Merit functions for semi-definite complemetarity problems

Merit functions such as the gap function, the regularized gap function, the implicit Lagrangian, and the norm squared of the Fischer-Burmeister function have played an important role in the solution of complementarity problems defined over the cone of nonnegative real vectors. We study the extension of these merit functions to complementarity problems defined over the cone of block-diagonal symmetric positive semi-definite real matrices. The extension suggests new solution methods for the latter problems. This research is supported by National Science Foundation Grant CCR-9311621.     

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.     

Merit functions: a bridge between optimization and equilibria

In the last decades, many problems involving equilibria, arising from engineering, physics and economics, have been formulated as variational mathematical models. In turn, these models can be reformulated as optimization problems through merit functions. This paper aims at reviewing the literature about merit functions for variational inequalities, quasi-variational inequalities and abstract equilibrium problems. Smoothness and convexity properties of merit functions and solution methods based on them will be presented.     

On the Lorentz Cone Complementarity Problems in Infinite-Dimensional Real Hilbert Space

In this article, we consider the Lorentz cone complementarity problems in infinite-dimensional real Hilbert space. We establish several results that are standard and important when dealing with complementarity problems. These include proving the same growth of the Fishcher–Burmeister merit function and the natural residual merit function, investigating property of bounded level sets under mild conditions via different merit functions, and providing global error bounds through the proposed merit functions. Such results are helpful for further designing solution methods for the Lorentz cone complementarity problems in Hilbert space.     

Equivalence of variational inequality problems to unconstrained minimization

In this paper we propose a class of merit functions for variational inequality problems (VI). Through these merit functions, the variational inequality problem is cast as unconstrained minimization problem. We estimate the growth rate of these merit functions and give conditions under which the stationary points of these functions are the solutions of VI. This work was supported by the state key project “Scientific and Engineering Computing”.     

Sarason interpolation and Toeplitz corona theorem for almost periodic matrix functions

Sarason interpolation and Toeplitz corona problems are studied for almost periodic matrix functions. Recent results on almost periodic factorization and related generalized Toeplitz operators are the main tools in the study.Supported in part by NSF Grant DMS 9500912Supported in part by NATO Collaborative Research Grant 950332Supported by NSF Grant DMS 9500924     

Merit Functions for Complementarity and Related Problems: A Survey

Merit functions have become important tools for solving various mathematical problems arising from engineering sciences and economic systems. In this paper, we are surveying basic principles and properties of merit functions and some of their applications. As a particular case we will consider the nonlinear complementarity problem (NCP) and present a collection of different merit functions. We will also introduce and study a class of smooth merit functions for the NCP.     

隐互补问题的极小化变形及其稳定点

1 引言 互补问题在最优化中有着广泛的应用,例如线性规划中的对偶问题,非线性规划中求稳定点的KKT条件以及变分不等式的求解都可以转化为互补问题,另外,某些均衡网络设计问题、信号最优化问题以及交通配置等问题也可利用互补问题来求解.     

A class of gap functions for variational inequalities

Recently Auchmuty (1989) has introduced a new class of merit functions, or optimization formulations, for variational inequalities in finite-dimensional space. We develop and generalize Auchmuty's results, and relate his class of merit functions to other works done in this field. Especially, we investigate differentiability and convexity properties, and present characterizations of the set of solutions to variational inequalities. We then present new descent algorithms for variational inequalities within this framework, including approximate solutions of the direction finding and line search problems. The new class of merit functions include the primal and dual gap functions, introduced by Zuhovickii et al. (1969a, 1969b), and the differentiable merit function recently presented by Fukushima (1992); also, the descent algorithm proposed by Fukushima is a special case from the class of descent methods developed in this paper. Through a generalization of Auchmuty's class of merit functions we extend those inherent in the works of Dafermos (1983), Cohen (1988) and Wu et al. (1991); new algorithmic equivalence results, relating these algorithm classes to each other and to Auchmuty's framework, are also given.Corresponding author.     

An efficient one—dimensional search procedure for barrier functions

In minimizing interior penalty functions, most of the computational time is spent on the one-dimensional search. This paper presents a method for performing this search on barrier functions which is significantly faster than current techniques. The method exploits the special structure of barrier functions. Comparative computational results are given for a set of six test problems.This research was partially supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Research Grant NSG 110-61 and by the Office of Naval Research under Grant No. N00014-67-A-0404-0010.     

On Minimizing Some Merit Functions for Nonlinear Complementarity Problems under <Emphasis Type="Italic">H</Emphasis>-Differentiability

In this paper, we describe the H-differentials of some well known NCP functions and their merit functions. We show how, under appropriate conditions on an H-differential of f, minimizing a merit function corresponding to f leads to a solution of the nonlinear complementarity problem. Our results give a unified treatment of such results for C ¹-functions, semismooth-functions, and locally Lipschitzian functions. Illustrations are given to show the usefulness of our results. We present also a result on the global convergence of a derivative-free descent algorithm for solving the nonlinear complementarity problem. The first author is deeply indebted to Professor M. Seetharama Gowda for his numerous helpful suggestions and encouragement. Special thanks to Professor J.-P. Crouzeix and an anonymous referees for their constructive suggestions which led to numerous improvements in the paper. The research of the first author was supported in part by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and Scholar Activity Grant of Thompson Rivers University. The research of the second author was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.     

On merit functions for <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-order cone complementarity problem

Merit function approach is a popular method to deal with complementarity problems, in which the complementarity problem is recast as an unconstrained minimization via merit function or complementarity function. In this paper, for the complementarity problem associated with p-order cone, which is a type of nonsymmetric cone complementarity problem, we show the readers how to construct merit functions for solving p-order cone complementarity problem. In addition, we study the conditions under which the level sets of the corresponding merit functions are bounded, and we also assert that these merit functions provide an error bound for the p-order cone complementarity problem. These results build up a theoretical basis for the merit method for solving p-order cone complementarity problem.     

Differentiability and semismoothness properties of integral functions and their applications

In this paper we study differentiability and semismoothness properties of functions defined as integrals of parameterized functions. We also discuss applications of the developed theory to the problems of shape-preserving interpolation, option pricing and semi-infinite programming.Supported by the Hong Kong Research Grant Council under grant PolyU 5296/02P.     

Nonmonotone stabilization methods for nonlinear equations

We are concerned with defining new globalization criteria for solution methods of nonlinear equations. The current criteria used in these methods require a sufficient decrease of a particular merit function at each iteration of the algorithm. As was observed in the field of smooth unconstrained optimization, this descent requirement can considerably slow the rate of convergence of the sequence of points produced and, in some cases, can heavily deteriorate the performance of algorithms. The aim of this paper is to show that the global convergence of most methods proposed in the literature for solving systems of nonlinear equations can be obtained using less restrictive criteria that do not enforce a monotonic decrease of the chosen merit function. In particular, we show that a general stabilization scheme, recently proposed for the unconstrained minimization of continuously differentiable functions, can be extended to methods for the solution of nonlinear (nonsmooth) equations. This scheme includes different kinds of relaxation of the descent requirement and opens up the possibility of describing new classes of algorithms where the old monotone linesearch techniques are replace with more flexible nonmonotone stabilization procedures. As in the case of smooth unconstrained optimization, this should be the basis for defining more efficient algorithms with very good practical rates of convergence.This material is partially based on research supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research Grant AFOSR-89-0410, National Science Foundation Grant CCR-91-57632, and Istituto di Analisi dei Sistemi ed Informatica del CNR.     

A one-parametric class of merit functions for the symmetric cone complementarity problem

In this paper, we extend the one-parametric class of merit functions proposed by Kanzow and Kleinmichel [C. Kanzow, H. Kleinmichel, A new class of semismooth Newton-type methods for nonlinear complementarity problems, Comput. Optim. Appl. 11 (1998) 227-251] for the nonnegative orthant complementarity problem to the general symmetric cone complementarity problem (SCCP). We show that the class of merit functions is continuously differentiable everywhere and has a globally Lipschitz continuous gradient mapping. From this, we particularly obtain the smoothness of the Fischer-Burmeister merit function associated with symmetric cones and the Lipschitz continuity of its gradient. In addition, we also consider a regularized formulation for the class of merit functions which is actually an extension of one of the NCP function classes studied by [C. Kanzow, Y. Yamashita, M. Fukushima, New NCP functions and their properties, J. Optim. Theory Appl. 97 (1997) 115-135] to the SCCP. By exploiting the Cartesian P-properties for a nonlinear transformation, we show that the class of regularized merit functions provides a global error bound for the solution of the SCCP, and moreover, has bounded level sets under a rather weak condition which can be satisfied by the monotone SCCP with a strictly feasible point or the SCCP with the joint Cartesian R₀₂-property. All of these results generalize some recent important works in [J.-S. Chen, P. Tseng, An unconstrained smooth minimization reformulation of the second-order cone complementarity problem, Math. Program. 104 (2005) 293-327; C.-K. Sim, J. Sun, D. Ralph, A note on the Lipschitz continuity of the gradient of the squared norm of the matrix-valued Fischer-Burmeister function, Math. Program. 107 (2006) 547-553; P. Tseng, Merit function for semidefinite complementarity problems, Math. Program. 83 (1998) 159-185] under a unified framework.     

Identification of parameters in nonlinear boundary-value problems

This paper presents a method for identification of parameters in nonlinear boundary-value problems. The successive approximations technique proposed uses the theory of Lagrange multipliers and the Newton-Raphson method. This method does not require storage of functions and is quadratically convergent. Numerical results are presented.This research was sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, Grant No. GM-16197-01. Computing assistance was obtained from the Health Sciences Computing Facility, University of California at Los Angeles, NIH Grant No. FR-3.     

Deletion-by-infeasibility rule for DC-constrained global optimization

In Ref. 1, a general class of branch-and-bound methods was proposed by Horst for solving global optimization problems. One of the main contributions of Ref. 1 was the opportunity of handling partition elements whose feasibility is not known. Deletion-by-infeasibility rules were presented for problems where the feasible set is convex, is defined by finitely many convex and reverse convex constraints, or is defined by Lipschitzian inequalities. In this note, we propose a new deletion-by-infeasibility rule for problems whose feasible set is defined by functions representable as differences of convex functions.This research was supported in part by the Hungarian National Research Foundation, Grant OTKA No. 2568.     

Optimization Techniques for State-Constrained Control and Obstacle Problems

The design of control laws for systems subject to complex state constraints still presents a significant challenge. This paper explores a dynamic programming approach to a specific class of such problems, that of reachability under state constraints. The problems are formulated in terms of nonstandard minmax and maxmin cost functionals, and the corresponding value functions are given in terms of Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equations or variational inequalities. The solution of these relations is complicated in general; however, for linear systems, the value functions may be described also in terms of duality relations of convex analysis and minmax theory. Consequently, solution techniques specific to systems with a linear structure may be designed independently of HJB theory. These techniques are illustrated through two examples.The first author was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, Grant 03-01-00663, by the program Universities of Russia, Grant 03.03.007, and by the program of the Russian Federation President for the support of scientific research in leading scientific schools, Grant NSh-1889.2003.1.The second author was supported by the National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada and by ONR MURI Contract 79846-23800-44-NDSAS.The third and first authors were supported by NSF Grants ECS-0099824 and ECS-0424445.Communicated by G. Leitmann     

Growth behavior of a class of merit functions for the nonlinear complementarity problem

When the nonlinear complementarity problem is reformulated as that of finding the zero of a self-mapping, the norm of the selfmapping serves naturally as a merit function for the problem. We study the growth behavior of such a merit function. In particular, we show that, for the linear complementarity problem, whether the merit function is coercive is intimately related to whether the underlying matrix is aP-matrix or a nondegenerate matrix or anR _o-matrix. We also show that, for the more popular choices of the merit function, the merit function is bounded below by the norm of the natural residual raised to a positive integral power. Thus, if the norm of the natural residual has positive order of growth, then so does the merit function.This work was partially supported by the National Science Foundation Grant No. CCR-93-11621.The author thanks Dr. Christian Kanzow for his many helpful comments on a preliminary version of this paper. He also thanks the referees for their helpful suggestions.     

On the coerciveness of some merit functions for complementarity problems over symmetric cones

One of the popular solution methods for the complementarity problem over symmetric cones is to reformulate it as the global minimization of a certain merit function. An important question to be answered for this class of methods is under what conditions the level sets of the merit function are bounded (the coerciveness of the merit function). In this paper, we introduce the generalized weak-coerciveness of a continuous transformation. Under this condition, we prove the coerciveness of some merit functions, such as the natural residual function, the normal map, and the Fukushima-Yamashita function for complementarity problems over symmetric cones. We note that this is a much milder condition than strong monotonicity, used in the current literature.