Necessary and sufficient optimality conditions for mathematical programs with equilibrium constraints

In this paper we consider a mathematical program with equilibrium constraints (MPEC) formulated as a mathematical program with complementarity constraints. Various stationary conditions for MPECs exist in literature due to different reformulations. We give a simple proof to the M-stationary condition and show that it is sufficient for global or local optimality under some MPEC generalized convexity assumptions. Moreover, we propose new constraint qualifications for M-stationary conditions to hold. These new constraint qualifications include piecewise MFCQ, piecewise Slater condition, MPEC weak reverse convex constraint qualification, MPEC Arrow-Hurwicz-Uzawa constraint qualification, MPEC Zangwill constraint qualification, MPEC Kuhn-Tucker constraint qualification, and MPEC Abadie constraint qualification.     

A Modified Relaxation Scheme for Mathematical Programs with Complementarity Constraints

In this paper, we consider a mathematical program with complementarity constraints. We present a modified relaxed program for this problem, which involves less constraints than the relaxation scheme studied by Scholtes (2000). We show that the linear independence constraint qualification holds for the new relaxed problem under some mild conditions. We also consider a limiting behavior of the relaxed problem. We prove that any accumulation point of stationary points of the relaxed problems is C-stationary to the original problem under the MPEC linear independence constraint qualification and, if the Hessian matrices of the Lagrangian functions of the relaxed problems are uniformly bounded below on the corresponding tangent space, it is M-stationary. We also obtain some sufficient conditions of B-stationarity for a feasible point of the original problem. In particular, some conditions described by the eigenvalues of the Hessian matrices mentioned above are new and can be verified easily. This work was supported in part by the Scientific Research Grant-in-Aid from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports, and Culture of Japan. The authors are grateful to an anonymous referee for critical comments.     

隐互补约束优化问题的磨光SQP算法

本文提出了一类隐互补约束优化问题的磨光SQP算法.首先,我们给出了这类优化问题的最优性和约束规范性条件.然后,在适当假设条件下,我们证明了算法具有全局收敛性.     

New Relaxation Method for Mathematical Programs with Complementarity Constraints

In this paper, we present a new relaxation method for mathematical programs with complementarity constraints. Based on the fact that a variational inequality problem defined on a simplex can be represented by a finite number of inequalities, we use an expansive simplex instead of the nonnegative orthant involved in the complementarity constraints. We then remove some inequalities and obtain a standard nonlinear program. We show that the linear independence constraint qualification or the Mangasarian–Fromovitz constraint qualification holds for the relaxed problem under some mild conditions. We consider also a limiting behavior of the relaxed problem. We prove that any accumulation point of stationary points of the relaxed problems is a weakly stationary point of the original problem and that, if the function involved in the complementarity constraints does not vanish at this point, it is C-stationary. We obtain also some sufficient conditions of B-stationarity for a feasible point of the original problem. In particular, some conditions described by the eigenvalues of the Hessian matrices of the Lagrangian functions of the relaxed problems are new and can be verified easily. Our limited numerical experience indicates that the proposed approach is promising.     

Optimality Conditions for Nonsmooth Equilibrium Problems via Hadamard Directional Derivative

In this paper, we consider a mathematical program with equilibrium constraints (MPEC) formulated as a mathematical program with complementarity constraints. We obtain necessary conditions of Fritz John (FJ) and Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) types for a nonsmooth (MPEC) problem in terms of the lower Hadamard directional derivative. In particular sufficient conditions for MPECs are given where the involved functions have pseudoconvex sublevel sets. The functions with pseudoconvex sublevel sets is a class of generalized convex functions that include quasiconvex functions.     

Merit-Function Piecewise SQP Algorithm for Mathematical Programs with Equilibrium Constraints

We propose a merit-function piecewise SQP algorithm for mathematical programs with equilibrium constraints (MPEC) formulated as mathematical programs with complementarity constraints. Under mild conditions, the new algorithm is globally convergent to a piecewise stationary point. Moreover, if the partial MPEC linear independence constraint qualification (LICQ) is satisfied at the accumulation point, then the accumulation point is an S-stationary point. The research of the first author was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under grants 10571177 and 70271014. The research of the second author was partially supported by NSERC.     

Convergence Properties of a Smoothing Approach for Mathematical Programs with Second-Order Cone Complementarity Constraints

This paper discusses the convergence properties of a smoothing approach for solving the mathematical programs with second-order cone complementarity constraints (SOCMPCCs). We first introduce B-stationary, C-stationary, M(orduckhovich)-stationary, S-stationary point, SOCMPCC-linear independence constraint qualification (denoted by SOCMPCC-LICQ), second-order cone upper level strict complementarity (denoted by SOC-ULSC) condition at a feasible point of a SOCMPCC problem. With the help of the projection operator over a second-order cone, we construct a smooth optimization problem to approximate the SOCMPCC. We demonstrate that any accumulation point of the sequence of stationary points to the sequence of smoothing problems, when smoothing parameters decrease to zero, is a C-stationary point to the SOCMPCC under SOCMPCC-LICQ at the accumulation point. We also prove that the accumulation point is an M-stationary point if, in addition, the sequence of stationary points satisfy weak second order necessary conditions for the sequence of smoothing problems, and moreover it is a B-stationary point if, in addition, the SOC-ULSC condition holds at the accumulation point.     

MPCC: on necessary conditions for the strong stability of C-stationary points

ABSTRACT

We consider the concept of strongly stable C-stationary points for mathematical programs with complementarity constraints. The original concept of strong stability was introduced by Kojima for standard optimization programs. Adapted to our context, it refers to the local existence and uniqueness of a C-stationary point for each sufficiently small perturbed problem. The goal of this paper is to discuss a Mangasarian-Fromovitz-type constraint qualification and, mainly, provide two conditions which are necessary for strong stability; one is another constraint qualification and the second one refers to bounds on the number of active constraints at the point under consideration.     

Partial Exact Penalty for Mathematical Programs with Equilibrium Constraints

It is well known that mathematical programs with equilibrium constraints (MPEC) violate the standard constraint qualifications such as Mangasarian–Fromovitz constraint qualification (MFCQ) and hence the usual Karush–Kuhn–Tucker conditions cannot be used as stationary conditions unless relatively strong assumptions are satisfied. This observation has led to a number of weaker stationary conditions, with Mordukhovich stationary (M-stationary) condition being the strongest among the weaker conditions. In nonlinear programming, it is known that MFCQ leads to an exact penalization. In this paper we show that MPEC GMFCQ, an MPEC variant of MFCQ, leads to a partial exact penalty where all the constraints except a simple linear complementarity constraint are moved to the objective function. The partial exact penalty function, however, is nonsmooth. By smoothing the partial exact penalty function, we design an algorithm which is shown to be globally convergent to an M-stationary point under an extended version of the MPEC GMFCQ.     

A merit function method for infinite-dimensional SOCCPs

We introduce the Jordan product associated with the second-order cone K into the real Hilbert space H, and then define a one-parametric class of complementarity functions Φt on H×H with the parameter t∈[0,2). We show that the squared norm of Φt with t∈(0,2) is a continuously F(réchet)-differentiable merit function. By this, the second-order cone complementarity problem (SOCCP) in H can be converted into an unconstrained smooth minimization problem involving this class of merit functions, and furthermore, under the monotonicity assumption, every stationary point of this minimization problem is shown to be a solution of the SOCCP.     

Complementarity Active-Set Algorithm for Mathematical Programming Problems with Equilibrium Constraints

In this paper, an algorithm for solving a mathematical programming problem with complementarity (or equilibrium) constraints (MPEC) is introduced, which uses the active-set methodology while maintaining the complementarity restrictions throughout the procedure. Finite convergence of the algorithm to a strongly stationary point of the MPEC is established under reasonable hypotheses. The algorithm can be easily implemented by adopting any active-set code for nonlinear programming. Computational experience is included to highlight the efficacy of the proposed method in practice.     

A Class of Quadratic Programs with Linear Complementarity Constraints

We consider a class of quadratic programs with linear complementarity constraints (QPLCC) which belong to mathematical programs with equilibrium constraints (MPEC). We investigate various stationary conditions and present new and strong necessary and sufficient conditions for global and local optimality. Furthermore, we propose a Newton-like method to find an M-stationary point in finite steps without MEPC linear independence constraint qualification. The research of this author is partially supported by NSERC, and Research Grand Council of Hong Kong.     

Generalized stationary points and an interior-point method for mathematical programs with equilibrium constraints

Generalized stationary points of the mathematical program with equilibrium constraints (MPEC) are studied to better describe the limit points produced by interior point methods for MPEC. A primal-dual interior-point method is then proposed, which solves a sequence of relaxed barrier problems derived from MPEC. Global convergence results are deduced under fairly general conditions other than strict complementarity or the linear independence constraint qualification for MPEC (MPEC-LICQ). It is shown that every limit point of the generated sequence is a strong stationary point of MPEC if the penalty parameter of the merit function is bounded. Otherwise, a point with certain stationarity can be obtained. Preliminary numerical results are reported, which include a case analyzed by Leyffer for which the penalty interior-point algorithm failed to find a stationary point.Mathematics Subject Classification (1991):90C30, 90C33, 90C55, 49M37, 65K10     

First order optimality conditions for mathematical programs with semidefinite cone complementarity constraints

In this paper we consider a mathematical program with semidefinite cone complementarity constraints (SDCMPCC). Such a problem is a matrix analogue of the mathematical program with (vector) complementarity constraints (MPCC) and includes MPCC as a special case. We first derive explicit formulas for the proximal and limiting normal cone of the graph of the normal cone to the positive semidefinite cone. Using these formulas and classical nonsmooth first order necessary optimality conditions we derive explicit expressions for the strong-, Mordukhovich- and Clarke- (S-, M- and C-)stationary conditions. Moreover we give constraint qualifications under which a local solution of SDCMPCC is a S-, M- and C-stationary point. Moreover we show that applying these results to MPCC produces new and weaker necessary optimality conditions.     

Strongly stable C-stationary points for mathematical programs with complementarity constraints

In this paper we consider the class of mathematical programs with complementarity constraints (MPCC). Under an appropriate constraint qualification of Mangasarian–Fromovitz type we present a topological and an equivalent algebraic characterization of a strongly stable C-stationary point for MPCC. Strong stability refers to the local uniqueness, existence and continuous dependence of a solution for each sufficiently small perturbed problem where perturbations up to second order are allowed. This concept of strong stability was originally introduced by Kojima for standard nonlinear optimization; here, its generalization to MPCC demands a sophisticated technique which takes the disjunctive properties of the solution set of MPCC into account.

     

The p-Factor-Lagrange Methods for Degenerate Nonlinear Programming

The paper presents a new approach to solving nonlinear programming (NLP) problems for which the strict complementarity condition (SCC), a constraint qualification (CQ), and a second-order sufficient condition (SOSC) for optimality are not necessarily satisfied at a solution. Our approach is based on the construction of p-regularity and on reformulating the inequality constraints as equalities. Namely, by introducing the slack variables, we get the equality constrained problem, for which the Lagrange optimality system is singular at the solution of the NLP problem in the case of the violation of the CQs, SCC and/or SOSC. To overcome the difficulty of singularity, we propose the p-factor method for solving the Lagrange system. The method has a superlinear rate of convergence under a mild assumption. We show that our assumption is always satisfied under a standard second-order sufficient condition (SOSC) for optimality. At the same time, we give examples of the problems where the SOSC does not hold, but our assumption is satisfied. Moreover, no estimation of the set of active constraints is required. The proposed approach can be applied to a variety of problems.     

Abadie-Type Constraint Qualification for Mathematical Programs with Equilibrium Constraints

Mathematical programs with equilibrium constraints (MPEC) are nonlinear programs which do not satisfy any of the common constraint qualifications (CQ). In order to obtain first-order optimality conditions, constraint qualifications tailored to the MPECs have been developed and researched in the past. In this paper, we introduce a new Abadie-type constraint qualification for MPECs. We investigate sufficient conditions for this new CQ, discuss its relationship to several existing MPEC constraint qualifications, and introduce a new Slater-type constraint qualifications. Finally, we prove a new stationarity concept to be a necessary optimality condition under our new Abadie-type CQ.Communicated by Z. Q. Luo     

非线性互补约束规划问题的一个新的QP-free算法

本文研究了非线性互补约束均衡问题.利用互补函数以及光滑近似法,把非线性互补约束均衡问题转化为一个光滑非线性规划问题,得到了超线性收敛速度,数值实验结果表明本文提出的算法是可行的.     

Strong Stationarity for Optimization Problems with Complementarity Constraints in Absence of Polyhedricity

We consider mathematical programs with complementarity constraints in Banach spaces. In particular, we focus on the situation that the complementarity constraint is defined by a non-polyhedric cone K. We demonstrate how strong stationarity conditions can be obtained in an abstract setting. These conditions and their verification can be made more precise in the case that Z is a Hilbert space and if the projection onto K is directionally differentiable with a derivative as given in Haraux (Journal of the Mathematical Society of Japan 29(4), 615–631, 1977, Theorem 1). Finally, we apply the theory to optimization problems with semidefinite and second-order-cone complementarity constraints. We obtain that local minimizers are strongly stationary under a variant of the linear-independence constraint qualification, and these are novel results.     

Optimization problems with equilibrium constraints and their numerical solution

We consider a class of optimization problems with a generalized equation among the constraints. This class covers several problem types like MPEC (Mathematical Programs with Equilibrium Constraints) and MPCC (Mathematical Programs with Complementarity Constraints). We briefly review techniques used for numerical solution of these problems: penalty methods, nonlinear programming (NLP) techniques and Implicit Programming approach (ImP). We further present a new theoretical framework for the ImP technique that is particularly useful in case of difficult equilibria. Finally, three numerical examples are presented: an MPEC that can be solved by ImP but can hardly be formulated as a nonlinear program, an MPCC that cannot be solved by ImP and finally an MPEC solvable by both, ImP and NLP techniques. In the last example we compare the efficiency of the two approaches.On leave from the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.Mathematics Subject Classification (2000):49J40, 49J52, 90C30, 90C33