On the Newton Interior-Point Method for Nonlinear Programming Problems

Interior-point methods have been developed largely for nonlinear programming problems. In this paper, we generalize the global Newton interior-point method introduced in Ref. 1 and we establish a global convergence theory for it, under the same assumptions as those stated in Ref. 1. The generalized algorithm gives the possibility of choosing different descent directions for a merit function so that difficulties due to small steplength for the perturbed Newton direction can be avoided. The particular choice of the perturbation enables us to interpret the generalized method as an inexact Newton method. Also, we suggest a more general criterion for backtracking, which is useful when the perturbed Newton system is not solved exactly. We include numerical experimentation on discrete optimal control problems.     

An efficient sequential quadratic programming algorithm for nonlinear programming

In this paper, a new feasible sequential quadratic programming (FSQP) algorithm is proposed to solve the nonlinear programming, where a feasible descent direction is obtained by solving only one QP subproblem. In order to avoid Maratos effect, a high-order revised direction is computed by solving a linear system with involving some “active” constraints. The theoretical analysis shows that global and superlinear convergence can be deduced.     

Feasible Direction Interior-Point Technique for Nonlinear Optimization

We propose a feasible direction approach for the minimization by interior-point algorithms of a smooth function under smooth equality and inequality constraints. It consists of the iterative solution in the primal and dual variables of the Karush–Kuhn–Tucker first-order optimality conditions. At each iteration, a descent direction is defined by solving a linear system. In a second stage, the linear system is perturbed so as to deflect the descent direction and obtain a feasible descent direction. A line search is then performed to get a new interior point and ensure global convergence. Based on this approach, first-order, Newton, and quasi-Newton algorithms can be obtained. To introduce the method, we consider first the inequality constrained problem and present a globally convergent basic algorithm. Particular first-order and quasi-Newton versions of this algorithm are also stated. Then, equality constraints are included. This method, which is simple to code, does not require the solution of quadratic programs and it is neither a penalty method nor a barrier method. Several practical applications and numerical results show that our method is strong and efficient.     

Feasible generalized monotone line search SQP algorithm for nonlinear minimax problems with inequality constraints

In this paper, the nonlinear minimax problems with inequality constraints are discussed, and a sequential quadratic programming (SQP) algorithm with a generalized monotone line search is presented. At each iteration, a feasible direction of descent is obtained by solving a quadratic programming (QP). To avoid the Maratos effect, a high order correction direction is achieved by solving another QP. As a result, the proposed algorithm has global and superlinear convergence. Especially, the global convergence is obtained under a weak Mangasarian–Fromovitz constraint qualification (MFCQ) instead of the linearly independent constraint qualification (LICQ). At last, its numerical effectiveness is demonstrated with test examples.     

A Linearly Convergent Derivative-Free Descent Method for Strongly Monotone Complementarity Problems

We establish the first rate of convergence result for the class of derivative-free descent methods for solving complementarity problems. The algorithm considered here is based on the implicit Lagrangian reformulation [26, 35] of the nonlinear complementarity problem, and makes use of the descent direction proposed in [42], but employs a different Armijo-type linesearch rule. We show that in the strongly monotone case, the iterates generated by the method converge globally at a linear rate to the solution of the problem.     

Simple Sequential Quadratically Constrained Quadratic Programming Feasible Algorithm with Active Identification Sets for Constrained Minimax Problems

In this paper, the nonlinear minimax problems with inequality constraints are discussed. Based on the idea of simple sequential quadratically constrained quadratic programming algorithm for smooth constrained optimization, an alternative algorithm for solving the discussed problems is proposed. Unlike the previous work, at each iteration, a feasible direction of descent called main search direction is obtained by solving only one subprogram which is composed of a convex quadratic objective function and simple quadratic inequality constraints without the second derivatives of the constrained functions. Then a high-order correction direction used to avoid the Maratos effect is computed by updating the main search direction with a system of linear equations. The proposed algorithm possesses global convergence under weak Mangasarian–Fromovitz constraint qualification and superlinear convergence under suitable conditions with the upper-level strict complementarity. At last, some preliminary numerical results are reported.     

An Interior-Point Algorithm for Nonconvex Nonlinear Programming

The paper describes an interior-point algorithm for nonconvex nonlinear programming which is a direct extension of interior-point methods for linear and quadratic programming. Major modifications include a merit function and an altered search direction to ensure that a descent direction for the merit function is obtained. Preliminary numerical testing indicates that the method is robust. Further, numerical comparisons with MINOS and LANCELOT show that the method is efficient, and has the promise of greatly reducing solution times on at least some classes of models.     

一类求解线性约束非线性规划问题的可行方向法

Wilson,Han和Powell提出的序列二次规划方法(简称SQP方法)是求解非线性规划问题的一个著名方法,这种方法每次迭代的搜索方向是通过求解一个二次规划子问题得到的,本文受[1]启发,得到二次规划子问题的一个近似解,进而给出了一类求解线性约束非线性规划问题的可行方向法,在约束集合满足正则性的条件下,证明了该算法对五种常用线性搜索方法具有全局收敛性。     

Nonsmooth multiobjective programming with quasi-Newton methods

This paper proposes a new algorithm to solve nonsmooth multiobjective programming. The algorithm is a descent direction method to obtain the critical point (a necessary condition for Pareto optimality). We analyze both global and local convergence results under some assumptions. Numerical tests are also given.     

Decomposition Algorithm Model for Singly Linearly-Constrained Problems Subject to Lower and Upper Bounds

Many real applications can be formulated as nonlinear minimization problems with a single linear equality constraint and box constraints. We are interested in solving problems where the number of variables is so huge that basic operations, such as the evaluation of the objective function or the updating of its gradient, are very time consuming. Thus, for the considered class of problems (including dense quadratic programs), traditional optimization methods cannot be applied directly. In this paper, we define a decomposition algorithm model which employs, at each iteration, a descent search direction selected among a suitable set of sparse feasible directions. The algorithm is characterized by an acceptance rule of the updated point which on the one hand permits to choose the variables to be modified with a certain degree of freedom and on the other hand does not require the exact solution of any subproblem. The global convergence of the algorithm model is proved by assuming that the objective function is continuously differentiable and that the points of the level set have at least one component strictly between the lower and upper bounds. Numerical results on large-scale quadratic problems arising in the training of support vector machines show the effectiveness of an implemented decomposition scheme derived from the general algorithm model.     

Partial linearization methods in nonlinear programming

In this paper, we characterize a class of feasible direction methods in nonlinear programming through the concept of partial linearization of the objective function. Based on a feasible point, the objective is replaced by an arbitrary convex and continuously differentiable function, and the error is taken into account by a first-order approximation of it. A new feasible point is defined through a line search with respect to the original objective, toward the solution of the approximate problem. Global convergence results are given for exact and approximate line searches, and possible interpretations are made. We present some instances of the general algorithm and discuss extensions to nondifferentiable programming.The author wishes to thank Drs. K. Holmberg, T. Larsson, and A. Migdalas for their helpful comments.     

An improved feasible QP-free algorithm for inequality constrained optimization

In this paper, an improved feasible QP-free method is proposed to solve nonlinear inequality constrained optimization problems. Here, a new modified method is presented to obtain the revised feasible descent direction. In view of the computational cost, the most attractive feature of the new algorithm is that only one system of linear equations is required to obtain the revised feasible descent direction. Thereby, per single iteration, it is only necessary to solve three systems of linear equations with the same coefficient matrix. In particular, without the positive definiteness assumption on the Hessian estimate, the proposed algorithm is still global convergence. Under some suitable conditions, the superlinear convergence rate is obtained.     

Sequential quadratically constrained quadratic programming norm-relaxed algorithm of strongly sub-feasible directions

In this paper, we present a sequential quadratically constrained quadratic programming (SQCQP) norm-relaxed algorithm of strongly sub-feasible directions for the solution of inequality constrained optimization problems. By introducing a new unified line search and making use of the idea of strongly sub-feasible direction method, the proposed algorithm can well combine the phase of finding a feasible point (by finite iterations) and the phase of a feasible descent norm-relaxed SQCQP algorithm. Moreover, the former phase can preserve the “sub-feasibility” of the current iteration, and control the increase of the objective function. At each iteration, only a consistent convex quadratically constrained quadratic programming problem needs to be solved to obtain a search direction. Without any other correctional directions, the global, superlinear and a certain quadratic convergence (which is between 1-step and 2-step quadratic convergence) properties are proved under reasonable assumptions. Finally, some preliminary numerical results show that the proposed algorithm is also encouraging.     

一个改进的序列二次规划可行下降算法及其全局收敛性

利用广义投影校正技术对搜索方向进行某种修正,改进假设条件,采用一种新型的一阶修正方向并结合SQP技术,建立了求解非线性约束最优化问题(p)的一个新的SQP可行下降算法,在较温和的假设条件下证明了算法的全局收敛性.由于新算法仅需较小的存储,从而适合大规模最优化问题的计算.     

信赖域算法的修订算法

为了求得非线性优化问题的最优解,必须从收敛的可能性和收敛速度入手实现有效的计算方法.为此,通过改变作为搜索方向的下降方向,并适当修订信赖范围,在信赖域算法的基础上提出了一种修订的最优化问题的求解方法.计算方法的计算程序虽然有些复杂,但从整体收敛性和计算可行性方面来说是一个有效的方法.     

非线性约束最优化一族超线性收敛的可行方法

本文建立求解非线性不等式约束最优化一族含参数的可行方法．算法每次迭代仅需解一个规模较小的二次规划．在一定的假设条件下,证明了算法族的全局收敛性和超线性收敛性．     

Global Convergence of a Robust Smoothing SQP Method for Semi-Infinite Programming

The semi-infinite programming (SIP) problem is a program with infinitely many constraints. It can be reformulated as a nonsmooth nonlinear programming problem with finite constraints by using an integral function. Due to the nondifferentiability of the integral function, gradient-based algorithms cannot be used to solve this nonsmooth nonlinear programming problem. To overcome this difficulty, we present a robust smoothing sequential quadratic programming (SQP) algorithm for solving the nonsmooth nonlinear programming problem. At each iteration of the algorthm, we need to solve only a quadratic program that is always feasible and solvable. The global convergence of the algorithm is established under mild conditions. Numerical results are given. Communicated by F. Giannessi His work was supported by the Hong Kong Research Grant Council His work was supported by the Australian Research Council.     

An extended descent framework for variational inequalities

In this paper, we develop a very general descent framework for solving asymmetric, monotone variational inequalities. We introduce two classes of differentiable merit functions and the associated global convergence frameworks which include, as special instances, the projection, Newton, quasi-Newton, linear Jacobi, and nonlinear methods. The generic algorithm is very flexible and consequently well suited for exploiting any particular structure of the problem.This research was supported by the National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Grant A5789, and by the Department of National Defence of Canada, Grant FUHBP.     

初始点任意的解非线性不等式约束优化问题的结合共轭梯度参数的超记忆梯度广义投影算法

本文利用广义投影矩阵，对求解无约束规划的超记忆梯度算法中的参数给出一种新的取值范围以保证得到目标函数的超记忆梯度广义投影下降方向，并与处理任意初始点的方法技巧结合建立求解非线性不等式约束优化问题的一个初始点任意的超记忆梯度广义投影算法，在较弱条件下证明了算法的收敛性．同时给出结合FR，PR，HS共轭梯度参数的超记忆梯度广义投影算法，从而将经典的共轭梯度法推广用于求解约束规划问题．数值例子表明算法是有效的．     

AN EFFECTIVE CONTINUOUS ALGORITHM FOR APPROXIMATE SOLUTIONS OF LARGE SCALE MAX-CUT PROBLEMS

An effective continuous algorithm is proposed to find approximate solutions of NP-hardmax-cut problems.The algorithm relaxes the max-cut problem into a continuous nonlinearprogramming problem by replacing n discrete constraints in the original problem with onesingle continuous constraint.A feasible direction method is designed to solve the resultingnonlinear programming problem.The method employs only the gradient evaluations ofthe objective function,and no any matrix calculations and no line searches are required.This greatly reduces the calculation cost of the method,and is suitable for the solutionof large size max-cut problems.The convergence properties of the proposed method toKKT points of the nonlinear programming are analyzed.If the solution obtained by theproposed method is a global solution of the nonlinear programming problem,the solutionwill provide an upper bound on the max-cut value.Then an approximate solution to themax-cut problem is generated from the solution of the nonlinear programming and providesa lower bound on the max-cut value.Numerical experiments and comparisons on somemax-cut test problems(small and large size)show that the proposed algorithm is efficientto get the exact solutions for all small test problems and well satisfied solutions for mostof the large size test problems with less calculation costs.