Nonsmooth Analysis of Singular Values. Part I: Theory

The singular values of a rectangular matrix are nonsmooth functions of its entries. In this work we study the nonsmooth analysis of functions of singular values. In particular we give simple formulae for the regular subdifferential, the limiting subdifferential, and the horizon subdifferential, of such functions. Along the way to the main result we give several applications and in particular derive von Neumann’s trace inequality for singular values. Mathematics Subject Classifications (2000) Primary 90C31, 15A18; secondary 49K40, 26B05.Research supported by NSERC.     

Nonsmooth analysis on smooth manifolds

We study infinitesimal properties of nonsmooth (nondifferentiable) functions on smooth manifolds. The eigenvalue function of a matrix on the manifold of symmetric matrices gives a natural example of such a nonsmooth function.

A subdifferential calculus for lower semicontinuous functions is developed here for studying constrained optimization problems, nonclassical problems of calculus of variations, and generalized solutions of first-order partial differential equations on manifolds. We also establish criteria for monotonicity and invariance of functions and sets with respect to solutions of differential inclusions.

     

Limiting behavior of the approximate second-order subdifferential of a convex function

Hiriart-Urruty and the author recently introduced the notions of Dupin indicatrices for nonsmooth convex surfaces and studied them in connection with their concept of a second-order subdifferential for convex functions. They noticed that second-order subdifferentials can be viewed as limit sets of difference quotients involving approximate subdifferentials. In this paper, we elaborate this point in a more detailed way and discuss some related questions.The author is grateful to the referees for their helpful comments.     

Solvability of nonlinear variational-hemivariational inequalities

In this paper we study nonlinear elliptic differential equations driven by the p-Laplacian with unilateral constraints produced by the combined effects of a monotone term and of a nonmonotone term (variational-hemivariational inequality). Our approach is variational and uses the subdifferential theory of nonsmooth functions and the theory of accretive and monotone operators. Also using these ideas and a special choice of the monotone term, we prove the existence of a strictly positive smooth solution for a class of nonlinear equations with nonsmooth potential (hemivariational inequality).     

Minimal convex majorants of functions and Demyanov–Rubinov exhaustive super(sub)differentials

ABSTRACT

The primary goal of the paper is to establish characteristic properties of (extended) real-valued functions defined on normed vector spaces that admit the representation as the lower envelope (the pointwise infimum) of their minimal (with respect of the pointwise ordering) convex majorants. The results presented in the paper generalize and extend the well-known Demyanov-Rubinov characterization of upper semicontinuous positively homogeneous functions as the lower envelope of exhaustive families of continuous sublinear functions to larger classes of (not necessarily positively homogeneous) functions defined on arbitrary normed spaces. As applications of the above results, we introduce, for nonsmooth functions, a new notion of the Demyanov-Rubinov exhaustive subdifferential at a given point, and show that it generalizes a number of known notions of subdifferentiability, in particular, the Fenchel-Moreau subdifferential of convex functions, the Dini-Hadamard (directional) subdifferential of directionally differentiable functions, and the Φ-subdifferential in the sense of the abstract convexity theory. Some applications of Demyanov-Rubinov exhaustive subdifferentials to extremal problems are considered.     

Exact calculus of Fréchet subdifferentials for Hadamard directionally differentiable functions

We continue the study of the calculus of the generalized subdifferentials started in [V.F. Demyanov, V. Roshchina, Exhausters and subdifferentials in nonsmooth analysis, Optimization (2006) (in press)] and [V. Roshchina, Relationships between upper exhausters and the basic subdifferential in Variational Analysis, Journal of Mathematical Analysis and Applications 334 (2007) 261–272] and provide some basic calculus rules for the Fréchet subdifferentials via collections of compact convex sets associated with Hadamard directional derivative. The main result of this paper is the sum rule for the Fréchet subdifferential in the form of an equality, which holds for Hadamard directionally differentiable functions, and is of significant interest from the points of view of both theory and applications.     

Hunting for a Smaller Convex Subdifferential

Certain useful basic results of the gradient (in the smooth case), the Clarkesubdifferential, the Michel–Penot subdifferential, which is also known asthe "small" subdifferential, and the directional derivative(in the nonsmooth case) are stated and discussed. One of the advantages ofthe Michel–Penot subdifferential is the fact that it is in general "smaller"than the Clarke subdifferential. In this paper it is shown that there existsubdifferentials which may be smaller than the Michel–Penot subdifferentialandwhich have certain useful calculus. It isfurther shown that in the case of quasidifferentiability, the Michel–Penotsubdifferential enjoys calculus whichhold for the Clarke subdifferential only in the regular case.     

Vector variational inequality with pseudoconvexity on Hadamard manifolds

In this paper, we give some properties for nondifferentiable pseudoconvex functions on Hadamard manifolds, and discuss the connections between pseudoconvex functions and pseudomonotone vector fields. Moreover, we study Minty and Stampacchia vector variational inequalities, which are formulated in terms of Clarke subdifferential for nonsmooth functions. Some relations between the vector variational inequalities and nonsmooth vector optimization problems are established under pseudoconvexity or pseudomonotonicity. The results presented in this paper extend some corresponding known results given in the literatures.     

Algorithmic Construction of the Subdifferential from Directional Derivatives

The subdifferential of a function is a generalization for nonsmooth functions of the concept of gradient. It is frequently used in variational analysis, particularly in the context of nonsmooth optimization. The present work proposes algorithms to reconstruct a polyhedral subdifferential of a function from the computation of finitely many directional derivatives. We provide upper bounds on the required number of directional derivatives when the space is ?¹ and ?², as well as in ? ⁿ where subdifferential is known to possess at most three vertices.     

“Two Nontrivial Critical Points for Nonsmooth Functionals via Local Linking and Applications”

In this paper, we extend to nonsmooth locally Lipschitz functionals the multiplicity result of Brezis–Nirenberg (Communication Pure Applied Mathematics and 44 (1991)) based on a local linking condition. Our approach is based on the nonsmooth critical point theory for locally Lipschitz functions which uses the Clarke subdifferential. We present two applications. This first concerns periodic systems driven by the ordinary vector p-Laplacian. The second concerns elliptic equations at resonance driven by the partial p-Laplacian with Dirichlet boundary condition. In both cases the potential function is nonsmooth, locally Lipschitz.     

Optimality for nonsmooth fractional multiple objective programming

In this study the necessary and sufficient optimality conditions for nonsmooth fractional multiple objective optimization problems are provided. Our idea is based on using the properties of limiting subdifferential vectors in nonsmooth analysis and a separation theorem in convex analysis.     

Subdifferential Properties of Quasiconvex and Pseudoconvex Functions: Unified Approach

In this paper, we are mainly concerned with the characterization of quasiconvex or pseudoconvex nondifferentiable functions and the relationship between those two concepts. In particular, we characterize the quasiconvexity and pseudoconvexity of a function by mixed properties combining properties of the function and properties of its subdifferential. We also prove that a lower semicontinuous and radially continuous function is pseudoconvex if it is quasiconvex and satisfies the following optimality condition: 0f(x)f has a global minimum at x. The results are proved using the abstract subdifferential introduced in Ref. 1, a concept which allows one to recover almost all the subdifferentials used in nonsmooth analysis.     

Optimality Conditions for Nonconvex Constrained Optimization Problems

Abstract

We present optimality conditions for a class of nonsmooth and nonconvex constrained optimization problems. To achieve this aim, various well-known constraint qualifications are extended based on the concept of tangential subdifferential and the relations between them are investigated. Moreover, local and global necessary and sufficient optimality conditions are derived in the absence of convexity of the feasible set. In addition to the theoretical results, several examples are provided to illustrate the advantage of our outcomes.     

Weak subdifferential/superdifferential,weak exhausters and optimality conditions

In this work, the notion of weak superdifferential is presented. Some calculation rules are given to evaluate weak subdifferential and weak superdifferential of some classes of functions represented by support functions. Moreover, some methods are obtained to calculate weak subdifferential of convex functions. In addition, the concept of weak lower and weak upper exhausters of positively homogeneous functions are introduced by using weak subdifferential and weak superdifferential, respectively. In terms of weak exhausters, some optimality conditions are given to find local or global minimizers/maximizers of some classes of functions.     

Lipschitz functions with maximal Clarke subdifferentials are generic

We show that on a separable Banach space most Lipschitz functions have maximal Clarke subdifferential mappings. In particular, the generic nonexpansive function has the dual unit ball as its Clarke subdifferential at every point. Diverse corollaries are given.

     

Calculus rules for global approximate minima and applications to approximate subdifferential calculus

We provide calculus rules for global approximate minima concerning usual operations on functions. The formulas we obtain are then applied to approximate subdifferential calculus. In this way, new results are presented, for example on the approximate subdifferential of a deconvolution, or on the subdifferential of an upper envelope of convex functions.     

Existence of Solutions and of Multiple Solutions for Nonlinear Nonsmooth Periodic Systems

In this paper we examine nonlinear periodic systems driven by the vectorial p-Laplacian and with a nondifferentiable, locally Lipschitz nonlinearity. Our approach is based on the nonsmooth critical point theory and uses the subdifferential theory for locally Lipschitz functions. We prove existence and multiplicity results for the sublinear problem. For the semilinear problem (i.e. p = 2) using a nonsmooth multidimensional version of the Ambrosetti-Rabinowitz condition, we prove an existence theorem for the superlinear problem. Our work generalizes some recent results of Tang (PAMS 126(1998)).     

On global subdifferentials with applications in nonsmooth optimization

The notions of global subdifferentials associated with the global directional derivatives are introduced in the following paper. Most common used properties, a set of calculus rules along with a mean value theorem are presented as well. In addition, a diversity of comparisons with well-known subdifferentials such as Fréchet, Dini, Clarke, Michel–Penot, and Mordukhovich subdifferential and convexificator notion are provided. Furthermore, the lower global subdifferential is in fact proved to be an abstract subdifferential. Therefore, the lower global subdifferential satisfies standard properties for subdifferential operators. Finally, two applications in nonconvex nonsmooth optimization are given: necessary and sufficient optimality conditions for a point to be local minima with and without constraints, and a revisited characterization for nonsmooth quasiconvex functions.

     

解奇异非光滑方程组的牛顿法和不精确牛顿法

本文主要解决奇异非光滑方程组的解法。应用一种新的次微分的外逆，我们提出了牛顿法和不精确牛顿法，它们的收敛性同时也得到了证明。这种方法能更容易在一引起实际应用中实现。这种方法可以看作是已存在的解非光滑方程组的方法的延伸。     

Distinct differentiable functions may share the same Clarke subdifferential at all points

We construct, using Zahorski's Theorem, two everywhere differentiable real-valued Lipschitz functions differing by more than a constant but sharing the same Clarke subdifferential and the same approximate subdifferential.