learning. Algorithms with good empirical performance such as stochastic gradient descent often lack theoretical guarantees. In this…
In this paper, we propose and analyze zeroth-order stochastic approximation algorithms for nonconvex and convex optimization, with a focus on addressing constrained optimization, high-dimensional setting and saddle-point avoiding. To handle…
The manuscript addresses the problem of finding all solutions of power flow equations or other similar nonlinear system of algebraic equations. This problem arises naturally in a number of power systems contexts, most importantly in the…
Second-order Newton-type algorithms that leverage the exact Hessian or its approximation are central to solve nonlinear optimization problems. However, their applications in solving large-scale nonconvex problems are hindered by three…
This paper presents a systematic approach for computing local solutions to motion planning problems in non-convex environments using numerical optimal control techniques. It extends the range of use of state-of-the-art numerical optimal…
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…
First order shape optimization methods, in general, require a large number of iterations until they reach a locally optimal design. While higher order methods can significantly reduce the number of iterations, they exhibit only local…
This paper investigates how to accelerate the convergence of distributed optimization algorithms on nonconvex problems with zeroth-order information available only. We propose a zeroth-order (ZO) distributed primal-dual stochastic…