Free quadratic harness

Free quadratic harness is a Markov process from the class of quadratic harnesses, i.e. processes with linear regressions and quadratic conditional variances. The process has recently been constructed for a restricted range of parameters in Bryc et al. (2010) [7] using Askey-Wilson polynomials. Here we provide a self-contained construction of the free quadratic harness for all values of the parameters.     

Markov processes with free-Meixner laws

We study a time-non-homogeneous Markov process which arose from free probability, and which also appeared in the study of stochastic processes with linear regressions and quadratic conditional variances. Our main result is the explicit expression for the generator of the (non-homogeneous) transition operator acting on functions that extend analytically to complex domains.     

On a class of free Lévy laws related to a regression problem

The free Meixner laws arise as the distributions of orthogonal polynomials with constant-coefficient recursions. We show that these are the laws of the free pairs of random variables which have linear regressions and quadratic conditional variances when conditioned with respect to their sum. We apply this result to describe free Lévy processes with quadratic conditional variances, and to prove a converse implication related to asymptotic freeness of random Wishart matrices.     

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.     

二次损失下带线性等式约束的线性模型中的线性预测的可容许性

本文针对带线性等式约束的线性模型 ,在二次损失下研究了线性预测的可容许性 ,得到了条件线性可预测变量的线性预测 Lys(Lys+ a)是可容许线性预测的充要条件。     

存零约束优化问题的序列二次方法北大核心CSCD

存零约束优化(MPSC)问题是近年来提出的一类新的优化问题,因存零约束的存在,使得常用的约束规范不满足,以至于现有算法的收敛性结果大多不能直接应用于该问题.应用序列二次规划(SQP)方法求解该问题,并证明在存零约束的线性独立约束规范下,子问题解序列的聚点为原问题的Karush-Kuhn-Tucker点.同时为了完善各稳定点之间的关系,证明了强平稳点与KKT点的等价性.最后数值结果表明,序列二次规划方法处理这类问题是可行的.     

Regularized Lagrangian duality for linearly constrained quadratic optimization and trust-region problems

In this paper we first establish a Lagrange multiplier condition characterizing a regularized Lagrangian duality for quadratic minimization problems with finitely many linear equality and quadratic inequality constraints, where the linear constraints are not relaxed in the regularized Lagrangian dual. In particular, in the case of a quadratic optimization problem with a single quadratic inequality constraint such as the linearly constrained trust-region problems, we show that the Slater constraint qualification (SCQ) is necessary and sufficient for the regularized Lagrangian duality in the sense that the regularized duality holds for each quadratic objective function over the constraints if and only if (SCQ) holds. A new theorem of the alternative for systems involving both equality constraints and two quadratic inequality constraints plays a key role. We also provide classes of quadratic programs, including a class of CDT-subproblems with linear equality constraints, where (SCQ) ensures regularized Lagrangian duality.     

Minimal representation of quadratically constrained convex feasible regions

In this paper we are concerned with characterizing minimal representations of feasible regions defined by both linear and convex quadratic constraints. We say that representation is minimal if every other representation has either more quadratic constraints, or has the same number of quadratic constraints and at least as many linear constraints. We will prove that a representation is minimal if and only if it contains no redundant constraints, no pseudo-quadratic constraints and no implicit equality constraints. We define a pseudo-quadratic constraint as a quadratic constraint that can be replaced by a finite number of linear constraints. In order to prove the minimal representation theorem, we also prove that if the surfaces of two quadratic constraints match on a ball, then they match everywhere.In this paper we also provide algorithms that can be used to detect implicit equalities and pseudoquadratic constraints. The redundant constraints can be identified using the hypersphere directions (HD) method.Corresponding author.     

On Extensions of the Frank-Wolfe Theorems

In this paper we consider optimization problems defined by a quadratic objective function and a finite number of quadratic inequality constraints. Given that the objective function is bounded over the feasible set, we present a comprehensive study of the conditions under which the optimal solution set is nonempty, thus extending the so-called Frank-Wolfe theorem. In particular, we first prove a general continuity result for the solution set defined by a system of convex quadratic inequalities. This result implies immediately that the optimal solution set of the aforementioned problem is nonempty when all the quadratic functions involved are convex. In the absence of the convexity of the objective function, we give examples showing that the optimal solution set may be empty either when there are two or more convex quadratic constraints, or when the Hessian of the objective function has two or more negative eigenvalues. In the case when there exists only one convex quadratic inequality constraint (together with other linear constraints), or when the constraint functions are all convex quadratic and the objective function is quasi-convex (thus allowing one negative eigenvalue in its Hessian matrix), we prove that the optimal solution set is nonempty.     

Stabilized Sequential Quadratic Programming

Recently, Wright proposed a stabilized sequential quadratic programming algorithm for inequality constrained optimization. Assuming the Mangasarian-Fromovitz constraint qualification and the existence of a strictly positive multiplier (but possibly dependent constraint gradients), he proved a local quadratic convergence result. In this paper, we establish quadratic convergence in cases where both strict complementarity and the Mangasarian-Fromovitz constraint qualification do not hold. The constraints on the stabilization parameter are relaxed, and linear convergence is demonstrated when the parameter is kept fixed. We show that the analysis of this method can be carried out using recent results for the stability of variational problems.     

Towards a strongly polynomial algorithm for strictly convex quadratic programs: An extension of Tardos' algorithm

In a recent paper Tardos described a polynomial algorithm for solving linear programming problems in which the number of arithmetic steps depends only on the size of the numbers in the constraint matrix and is independent of the size of the numbers in the right hand side and the cost coefficients. In this paper we extend Tardos' results and present a polynomial algorithm for solving strictly convex quadratic programming problems in which the number of arithmetic steps is independent of the size of the numbers in the right hand side and the linear cost coefficients.This research was partially supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Grant 5-83998.     

Inference in binomial AR(1) models

This paper studies inference methods for stationary time series with binomial distributions. Such series describe, for example, the number of rainy days in consecutive weeks. First, we formulate the renewal sequence version of the model that seemingly generates a new class of stationary binomial series. The model is shown to obey an AR(1) recursion in cases where the renewal lifetime has a constant hazard rate past lag one. Explicit asymptotic variances of the parameter estimators in the AR(1) case are derived from conditional least squares methods; likelihood techniques are also considered.     

Quadratic Convergence of a Primal-Dual Interior Point Method for Degenerate Nonlinear Optimization Problems

Recently studies of numerical methods for degenerate nonlinear optimization problems have been attracted much attention. Several authors have discussed convergence properties without the linear independence constraint qualification and/or the strict complementarity condition. In this paper, we are concerned with quadratic convergence property of a primal-dual interior point method, in which Newton’s method is applied to the barrier KKT conditions. We assume that the second order sufficient condition and the linear independence of gradients of equality constraints hold at the solution, and that there exists a solution that satisfies the strict complementarity condition, and that multiplier iterates generated by our method for inequality constraints are uniformly bounded, which relaxes the linear independence constraint qualification. Uniform boundedness of multiplier iterates is satisfied if the Mangasarian-Fromovitz constraint qualification is assumed, for example. By using the stability theorem by Hager and Gowda (1999), and Wright (2001), the distance from the current point to the solution set is related to the residual of the KKT conditions.By controlling a barrier parameter and adopting a suitable line search procedure, we prove the quadratic convergence of the proposed algorithm.     

Robust discrimination under a hierarchy on the scatter matrices

Under normality, Flury and Schmid [Quadratic discriminant functions with constraints on the covariances matrices: some asymptotic results, J. Multivariate Anal. 40 (1992) 244-261] investigated the asymptotic properties of the quadratic discrimination procedure under hierarchical models for the scatter matrices, that is: (i) arbitrary scatter matrices, (ii) common principal components, (iii) proportional scatter matrices and (iv) identical matrices. In this paper, we study the properties of robust quadratic discrimination rules based on robust estimates of the involved parameters. Our analysis is based on the partial influence functions of the functionals related to these parameters and allows to derive the asymptotic variances of the estimated coefficients under models (i)-(iv). From them, we conclude that the asymptotic variances verify the same order relations as those obtained by Flury and Schmid [Quadratic discriminant functions with constraints on the covariances matrices: some asymptotic results, J. Multivariate Anal. 40 (1992) 244-261] for the classical estimators. We also perform a Monte Carlo study for different sample sizes and different hierarchies which shows the advantage of using robust procedures over classical ones, when anomalous data are present. It also confirms that better rates of misclassification can be achieved if a more parsimonious model among all the correct ones is used instead of the standard quadratic discrimination.     

Duality and solutions for quadratic programming over single non-homogeneous quadratic constraint

This paper extends and completes the discussion by Xing et?al. (Canonical dual solutions to the quadratic programming over a quadratic constraint, submitted) about the quadratic programming over one quadratic constraint (QP1QC). In particular, we relax the assumption to cover more general cases when the two matrices from the objective and the constraint functions can be simultaneously diagonalizable via congruence. Under such an assumption, the nonconvex (QP1QC) problem can be solved through a dual approach with no duality gap. This is unusual for general nonconvex programming but we can explain by showing that (QP1QC) is indeed equivalent to a linearly constrained convex problem, which happens to be dual of the dual of itself. Another type of hidden convexity can be also found in the boundarification technique developed in Xing et?al. (Canonical dual solutions to the quadratic programming over a quadratic constraint, submitted).     

常曲率空间中单形的某些条件极值问题

借助于矩阵次特征值的概念,建立了线性约束二次型正定的一个充分必要条件,给出了常曲率空间中单形外接超球半径的某些条件极值表示,由此可以导出了一些“度量加”的几何不等式．     

Optimal multi-period mean–variance policy under no-shorting constraint

We consider in this paper the mean–variance formulation in multi-period portfolio selection under no-shorting constraint. Recognizing the structure of a piecewise quadratic value function, we prove that the optimal portfolio policy is piecewise linear with respect to the current wealth level, and derive the semi-analytical expression of the piecewise quadratic value function. One prominent feature of our findings is the identification of a deterministic time-varying threshold for the wealth process and its implications for market settings. We also generalize our results in the mean–variance formulation to utility maximization with no-shorting constraint.     

On an enumerative algorithm for solving eigenvalue complementarity problems

In this paper, we discuss the solution of linear and quadratic eigenvalue complementarity problems (EiCPs) using an enumerative algorithm of the type introduced by Júdice et al. (Optim. Methods Softw. 24:549–586, 2009). Procedures for computing the interval that contains all the eigenvalues of the linear EiCP are first presented. A nonlinear programming (NLP) model for the quadratic EiCP is formulated next, and a necessary and sufficient condition for a stationary point of the NLP to be a solution of the quadratic EiCP is established. An extension of the enumerative algorithm for the quadratic EiCP is also developed, which solves this problem by computing a global minimum for the NLP formulation. Some computational experience is presented to highlight the efficiency and efficacy of the proposed enumerative algorithm for solving linear and quadratic EiCPs.     

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.     

Enhanced Karush–Kuhn–Tucker Conditions for Mathematical Programs with Equilibrium Constraints

In this paper, we study necessary optimality conditions for nonsmooth mathematical programs with equilibrium constraints. We first show that, unlike the smooth case, the mathematical program with equilibrium constraints linear independent constraint qualification is not a constraint qualification for the strong stationary condition when the objective function is nonsmooth. We then focus on the study of the enhanced version of the Mordukhovich stationary condition, which is a weaker optimality condition than the strong stationary condition. We introduce the quasi-normality and several other new constraint qualifications and show that the enhanced Mordukhovich stationary condition holds under them. Finally, we prove that quasi-normality with regularity implies the existence of a local error bound.