Related papers: A Homogeneous Second-Order Descent Ascent Algorith…

Machine learning problems such as neural network training, tensor decomposition, and matrix factorization, require local minimization of a nonconvex function. This local minimization is challenged by the presence of saddle points, of which…

Gradient Descent Ascent (GDA) methods for min-max optimization problems typically produce oscillatory behavior that can lead to instability, e.g., in bilinear settings. To address this problem, we introduce a dissipation term into the GDA…

Stochastic compositional minimax problems are prevalent in machine learning, yet there are only limited established on the convergence of this class of problems. In this paper, we propose a formal definition of the stochastic compositional…

In this paper, we give a sharp analysis for Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD) and prove that SGD is able to efficiently escape from saddle points and find an $(\epsilon, O(\epsilon^{0.5}))$-approximate second-order stationary point in…

We develop a new algorithm for non-convex stochastic optimization that finds an $\epsilon$-critical point in the optimal $O(\epsilon^{-3})$ stochastic gradient and Hessian-vector product computations. Our algorithm uses Hessian-vector…

We propose a MINRES-based Newton-type algorithm for solving unconstrained nonconvex optimization problems. Our approach uses the minimal residual method (MINRES), a well-known solver for indefinite symmetric linear systems, to compute…

In this paper, we propose an interior-point method for linearly constrained optimization problems (possibly nonconvex). The method - which we call the Hessian barrier algorithm (HBA) - combines a forward Euler discretization of Hessian…

We propose stochastic optimization algorithms that can find local minima faster than existing algorithms for nonconvex optimization problems, by exploiting the third-order smoothness to escape non-degenerate saddle points more efficiently.…

In the paper, we study a class of useful minimax problems on Riemanian manifolds and propose a class of effective Riemanian gradient-based methods to solve these minimax problems. Specifically, we propose an effective Riemannian gradient…

We consider minimization of a smooth nonconvex function with inexact oracle access to gradient and Hessian (without assuming access to the function value) to achieve approximate second-order optimality. A novel feature of our method is that…

Nesterov's accelerated gradient descent (AGD), an instance of the general family of "momentum methods", provably achieves faster convergence rate than gradient descent (GD) in the convex setting. However, whether these methods are superior…

In this paper, we aim to study non-convex minimization problems via second-order (in-time) dynamics, including a non-vanishing viscous damping and a geometric Hessian-driven damping. Second-order systems that only rely on a viscous damping…

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…

In the framework of real Hilbert spaces we study continuous in time dynamics as well as numerical algorithms for the problem of approaching the set of zeros of a single-valued monotone and continuous operator $V$. The starting poin is a…

We present a comprehensive theoretical analysis of first-order methods for escaping strict saddle points in smooth non-convex optimization. Our main contribution is a Perturbed Saddle-escape Descent (PSD) algorithm with fully explicit…

We present a new accelerated stochastic second-order method that is robust to both gradient and Hessian inexactness, which occurs typically in machine learning. We establish theoretical lower bounds and prove that our algorithm achieves…

A central challenge to using first-order methods for optimizing nonconvex problems is the presence of saddle points. First-order methods often get stuck at saddle points, greatly deteriorating their performance. Typically, to escape from…

We investigate the problem of finding second-order stationary points (SOSP) in differentially private (DP) stochastic non-convex optimization. Existing methods suffer from two key limitations: (i) inaccurate convergence error rate due to…

Higher-order tensor methods were recently proposed for minimizing smooth convex and nonconvex functions. Higher-order algorithms accelerate the convergence of the classical first-order methods thanks to the higher-order derivatives used in…

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…