Boundedness and Nonemptiness of the Efficient Solution Sets in Multiobjective Optimization

For a given multiobjective optimization problem, we study recession properties of the sets of efficient solutions and properly efficient solutions. We work out various consequences based on the obtained recession properties, including a characterization for the boundedness and nonemptiness of the set of (properly) efficient solutions when the problem is a convex problem. We also show that the boundedness and nonemptiness of the set of efficient solutions is equivalent to that of the set of properly efficient solutions under an additional mild condition. Finally, we provide some new verifiable necessary conditions for the nonemptiness of the set of efficient solutions in terms of the associated recession functions and recession cones.     

Optimality Conditions for Isolated Local Minimum of Nonsmooth Multiobjective Problems

This article is devoted to the study of Fritz John and strong Kuhn-Tucker necessary conditions for properly efficient solutions, efficient solutions and isolated efficient solutions of a nonsmooth multiobjective optimization problem involving inequality and equality constraints and a set constraints in terms of the lower Hadamard directional derivative. Sufficient conditions for the existence of such solutions are also provided where the involved functions have pseudoconvex sublevel sets. Our results are based on the concept of pseudoconvex sublevel sets. The functions with pseudoconvex sublevel sets are a class of generalized convex functions that include quasiconvex functions.     

Weakly and properly nonessential objectives in multiobjective optimization problems

In this work we characterize objective functions which do not change the set of efficient solutions (weakly efficient solutions, properly efficient solutions). Necessary and sufficient conditions for an objective function to be weakly nonessential (properly nonessential) are presented. We establish relations between weakly nonessential, properly nonessential and nonessential functions.     

Scalarization and Stability in Vector Optimization

A class of scalarizations of vector optimization problems is studied in order to characterize weakly efficient, efficient, and properly efficient points of a nonconvex vector problem. A parallelism is established between the different solutions of the scalarized problem and the various efficient frontiers. In particular, properly efficient points correspond to stable solutions with respect to suitable perturbations of the feasible set.     

Weighting factor results in vector optimization

This paper deals with the study, in a convex vector optimization problem, of the set of efficient solutions and the set of properly efficient solutions, the latter being obtained by a weighting factor technique. Relationships between these two sets are discussed; they are shown to be nonempty when the objective functions have no common direction of recession and to be closed and equal when, moreover, the objective functions are locally polyhedral. An example is provided where the set of efficient solutions is not included in the closure of the nonempty set of properly efficient solutions.The author wishes to thank the unknown referee for the helpful comments that improved the quality of this paper.     

Optimality conditions for various efficient solutions involving coderivatives: From set-valued optimization problems to set-valued equilibrium problems

We present a new approach to the study of a set-valued equilibrium problem (for short, SEP) through the study of a set-valued optimization problem with a geometric constraint (for short, SOP) based on an equivalence between solutions of these problems. As illustrations, we adapt to SEP enhanced notions of relative Pareto efficient solutions introduced in set optimization by Bao and Mordukhovich and derive from known or new optimality conditions for various efficient solutions of SOP similar results for solutions of SEP as well as for solutions of a vector equilibrium problem and a vector variational inequality.We also introduce the concept of quasi weakly efficient solutions for the above problems and divide all efficient solutions under consideration into the Pareto-type group containing Pareto efficient, primary relative efficient, intrinsic relative efficient, quasi relative efficient solutions and the weak Pareto-type group containing quasi weakly efficient, weakly efficient, strongly efficient, positive properly efficient, Henig global properly efficient, Henig properly efficient, super efficient and Benson properly efficient solutions. The necessary conditions for Pareto-type efficient solutions and necessary/sufficient conditions for weak Pareto-type efficient solutions formulated here are expressed in terms of the Ioffe approximate coderivative and normal cone in the Banach space setting and in terms of the Mordukhovich coderivative and normal cone in the Asplund space setting.     

Optimization Over the Efficient Set of Multi-objective Convex Optimal Control Problems

We consider multi-objective convex optimal control problems. First we state a relationship between the (weakly or properly) efficient set of the multi-objective problem and the solution of the problem scalarized via a convex combination of objectives through a vector of parameters (or weights). Then we establish that (i) the solution of the scalarized (parametric) problem for any given parameter vector is unique and (weakly or properly) efficient and (ii) for each solution in the (weakly or properly) efficient set, there exists at least one corresponding parameter vector for the scalarized problem yielding the same solution. Therefore the set of all parametric solutions (obtained by solving the scalarized problem) is equal to the efficient set. Next we consider an additional objective over the efficient set. Based on the main result, the new objective can instead be considered over the (parametric) solution set of the scalarized problem. For the purpose of constructing numerical methods, we point to existing solution differentiability results for parametric optimal control problems. We propose numerical methods and give an example application to illustrate our approach.     

Existence of efficient solutions for vector maximization problems

The vector maximization problem arises when more than one objective function is to be maximized over a given feasibility region. The concept of efficiency has played a useful role in analyzing this problem. In order to exclude efficient solutions of a certain anomalous type, the concept of proper efficiency has also been utilized. In this paper, an examination of the existence of efficient and properly efficient solutions for the vector maximization problem is undertaken. Given a feasible solution for the vector maximization problem, a related single-objective mathematical programming problem is investigated. Any optimal solution to this program, if one exists, yields an efficient solution for the vector maximization problem. In many cases, the unboundedness of this problem shows that no properly efficient solutions exist. Conditions are pointed out under which the latter conclusion implies that the set of efficient solutions is null. As a byproduct of our results, conditions are derived which guarantee that the outcome of any improperly efficient point is the limit of the outcomes of some sequence of properly efficient points. Examples are provided to illustrate these results.The author would like to thank Professor T. L. Morin for his helpful comments. Thanks also go to an anonymous reviewer for his useful comments concerning an earlier version of this paper.The author would like to acknowledge a useful discussion with Professor G. Bitran which helped in motivating Example 4.1.     

Convex composite multi-objective nonsmooth programming

This paper examines nonsmooth constrained multi-objective optimization problems where the objective function and the constraints are compositions of convex functions, and locally Lipschitz and Gâteaux differentiable functions. Lagrangian necessary conditions, and new sufficient optimality conditions for efficient and properly efficient solutions are presented. Multi-objective duality results are given for convex composite problems which are not necessarily convex programming problems. Applications of the results to new and some special classes of nonlinear programming problems are discussed. A scalarization result and a characterization of the set of all properly efficient solutions for convex composite problems are also discussed under appropriate conditions.This research was partially supported by the Australian Research Council grant A68930162.This author wishes to acknowledge the financial support of the Australian Research Council.     

ε- 扩展锥和多目标规划的 ε- 恰当有效性

本文引进Banach空间中的ε-扩展集和ε-扩展锥概念．借助ε-扩展锥,定义了多目标规划问题的ε-恰当有效解和局部ε-恰当有效解,并且研究了这些解的性质．此外还讨论了ε-恰当有效解与某些其它恰当有效解的关系．     

G恰当有效点集和G恰当有效解集的连通性

与多目标规划问题的G恰当有效解相应，引进了集合的G恰当有效点的概念，并互研究了G恰当有效点集和G恰当有效解集的连通性．利用所得的结果，还获得多目标规划问题的Pareto有效解集是连通的一个新的结论。     

Conjugate maps and duality in multiobjective optimization

This paper considers duality in convex vector optimization. A vector optimization problem requires one to find all the efficient points of the attainable value set for given multiple objective functions. Embedding the primal problem into a family of perturbed problems enables one to define a dual problem in terms of the conjugate map of the perturbed objective function. Every solution of the stable primal problem is associated with a certain solution of the dual problem, which is characterized as a subgradient of the perturbed efficient value map. This pair of solutions also provides a saddle point of the Lagrangian map.     

Characterization of solutions of multiobjective optimization problem

A characterization of weakly efficient, efficient and properly efficient solutions of multiobjective optimization problems is given in terms of a scalar optimization problem by using a special “distance” function. The concept of the well-posedness for this special scalar problem is then linked with the properly efficient solutions of the multiobjective problem.     

Characterization of (weakly/properly/robust) efficient solutions in nonsmooth semi-infinite multiobjective optimization using convexificators

The main aim of this paper is to investigate weakly/properly/robust efficient solutions of a nonsmooth semi-infinite multiobjective programming problem, in terms of convexificators. In some of the results, we assume the feasible set to be locally star-shaped. The appearing functions are not necessarily smooth/locally Lipschitz/convex. First, constraint qualifications and the normal cone to the feasible set are studied. Then, as a major part of the paper, various necessary and sufficient optimality conditions for solutions of the problem under consideration are presented. The paper is closed by a linear approximation problem to detect the solutions and by studying a gap function.     

On comparison of approximate solutions in vector optimization problems

The problem of comparison of approximations (approximate solutions to a vector optimization problem) obtained using different numerical methods is considered. In the absence of a priori information about the set of weakly efficient vectors, a scalar function is introduced that enables pair-wise comparison of approximations and establishes a binary preference relation according to which the approximations close (in the sense of the Hausdorff distance) to the set containing all possible efficient vectors are preferable to other approximations.     

A conic scalarization method in multi-objective optimization

This paper presents the conic scalarization method for scalarization of nonlinear multi-objective optimization problems. We introduce a special class of monotonically increasing sublinear scalarizing functions and show that the zero sublevel set of every function from this class is a convex closed and pointed cone which contains the negative ordering cone. We introduce the notion of a separable cone and show that two closed cones (one of them is separable) having only the vertex in common can be separated by a zero sublevel set of some function from this class. It is shown that the scalar optimization problem constructed by using these functions, enables to characterize the complete set of efficient and properly efficient solutions of multi-objective problems without convexity and boundedness conditions. By choosing a suitable scalarizing parameter set consisting of a weighting vector, an augmentation parameter, and a reference point, decision maker may guarantee a most preferred efficient or properly efficient solution.     

多目标优化问题的完全标量化

本文首先利用松弛变量和广义Tchebycheff范数的推广形式提出一类新的标量化优化问题.进一步,通过调整几种参数范围获得一般多目标优化问题弱有效解、有效解和真有效解的一些完全标量化刻画.此外,本文提出例子对主要结果进行说明,利用相应的标量化方法判定给定的多目标优化问题的可行解是否是弱有效解、有效解和真有效解.     

Semicontinuity and convergence for vector optimization problems with approximate equilibrium constraints

This paper mainly intends to present some semicontinuity and convergence results for perturbed vector optimization problems with approximate equilibrium constraints. We establish the lower semicontinuity of the efficient solution mapping for the vector optimization problem with perturbations of both the objective function and the constraint set. The constraint set is the set of approximate weak efficient solutions of the vector equilibrium problem. Moreover, upper Painlevé–Kuratowski convergence results of the weak efficient solution mapping are showed. Finally, some applications to the optimization problems with approximate vector variational inequality constraints and the traffic network equilibrium problems are also given. Our main results are different from the ones in the literature.     

Efficiency and proper efficiency in vector maximization with respect to cones

Vector maximization problems arise when more than one objective function is to be maximized over a given feasibility region. The concepts of efficiency and proper efficiency have played a useful role in the analysis of such problems. Recently these concepts have been extended to vector maximization problems in which the underlying domination cone is a convex cone. In this paper, efficient and properly efficient solutions for the vector maximization problem in which the underlying domination cone is any nontrivial, closed convex cone are examined. Differences between properly and improperly efficient solutions are established. Characterizations of efficient and properly efficient solutions are presented, and conditions under which efficient solutions exist and fail to exist are derived.     

Solution concepts in vector optimization: a fresh look at an old story

Over the past decades various solution concepts for vector optimization problems have been established and used: among them are efficient, weakly efficient and properly efficient solutions. In contrast to the classical approach, we define a solution to be a set of efficient solutions on which the infimum of the objective function with respect to an appropriate complete lattice (the space of self-infimal sets) is attained. The set of weakly efficient solutions is not considered to be a solution, but weak efficiency is essential in the construction of the complete lattice. In this way, two classic concepts are involved in a common approach. Several different notions of semicontinuity are compared. Using the space of self-infimal sets, we can show that various originally different concepts coincide. A Weierstrass existence result is proved for our solution concept. A slight relaxation of the solution concept yields a relationship to properly efficient solutions.