We consider minimization of functions that are compositions of convex or prox-regular functions (possibly extended-valued) with smooth vector functions. A wide variety of important optimization problems fall into this framework. We describe an algorithmic framework based on a subproblem constructed from a linearized approximation to the objective and a regularization term. Properties of local solutions of this subproblem underlie both a global convergence result and an identification property of the active manifold containing the solution of the original problem. Preliminary computational results on both convex and nonconvex examples are promising.
In this paper, we consider the $\ell_0$ minimization problem whose objective function is the sum of $\ell_0$-norm and convex differentiable function. A variable metric type method which combines the PIHT method and the skill in quasi-newton method, named variable metric extrapolation proximal iterative hard thresholding (VMEPIHT) method, is proposed. Then we analyze its convergence, linear convergence rate and superlinear convergence rate under appropriate assumptions. Finally, we conduct numerical experiments on compressive sensing problem and CT image reconstruction problem to confirm VMPIHT…
We introduce and analyze BPALM and A-BPALM, two multi-block proximal alternating linearized minimization algorithms using Bregman distances for solving structured nonconvex problems. The objective function is the sum of a multi-block relatively smooth function (i.e., relatively smooth by fixing all the blocks except one) and block separable (nonsmooth) nonconvex functions. It turns out that the sequences generated by our algorithms are subsequentially convergent to critical points of the objective function, while they are globally convergent under KL inequality assumption. Further, the rate of…
Zhejiang University City College（浙大城市学院）；Southwest Jiaotong University（西南交通大学）；Zhejiang University（浙江大学）
In this paper, we introduce a proximal-proximal majorization-minimization (PPMM) algorithm for nonconvex tuning-free robust regression problems. The basic idea is to apply the proximal majorization-minimization algorithm to solve the nonconvex problem with the inner subproblems solved by a sparse semismooth Newton (SSN) method based proximal point algorithm (PPA). We must emphasize that the main difficulty in the design of the algorithm lies in how to overcome the singular difficulty of the inner subproblem. Furthermore, we also prove that the PPMM algorithm converges to a d-stationary point. …
The proximal gradient descent method, well-known for composite optimization, can be completely described by the concept of proximal gradient mapping. In this paper, we highlight our previous two discoveries of proximal gradient mapping--norm monotonicity and refined descent, with which we are able to extend the recently proposed potential function-based framework from gradient descent to proximal gradient descent.
The goal of this paper is to develop a novel numerical method for efficient multiplicative noise removal. The nonlocal self-similarity of natural images implies that the matrices formed by their nonlocal similar patches are low-rank. By exploiting this low-rank prior with application to multiplicative noise removal, we propose a nonlocal low-rank model for this task and develop a proximal alternating reweighted minimization (PARM) algorithm to solve the optimization problem resulting from the model. Specifically, we utilize a generalized nonconvex surrogate of the rank function to regularize t…
In this note, we provide convergence results for the proximal point algorithm and a splitting variant thereof in the setting of CAT$(κ)$ spaces with $κ> 0$ using a recent definition for the resolvent of a convex, lower semi-continuous function due to Kimura and Kohsaka (J. Fixed Point Theory Appl. 18 (2016), 93-115).
In their 2016 article `Meetings with Lambert $\mathcal{W}$ and Other Special Functions in Optimization and Analysis', Borwein and Lindstrom considered the minimization of an entropy functional utilizing the weighted average of the negative Boltzmann--Shannon entropy $x\mapsto x\log x -x$ and the energy $x \mapsto x^2/2$; the solution employed the Fenchel-Moreau conjugate of the sum. However, in place of a traditional arithmetic average of two convex functions, it is also, perhaps even more, natural to use their proximal average. We explain the advantages and illustrate them by computing the an…
We develop a globalized Proximal Newton method for composite and possibly non-convex minimization problems in Hilbert spaces. Additionally, we impose less restrictive assumptions on the composite objective functional considering differentiability and convexity than in existing theory. As far as differentiability of the smooth part of the objective function is concerned, we introduce the notion of second order semi-smoothness and discuss why it constitutes an adequate framework for our Proximal Newton method. However, both global convergence as well as local acceleration still pertain to hold i…
In this paper, we present a semi-proximal alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) for solving $3$-block separable convex minimization problems with the second block in the objective being a strongly convex function and one coupled linear equation constraint. By choosing the semi-proximal terms properly, we establish the global convergence of the proposed semi-proximal ADMM for the step-length $τ\in (0, (1+\sqrt{5})/2)$ and the penalty parameter $σ\in (0, +\infty)$. In particular, if $σ>0$ is smaller than a certain threshold and the first and third linear operators in the linear equa…
Total variation (TV) is a widely used regularizer for stabilizing the solution of ill-posed inverse problems. In this paper, we propose a novel proximal-gradient algorithm for minimizing TV regularized least-squares cost functional. Our method replaces the standard proximal step of TV by a simpler alternative that computes several independent proximals. We prove that the proposed parallel proximal method converges to the TV solution, while requiring no sub-iterations. The results in this paper could enhance the applicability of TV for solving very large scale imaging inverse problems.
This paper extends the algorithm schemes proposed in \cite{Nesterov2007a} and \cite{Nesterov2007b} to the minimization of the sum of a composite objective function and a convex function. Two proximal point-type schemes are provided and their global convergence is investigated. The worst case complexity bound is also estimated under certain Lipschitz conditions and nondegeneratedness. The algorithm is then accelerated to get a faster convergence rate for the strongly convex case.
Zhejiang University City College（浙大城市学院）；Southwest Jiaotong University（西南交通大学）；The Hong Kong Polytechnic University（香港理工大学）；National University of Singapore（新加坡国立大学）
In this paper, we consider high-dimensional nonconvex square-root-loss regression problems and introduce a proximal majorization-minimization (PMM) algorithm for these problems. Our key idea for making the proposed PMM to be efficient is to develop a sparse semismooth Newton method to solve the corresponding subproblems. By using the Kurdyka-Łojasiewicz property exhibited in the underlining problems, we prove that the PMM algorithm converges to a d-stationary point. We also analyze the oracle property of the initial subproblem used in our algorithm. Extensive numerical experiments are presente…
We consider minimizing the composite function that consists of a strongly convex function and a convex function. The fast dual proximal gradient (FDPG) method decreases the dual function with a rate $O(1/k^2)$, leading to a rate $O(1/k)$ for decreasing the primal function. We propose a generalized FDPG method that guarantees an $O(1/k^{1.5})$ rate for the dual proximal gradient norm decrease. By relating this to the primal function decrease, the proposed approach decreases the primal function with the improved $O(1/k^{1.5})$ rate.
This paper describes and establishes the iteration-complexity of a doubly accelerated inexact proximal point (D-AIPP) method for solving the nonconvex composite minimization problem whose objective function is of the form $f+h$ where $f$ is a (possibly nonconvex) differentiable function whose gradient is Lipschitz continuous and $h$ is a closed convex function with bounded domain. D-AIPP performs two types of iterations, namely, inner and outer ones. Its outer iterations correspond to the ones of the accelerated inexact proximal point scheme. Its inner iterations are the ones performed by an a…
Proximal Newton-type methods for minimizing composite functions
Institute for Computational and Mathematical Engineering, Stanford University（斯坦福大学计算与数学工程研究所）；Department of Management Science and Engineering, Stanford University（斯坦福大学管理科学与工程系）
In this paper, we consider a non-convex problem which is the sum of $\ell_0$-norm and a convex smooth function under box constraint. We propose one proximal iterative hard thresholding type method with extrapolation step used for acceleration and establish its global convergence results. In detail, the sequence generated by the proposed method globally converges to a local minimizer of the objective function. Finally, we conduct numerical experiments to show the proposed method's effectiveness on comparison with some other efficient methods.
In this paper we propose a scalarization proximal point method to solve multiobjective unconstrained minimization problems with locally Lipschitz and quasiconvex vector functions. We prove, under natural assumptions, that the sequence generated by the method is well defined and converges globally to a Pareto-Clarke critical point. Our method may be seen as an extension, for the non convex case, of the inexact proximal method for multiobjective convex minimization problems studied by Bonnel et al. (SIAM Journal on Optimization 15, 4, 953-970, 2005).
In this paper we propose a proximal algorithm for minimizing an objective function of two block variables consisting of three terms: 1) a smooth function, 2) a nonsmooth function which is a composition between a strictly increasing, concave, differentiable function and a convex nonsmooth function, and 3) a smooth function which couples the two block variables. We propose a variable metric composite proximal alternating linearized minimization (CPALM) to solve this class of problems. Building on the powerful Kurdyka-Łojasiewicz property, we derive the convergence analysis and establish that eac…
We propose a new first-order optimisation algorithm to solve high-dimensional non-smooth composite minimisation problems. Typical examples of such problems have an objective that decomposes into a non-smooth empirical risk part and a non-smooth regularisation penalty. The proposed algorithm, called Semi-Proximal Mirror-Prox, leverages the Fenchel-type representation of one part of the objective while handling the other part of the objective via linear minimization over the domain. The algorithm stands in contrast with more classical proximal gradient algorithms with smoothing, which require th…
In this paper we study nonconvex and nonsmooth optimization problems with semi-algebraic data, where the variables vector is split into several blocks of variables. The problem consists of one smooth function of the entire variables vector and the sum of nonsmooth functions for each block separately. We analyze an inertial version of the Proximal Alternating Linearized Minimization (PALM) algorithm and prove its global convergence to a critical point of the objective function at hand. We illustrate our theoretical findings by presenting numerical experiments on blind image deconvolution, on sp…
Optimization problems with composite functions consist of an objective function which is the sum of a smooth and a (convex) nonsmooth term. This particular structure is exploited by the class of proximal gradient methods and some of their generalizations like proximal Newton and quasi-Newton methods. In this paper, we propose a regularized proximal quasi-Newton method whose main features are: (a) the method is globally convergent to stationary points, (b) the globalization is controlled by a regularization parameter, no line search is required, (c) the method can be implemented very efficientl…
Saddle point with a given Morse index on a potential energy surface is an important object related to energy landscape in physics and chemistry. Efficient numerical methods based on iterative minimization formulation have been proposed in the forms of the sequence of minimization subproblems or the continuous dynamics. We here present a differential game interpretation of this formulation and theoretically investigate the Nash equilibrium of the proposed game and the original saddle point on potential energy surface. To define this differential game, a new proximal function growing faster than…
This paper analyzes the iteration-complexity of a quadratic penalty accelerated inexact proximal point method for solving linearly constrained nonconvex composite programs. More specifically, the objective function is of the form $f + h$ where $f$ is a differentiable function whose gradient is Lipschitz continuous and $h$ is a closed convex function with bounded domain. The method, basically, consists of applying an accelerated inexact proximal point method for solving approximately a sequence of quadratic penalized subproblems associated to the linearly constrained problem. Each subproblem of…
We present two approximate versions of the proximal subgradient method for minimizing the sum of two convex functions (not necessarily differentiable). The algorithms involve, at each iteration, inexact evaluations of the proximal operator and approximate subgradients of the functions (namely: the $ε$-subgradients). The methods use different error criteria for approximating the proximal operators. We provide an analysis of the convergence and rate of convergence properties of these methods, considering various stepsize rules, including both, diminishing and constant stepsizes. For the case whe…
We investigate the asymptotic properties of the trajectories generated by a second-order dynamical system of proximal-gradient type stated in connection with the minimization of the sum of a nonsmooth convex and a (possibly nonconvex) smooth function. The convergence of the generated trajectory to a critical point of the objective is ensured provided a regularization of the objective function satisfies the Kurdyka-Łojasiewicz property. We also provide convergence rates for the trajectory formulated in terms of the Łojasiewicz exponent.
We consider the estimation of the state transition matrix in vector autoregressive models, when time sequence data is limited but nonsequence steady-state data is abundant. To leverage both sources of data, we formulate the least squares minimization problem regularized by a Lyapunov penalty. We impose cardinality or rank constraints to reduce the complexity of the autoregressive model. We solve the resulting nonconvex, nonsmooth problem by using the proximal alternating linearization method (PALM). We show that PALM is globally convergent to a critical point and that the estimation error mono…
We consider the problem of minimizing the sum of two convex functions: one is smooth and given by a gradient oracle, and the other is separable over blocks of coordinates and has a simple known structure over each block. We develop an accelerated randomized proximal coordinate gradient (APCG) method for minimizing such convex composite functions. For strongly convex functions, our method achieves faster linear convergence rates than existing randomized proximal coordinate gradient methods. Without strong convexity, our method enjoys accelerated sublinear convergence rates. We show how to apply…
This paper proposes an efficient adaptive variant of a quadratic penalty accelerated inexact proximal point (QP-AIPP) method proposed earlier by the authors. Both the QP-AIPP method and its variant solve linearly set constrained nonconvex composite optimization problems using a quadratic penalty approach where the generated penalized subproblems are solved by a variant of the underlying AIPP method. The variant, in turn, solves a given penalized subproblem by generating a sequence of proximal subproblems which are then solved by an accelerated composite gradient algorithm. The main difference …
This paper proposes and analyzes a proximal augmented Lagrangian (NL-IAPIAL) method for solving smooth nonconvex composite optimization problems with nonlinear $\cal K$-convex constraints, i.e., the constraints are convex with respect to the order given by a closed convex cone $\cal K$. Each NL-IAPIAL iteration consists of inexactly solving a proximal augmented Lagrangian subproblem by an accelerated composite gradient (ACG) method followed by a Lagrange multiplier update. Under some mild assumptions, it is shown that NL-IAPIAL generates an approximate stationary solution of the constrained pr…
This paper aims to study a majorized alternating direction method of multipliers with indefinite proximal terms (iPADMM) for convex composite optimization problems. We show that the majorized iPADMM for 2-block convex optimization problems converges globally under weaker conditions than those used in the literature and exhibits a linear convergence rate under a local error bound condition. Based on these, we establish the linear rate convergence results for a symmetric Gaussian-Seidel based majorized iPADMM, which is designed for multi-block composite convex optimization problems. Moreover, we…
We propose an algorithmic framework for convex minimization problems of a composite function with two terms: a self-concordant function and a possibly nonsmooth regularization term. Our method is a new proximal Newton algorithm that features a local quadratic convergence rate. As a specific instance of our framework, we consider the sparse inverse covariance matrix estimation in graph learning problems. Via a careful dual formulation and a novel analytic step-size selection procedure, our approach for graph learning avoids Cholesky decompositions and matrix inversions in its iteration making i…
We propose a proximal algorithm for minimizing objective functions consisting of three summands: the composition of a nonsmooth function with a linear operator, another nonsmooth function, each of the nonsmooth summands depending on an independent block variable, and a smooth function which couples the two block variables. The algorithm is a full splitting method, which means that the nonsmooth functions are processed via their proximal operators, the smooth function via gradient steps, and the linear operator via matrix times vector multiplication. We provide sufficient conditions for the bou…
Research Center for Logic, Optimization and Security (LOS)（逻辑、优化与安全研究中心（LOS））；University of Bucharest（布加勒斯特大学）
Supported by the recent contributions in multiple branches, the first-order splitting algorithms became central for structured nonsmooth optimization. In the large-scale or noisy contexts, when only stochastic information on the smooth part of the objective function is available, the extension of proximal gradient schemes to stochastic oracles is based on proximal tractability of the nonsmooth component and it has been deeply analyzed in the literature. However, there remained gaps illustrated by composite models where the nonsmooth term is not proximally tractable anymore. In this note we tac…
This paper proposes and establishes the iteration-complexity of an inexact proximal accelerated augmented Lagrangian (IPAAL) method for solving linearly constrained smooth nonconvex composite optimization problems. Each IPAAL iteration consists of inexactly solving a proximal augmented Lagrangian subproblem by an accelerated composite gradient (ACG) method followed by a suitable Lagrange multiplier update. It is shown that IPAAL generates an approximate stationary solution in at most ${\cal O}(\log(1/ρ)/ρ^{3})$ ACG iterations, where $ρ>0$ is the given tolerance. It is also shown that the previ…
The proximal generalized alternating direction method of multipliers (p-GADMM) is substantially efficient for solving convex composite programming problems of high-dimensional to moderate accuracy. The global convergence of this method was established by Xiao, Chen & Li [Math. Program. Comput., 2018], but its convergence rate was not given. One may take it for granted that the convergence rate could be proved easily by mimicking the proximal ADMM, but we find the relaxed points will certainly cause many difficulties for theoretical analysis. In this paper, we devote to exploring its convergenc…
This work presents an adaptive superfast proximal augmented Lagrangian (AS-PAL) method for solving linearly-constrained smooth nonconvex composite optimization problems. Each iteration of AS-PAL inexactly solves a possibly nonconvex proximal augmented Lagrangian (AL) subproblem obtained by an aggressive/adaptive choice of prox stepsize with the aim of substantially improving its computational performance followed by a full Lagrangian multiplier update. A major advantage of AS-PAL compared to other AL methods is that it requires no knowledge of parameters (e.g., size of constraint matrix, objec…
This paper proposes a novel CTA (Combine-Then-Adapt)-based decentralized algorithm for solving convex composite optimization problems over undirected and connected networks. The local loss function in these problems contains both smooth and nonsmooth terms. The proposed algorithm uses uncoordinated network-independent constant stepsizes and only needs to approximately solve a sequence of proximal mappings, which is advantageous for solving decentralized composite optimization problems where the proximal mappings of the nonsmooth loss functions may not have analytical solutions. For the general…
This paper presents a majorized alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) with indefinite proximal terms for solving linearly constrained $2$-block convex composite optimization problems with each block in the objective being the sum of a non-smooth convex function and a smooth convex function, i.e., $\min_{x \in {\cal X}, \; y \in {\cal Y}}\{p(x)+f(x) + q(y)+g(y)\mid A^* x+B^* y = c\}$. By choosing the indefinite proximal terms properly, we establish the global convergence and $O(1/k)$ ergodic iteration-complexity of the proposed method for the step-length $τ\in (0, (1+\sqrt{5})/2)$.…
In this paper we propose a linear scalarization proximal point algorithm for solving arbitrary lower semicontinuous quasiconvex multiobjective minimization problems. Under some natural assumptions and using the condition that the proximal parameters are bounded we prove the convergence of the sequence generated by the algorithm and when the objective functions are continuous, we prove the convergence to a generalized critical point. Furthermore, if each iteration minimize the proximal regularized function and the proximal parameters converges to zero we prove the convergence to a weak Pareto s…
In this paper we consider the composite self-concordant (CSC) minimization problem, which minimizes the sum of a self-concordant function $f$ and a (possibly nonsmooth) proper closed convex function $g$. The CSC minimization is the cornerstone of the path-following interior point methods for solving a broad class of convex optimization problems. It has also found numerous applications in machine learning. The proximal damped Newton (PDN) methods have been well studied in the literature for solving this problem that enjoy a nice iteration complexity. Given that at each iteration these methods t…
In this paper, we consider an accelerated method for solving nonconvex and nonsmooth minimization problems. We propose a Bregman Proximal Gradient algorithm with extrapolation(BPGe). This algorithm extends and accelerates the Bregman Proximal Gradient algorithm (BPG), which circumvents the restrictive global Lipschitz gradient continuity assumption needed in Proximal Gradient algorithms (PG). The BPGe algorithm has higher generality than the recently introduced Proximal Gradient algorithm with extrapolation(PGe), and besides, due to the extrapolation step, BPGe converges faster than BPG algori…
