Nonnegative Morse polynomial functions and polynomial optimization

In this paper we study the representation of Morse polynomial functions which are nonnegative on a compact basic closed semi-algebraic set in \(\mathbb R^{n}\), and having only finitely many zeros in this set. Following Bivià-Ausina (Math Z 257:745–767, 2007), we introduce two classes of non-degenerate polynomials for which the algebraic sets defined by them are compact. As a consequence, we study the representation of nonnegative Morse polynomials on these kinds of non-degenerate algebraic sets. Moreover, we apply these results to study the polynomial optimization problem for Morse polynomial functions.     

Quadrature-based polynomial optimization

We show that Lasserre measure-based hierarchies for polynomial optimization can be implemented by directly computing the discrete minimum at a suitable set     

A robust robust optimization result

We study the loss in objective value when an inaccurate objective is optimized instead of the true one, and show that “on average” this loss is very small, for an arbitrary compact feasible region.     

On hermitian polynomial optimization

We compare three levels of algebraic certificates for evaluating the maximum modulus of a complex analytic polynomial, on a compact semi-algebraic set. They are obtained as translations of some recently discovered inequalities in operator theory. Although they can be stated in purely algebraic terms, the only known proofs for these decompositions have a transcendental character. Received: 27 June 2005     

Efficient robust optimization for robust control with constraints

This paper proposes an efficient computational technique for the optimal control of linear discrete-time systems subject to bounded disturbances with mixed linear constraints on the states and inputs. The problem of computing an optimal state feedback control policy, given the current state, is non-convex. A recent breakthrough has been the application of robust optimization techniques to reparameterize this problem as a convex program. While the reparameterized problem is theoretically tractable, the number of variables is quadratic in the number of stages or horizon length N and has no apparent exploitable structure, leading to computational time of per iteration of an interior-point method. We focus on the case when the disturbance set is ∞-norm bounded or the linear map of a hypercube, and the cost function involves the minimization of a quadratic cost. Here we make use of state variables to regain a sparse problem structure that is related to the structure of the original problem, that is, the policy optimization problem may be decomposed into a set of coupled finite horizon control problems. This decomposition can then be formulated as a highly structured quadratic program, solvable by primal-dual interior-point methods in which each iteration requires time. This cubic iteration time can be guaranteed using a Riccati-based block factorization technique, which is standard in discrete-time optimal control. Numerical results are presented, using a standard sparse primal-dual interior point solver, that illustrate the efficiency of this approach.     

Partitioning procedure for polynomial optimization

We consider the problem of finding the minimum of a real-valued multivariate polynomial function constrained in a compact set defined by polynomial inequalities and equalities. This problem, called polynomial optimization problem (POP), is generally nonconvex and has been of growing interest to many researchers in recent years. Our goal is to tackle POPs using decomposition, based on a partitioning procedure. The problem manipulations are in line with the pattern used in the generalized Benders decomposition, namely projection followed by relaxation. Stengle’s and Putinar’s Positivstellensätze are employed to derive the feasibility and optimality constraints, respectively. We test the performance of the proposed partitioning procedure on a collection of benchmark problems and present the numerical results.     

Completely positive reformulations for polynomial optimization

Polynomial optimization encompasses a very rich class of problems in which both the objective and constraints can be written in terms of polynomials on the decision variables. There is a well established body of research on quadratic polynomial optimization problems based on reformulations of the original problem as a conic program over the cone of completely positive matrices, or its conic dual, the cone of copositive matrices. As a result of this reformulation approach, novel solution schemes for quadratic polynomial optimization problems have been designed by drawing on conic programming tools, and the extensively studied cones of completely positive and of copositive matrices. In particular, this approach has been applied to solve key combinatorial optimization problems. Along this line of research, we consider polynomial optimization problems that are not necessarily quadratic. For this purpose, we use a natural extension of the cone of completely positive matrices; namely, the cone of completely positive tensors. We provide a general characterization of the class of polynomial optimization problems that can be formulated as a conic program over the cone of completely positive tensors. As a consequence of this characterization, it follows that recent related results for quadratic problems can be further strengthened and generalized to higher order polynomial optimization problems. Also, we show that the conditions underlying the characterization are conceptually the same, regardless of the degree of the polynomials defining the problem. To illustrate our results, we discuss in further detail special and relevant instances of polynomial optimization problems.     

Surrogate duality for robust optimization

Robust optimization problems, which have uncertain data, are considered. We prove surrogate duality theorems for robust quasiconvex optimization problems and surrogate min–max duality theorems for robust convex optimization problems. We give necessary and sufficient constraint qualifications for surrogate duality and surrogate min–max duality, and show some examples at which such duality results are used effectively. Moreover, we obtain a surrogate duality theorem and a surrogate min–max duality theorem for semi-definite optimization problems in the face of data uncertainty.     

Approximation methods for complex polynomial optimization

Complex polynomial optimization problems arise from real-life applications including radar code design, MIMO beamforming, and quantum mechanics. In this paper, we study complex polynomial optimization models where the objective function takes one of the following three forms: (1) multilinear; (2) homogeneous polynomial; (3) symmetric conjugate form. On the constraint side, the decision variables belong to one of the following three sets: (1) the \(m\) -th roots of complex unity; (2) the complex unity; (3) the Euclidean sphere. We first discuss the multilinear objective function. Polynomial-time approximation algorithms are proposed for such problems with assured worst-case performance ratios, which depend only on the dimensions of the model. Then we introduce complex homogenous polynomial functions and establish key linkages between complex multilinear forms and the complex polynomial functions. Approximation algorithms for the above-mentioned complex polynomial optimization models with worst-case performance ratios are presented. Numerical results are reported to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approximation algorithms.     

An algorithm for semi-infinite polynomial optimization

We consider the semi-infinite optimization problem:

Ambiguous chance constrained problems and robust optimization

In this paper we study ambiguous chance constrained problems where the distributions of the random parameters in the problem are themselves uncertain. We focus primarily on the special case where the uncertainty set of the distributions is of the form where ρ_p denotes the Prohorov metric. The ambiguous chance constrained problem is approximated by a robust sampled problem where each constraint is a robust constraint centered at a sample drawn according to the central measure The main contribution of this paper is to show that the robust sampled problem is a good approximation for the ambiguous chance constrained problem with a high probability. This result is established using the Strassen-Dudley Representation Theorem that states that when the distributions of two random variables are close in the Prohorov metric one can construct a coupling of the random variables such that the samples are close with a high probability. We also show that the robust sampled problem can be solved efficiently both in theory and in practice. Research partially supported by NSF grant CCR-00-09972. Research partially supported by NSF grants CCR-00-09972, DMS-01-04282, and ONR grant N000140310514.     

Standard bi-quadratic optimization problems and unconstrained polynomial reformulations

A so-called Standard Bi-Quadratic Optimization Problem (StBQP) consists in minimizing a bi-quadratic form over the Cartesian product of two simplices (so this is different from a Bi-Standard QP where a quadratic function is minimized over the same set). An application example arises in portfolio selection. In this paper we present a bi-quartic formulation of StBQP, in order to get rid of the sign constraints. We study the first- and second-order optimality conditions of the original StBQP and the reformulated bi-quartic problem over the product of two Euclidean spheres. Furthermore, we discuss the one-to-one correspondence between the global/local solutions of StBQP and the global/local solutions of the reformulation. We introduce a continuously differentiable penalty function. Based upon this, the original problem is converted into the problem of locating an unconstrained global minimizer of a (specially structured) polynomial of degree eight.     

Selected topics in robust convex optimization

Robust Optimization is a rapidly developing methodology for handling optimization problems affected by non-stochastic “uncertain-but- bounded” data perturbations. In this paper, we overview several selected topics in this popular area, specifically, (1) recent extensions of the basic concept of robust counterpart of an optimization problem with uncertain data, (2) tractability of robust counterparts, (3) links between RO and traditional chance constrained settings of problems with stochastic data, and (4) a novel generic application of the RO methodology in Robust Linear Control.      

Reformulation versus cutting-planes for robust optimization

Robust optimization (RO) is a tractable method to address uncertainty in optimization problems where uncertain parameters are modeled as belonging to uncertainty sets that are commonly polyhedral or ellipsoidal. The two most frequently described methods in the literature for solving RO problems are reformulation to a deterministic optimization problem or an iterative cutting-plane method. There has been limited comparison of the two methods in the literature, and there is no guidance for when one method should be selected over the other. In this paper we perform a comprehensive computational study on a variety of problem instances for both robust linear optimization (RLO) and robust mixed-integer optimization (RMIO) problems using both methods and both polyhedral and ellipsoidal uncertainty sets. We consider multiple variants of the methods and characterize the various implementation decisions that must be made. We measure performance with multiple metrics and use statistical techniques to quantify certainty in the results. We find for polyhedral uncertainty sets that neither method dominates the other, in contrast to previous results in the literature. For ellipsoidal uncertainty sets we find that the reformulation is better for RLO problems, but there is no dominant method for RMIO problems. Given that there is no clearly dominant method, we describe a hybrid method that solves, in parallel, an instance with both the reformulation method and the cutting-plane method. We find that this hybrid approach can reduce runtimes to 50–75 % of the runtime for any one method and suggest ways that this result can be achieved and further improved on.     

Semiconductor lot allocation using robust optimization

In this work, the problem of allocating a set of production lots to satisfy customer orders is considered. This research is of relevance to lot-to-order matching problems in semiconductor supply chain settings. We consider that lot-splitting is not allowed during the allocation process due to standard practices. Furthermore, lot-sizes are regarded as uncertain planning data when making the allocation decisions due to potential yield loss. In order to minimize the total penalties of demand un-fulfillment and over-fulfillment, a robust mixed-integer optimization approach is adopted to model is proposed the problem of allocating a set of work-in-process lots to customer orders, where lot-sizes are modeled using ellipsoidal uncertainty sets. To solve the optimization problem efficiently we apply the techniques of branch-and-price and Benders decomposition. The advantages of our model are that it can represent uncertainty in a straightforward manner with little distributional assumptions, and it can produce solutions that effectively hedge against the uncertainty in the lot-sizes using very reasonable amounts of computational effort.     

On robust optimization of two-stage systems

Robust-optimization models belong to a special class of stochastic programs, where the traditional expected cost minimization objective is replaced by one that explicitly addresses cost variability. This paper explores robust optimization in the context of two-stage planning systems. We show that, under arbitrary measures for variability, the robust optimization approach might lead to suboptimal solutions to the second-stage planning problem. As a result, the variability of the second-stage costs may be underestimated, thereby defeating the intended purpose of the model. We propose sufficient conditions on the variability measure to remedy this problem. Under the proposed conditions, a robust optimization model can be efficiently solved using a variant of the L-shaped decomposition algorithm for traditional stochastic linear programs. We apply the proposed framework to standard stochastic-programming test problems and to an application that arises in auctioning excess electric power. Mathematics Subject Classification (1991):90C15, 90C33, 90B50, 90A09, 90A43Supported in part by NSF Grants DMI-0099726 and DMI-0133943     

Exploiting term sparsity in noncommutative polynomial optimization

We provide a new hierarchy of semidefinite programming relaxations, called NCTSSOS, to solve large-scale sparse noncommutative polynomial optimization problems. This hierarchy features the exploitation of term sparsity hidden in the input data for eigenvalue and trace optimization problems. NCTSSOS complements the recent work that exploits correlative sparsity for noncommutative optimization problems by Klep et al. (MP, 2021), and is the noncommutative analogue of the TSSOS framework by Wang et al. (SIAMJO 31: 114–141, 2021, SIAMJO 31: 30–58, 2021). We also propose an extension exploiting simultaneously correlative and term sparsity, as done previously in the commutative case (Wang in CS-TSSOS: Correlative and term sparsity for large-scale polynomial optimization, 2020). Under certain conditions, we prove that the optima of the NCTSSOS hierarchy converge to the optimum of the corresponding dense semidefinite programming relaxation. We illustrate the efficiency and scalability of NCTSSOS by solving eigenvalue/trace optimization problems from the literature as well as randomly generated examples involving up to several thousand variables.