New Constraint Qualifications and Optimality Conditions for Second Order Cone Programs

We introduce three new constraint qualifications for nonlinear second order cone programming problems that we call constant rank constraint qualification, relaxed constant rank constraint qualification and constant rank of the subspace component condition. Our development is inspired by the corresponding constraint qualifications for nonlinear programming problems. We provide proofs and examples that show the relations of the three new constraint qualifications with other known constraint qualifications. In particular, the new constraint qualifications neither imply nor are implied by Robinson’s constraint qualification, but they are stronger than Abadie’s constraint qualification. First order necessary optimality conditions are shown to hold under the three new constraint qualifications, whereas the second order necessary conditions hold for two of them, the constant rank constraint qualification and the relaxed constant rank constraint qualification.

     

均衡约束数学规划的约束规格和最优性条件综述

约束规格在约束优化问题的最优性条件中起着重要的作用,介绍了近几年国际上关于均衡约束数学规划(简记为MPEC)的约束规格以及最优性条件的研究成果, 包括以下主要内容: (1) MPEC常用的约束规格(如线性无关约束规格 (MPEC-LICQ)、Mangasarian-Fromovitz约束规格 (MPEC-MFCQ)等)和新的约束规格(如恒秩约束规格、常数正线性相关约束规格等), 以及它们之间的关系; (2) MPEC常用的稳定点; (3) MPEC的最优性条件. 最后还对MPEC的约束规格和最优性条件的研究前景进行了探讨.     

Second-Order Optimality Conditions for Mathematical Programs with Equilibrium Constraints

We study second-order optimality conditions for mathematical programs with equilibrium constraints (MPEC). Firstly, we improve some second-order optimality conditions for standard nonlinear programming problems using some newly discovered constraint qualifications in the literature, and apply them to MPEC. Then, we introduce some MPEC variants of these new constraint qualifications, which are all weaker than the MPEC linear independence constraint qualification, and derive several second-order optimality conditions for MPEC under the new MPEC constraint qualifications. Finally, we discuss the isolatedness of local minimizers for MPEC under very weak conditions.     

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     

Optimality conditions for nonsmooth mathematical programs with equilibrium constraints,using convexificators

In this paper, we deal with constraint qualifications, stationary concepts and optimality conditions for a nonsmooth mathematical program with equilibrium constraints (MPEC). The main tool in our study is the notion of convexificator. Using this notion, standard and MPEC Abadie and several other constraint qualifications are proposed and a comparison between them is presented. We also define nonsmooth stationary conditions based on the convexificators. In particular, we show that GS-stationary is the first-order optimality condition under generalized standard Abadie constraint qualification. Finally, sufficient conditions for global or local optimality are derived under some MPEC generalized convexity assumptions.     

On Several Types of Basic Constraint Qualifications via Coderivatives for Generalized Equations

In this paper, we study several types of basic constraint qualifications in terms of Clarke/Fréchet coderivatives for generalized equations. Several necessary and/or sufficient conditions are given to ensure these constraint qualifications. It is proved that basic constraint qualification and strong basic constraint qualification for convex generalized equations can be obtained by these constraint qualifications, and the existing results on constraint qualifications for the inequality system can be deduced from the given conditions in this paper. The main work of this paper is an extension of the study on constraint qualifications from inequality systems to generalized equations.     

Existence and Boundedness of the Kuhn-Tucker Multipliers in Nonsmooth Multiobjective Optimization

Using the idea of upper convexificators, we propose constraint qualifications and study existence and boundedness of the Kuhn-Tucker multipliers for a nonsmooth multiobjective optimization problem with inequality constraints and an arbitrary set constraint. We show that, at locally weak efficient solutions where the objective and constraint functions are locally Lipschitz, the constraint qualifications are necessary and sufficient conditions for the Kuhn-Tucker multiplier sets to be nonempty and bounded under certain semiregularity assumptions on the upper convexificators of the functions.     

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.     

Constraint qualifications for constrained Lipschitz optimization problems and applications to a MPCC

Three constraint qualifications (the weak generalized Robinson constraint qualification, the bounded constraint qualification, and the generalized Abadie constraint qualification), which are weaker than the generalized Robinson constraint qualification (GRCQ) given by Yen (1997) [1], are introduced for constrained Lipschitz optimization problems. Relationships between those constraint qualifications and the calmness of the solution mapping are investigated. It is demonstrated that the weak generalized Robinson constraint qualification and the bounded constraint qualification are easily verifiable sufficient conditions for the calmness of the solution mapping, whereas the proposed generalized Abadie constraint qualification, described in terms of graphical derivatives in variational analysis, is weaker than the calmness of the solution mapping. Finally, those constraint qualifications are written for a mathematical program with complementarity constraints (MPCC), and new constraint qualifications ensuring the C-stationary point condition of a MPCC are obtained.     

On Constraint Qualifications in Nonsmooth Optimization

We introduce extensions of the Mangasarian-Fromovitz and Abadie constraint qualifications to nonsmooth optimization problems with feasibility given by means of lower-level sets. We do not assume directional differentiability, but only upper semicontinuity of the defining functions. By deriving and reviewing primal first-order optimality conditions for nonsmooth problems, we motivate the formulations of the constraint qualifications. Then, we study their interrelation, and we show how they are related to the Slater condition for nonsmooth convex problems, to nonsmooth reverse-convex problems, to the stability of parametric feasible set mappings, and to alternative theorems for the derivation of dual first-order optimality conditions.In the literature on general semi-infinite programming problems, a number of formally different extensions of the Mangasarian-Fromovitz constraint qualification have been introduced recently under different structural assumptions. We show that all these extensions are unified by the constraint qualification presented here.     

Multiobjective Problems: Enhanced Necessary Conditions and New Constraint Qualifications through Convexificators

In this paper, we study necessary optimality conditions for local Pareto and weak Pareto solutions of multiobjective problems involving inequality and equality constraints in terms of convexificators. We develop the enhanced Karush–Kuhn–Tucker conditions and introduce the associated pseudonormality and quasinormality conditions. We also introduce several other new constraint qualifications which entirely depend on the feasible set. Then a connecting link between these constraint qualifications is presented. Moreover, we provide several examples that clarify the interrelations between the different results that we have established.     

Pseudonormality and a Lagrange Multiplier Theory for Constrained Optimization

We consider optimization problems with equality, inequality, and abstract set constraints, and we explore various characteristics of the constraint set that imply the existence of Lagrange multipliers. We prove a generalized version of the Fritz–John theorem, and we introduce new and general conditions that extend and unify the major constraint qualifications. Among these conditions, two new properties, pseudonormality and quasinormality, emerge as central within the taxonomy of interesting constraint characteristics. In the case where there is no abstract set constraint, these properties provide the connecting link between the classical constraint qualifications and two distinct pathways to the existence of Lagrange multipliers: one involving the notion of quasiregularity and the Farkas lemma, and the other involving the use of exact penalty functions. The second pathway also applies in the general case where there is an abstract set constraint.     

Nonsmooth multiobjective programming and constraint qualifications

We consider a nonsmooth multiobjective programming problem with inequality and set constraints. By using the notion of convexificator, we extend the Abadie constraint qualification, and derive the strong Kuhn-Tucker necessary optimality conditions. Some other constraint qualifications have been generalized and their interrelations are investigated.     

Constraint qualifications and Lagrange multipliers in nondifferentiable programming problems

In this paper, we present several constraint qualifications, and we show that these conditions guarantee the nonvacuity and the boundedness of the Lagrange multiplier sets for general nondifferentiable programming problems. The relationships with various constraint qualifications are investigated.The author gratefully acknowledges the comments made by the two referees.     

Differential Conditions for Constrained Nonlinear Programming via Pareto Optimization

We deal with the differential conditions for local optimality. The conditions that we derive for inequality constrained problems do not require constraint qualifications and are the broadest conditions based on only first-order and second-order derivatives. A similar result is proved for equality constrained problems, although the necessary conditions require the regularity of the equality constraints.     

BCQ and Strong BCQ for Nonconvex Generalized Equations with Applications to Metric Subregularity

In this paper, based on basic constraint qualification (BCQ) and strong BCQ for convex generalized equation, we are inspired to further discuss constraint qualifications of BCQ and strong BCQ for nonconvex generalized equation and then establish their various characterizations. As applications, we use these constraint qualifications to study metric subregularity of nonconvex generalized equation and provide necessary and/or sufficient conditions in terms of constraint qualifications considered herein to ensure nonconvex generalized equation having metric subregularity.     

Necessary Optimality Conditions in Terms of Convexificators in Lipschitz Optimization

This study is devoted to constraint qualifications and Kuhn-Tucker type necessary optimality conditions for nonsmooth optimization problems involving locally Lipschitz functions. The main tool of the study is the concept of convexificators. First, the case of a minimization problem in the presence of an arbitrary set constraint is considered by using the contingent cone and the adjacent cone to the constraint set. Then, in the case of a minimization problem with inequality constraints, Abadie type constraint qualifications and several other qualifications are proposed; Kuhn-Tucker type necessary optimality conditions are derived under the qualifications.Communicated by S. SchaibleThe authors thank the referees for bringing to their attention some papers closely related to this study and for helpful comments and constructive suggestions that have greatly improved the original version of the paper. Further, they are indebted to Professors H. W. Sun and F. Y. Lu, who suggested an example for this paper. The first author thanks S. Schaible for encouragement during this research.     

Liberating the Subgradient Optimality Conditions from Constraint Qualifications

In convex optimization the significance of constraint qualifications is evidenced by the simple duality theory, and the elegant subgradient optimality conditions which completely characterize a minimizer. However, the constraint qualifications do not always hold even for finite dimensional optimization problems and frequently fail for infinite dimensional problems. In the present work we take a broader view of the subgradient optimality conditions by allowing them to depend on a sequence of ε-subgradients at a minimizer and then by letting them to hold in the limit. Liberating the optimality conditions in this way permits us to obtain a complete characterization of optimality without a constraint qualification. As an easy consequence of these results we obtain optimality conditions for conic convex optimization problems without a constraint qualification. We derive these conditions by applying a powerful combination of conjugate analysis and ε-subdifferential calculus. Numerical examples are discussed to illustrate the significance of the sequential conditions.     

On constraint qualifications in terms of approximate Jacobians for nonsmooth continuous optimization problems

Constraint qualifications in terms of approximate Jacobians are investigated for a nonsmooth constrained optimization problem, in which the involved functions are continuous but not necessarily locally Lipschitz. New constraint qualifications in terms of approximate Jacobians, weaker than the generalized Robinson constraint qualification (GRCQ) in Jeyakumar and Yen [V. Jeyakumar, N.D. Yen, Solution stability of nonsmooth continuous systems with applications to cone-constrained optimization, SIAM J. Optim. 14 5 (2004) 1106-1127], are introduced and some examples are provided to show the utility of constrained qualifications introduced. Since the calmness condition is regarded as the basic condition for optimality conditions, the relationships between the constraint qualifications proposed and the calmness of solution mapping are also studied.     

On Constraint Qualification in Multiobjective Optimization Problems: Semidifferentiable Case

Some versions of constraint qualifications in the semidifferentiable case are considered for a multiobjective optimization problem with inequality constraints. A Maeda-type constraint qualification is given and Kuhn–Tucker-type necessary conditions for efficiency are obtained. In addition, some conditions that ensure the Maeda-type constraint qualification are stated.