A line search filter algorithm with inexact step computations for equality constrained optimization

In this paper, a new line search filter algorithm for equality constrained optimization is presented. The approach belongs to the class of inexact Newton-like methods. It can also be regarded as an inexact version of generic sequential quadratic programming (SQP) methods. The trial step is obtained by truncatedly solving the primal-dual system based on any robust and efficient linear system solver. Practical termination tests for the linear system solver are established to ensure global convergence. Preliminary numerical results demonstrate the approach is potentially useful.     

Graph splicing systems

In this paper, extended graph splicing systems are defined. It is shown that when strings are represented as linear graphs, any recursively enumerable set can be generated by an extended graph splicing system. It is also shown that the computational completeness of extended graph splicing systems can be proved under some constraints too.     

Handling equality constraints in evolutionary optimization

Over the last few decades several methods have been proposed for handling functional constraints while solving optimization problems using evolutionary algorithms (EAs). However, the presence of equality constraints makes the feasible space very small compared to the entire search space. As a consequence, the handling of equality constraints has long been a difficult issue for evolutionary optimization methods. This paper presents a Hybrid Evolutionary Algorithm (HEA) for solving optimization problems with both equality and inequality constraints. In HEA, we propose a new local search technique with special emphasis on equality constraints. The basic concept of the new technique is to reach a point on the equality constraint from the current position of an individual solution, and then explore on the constraint landscape. We believe this new concept will influence the future research direction for constrained optimization using population based algorithms. The proposed algorithm is tested on a set of standard benchmark problems. The results show that the proposed technique works very well on those benchmark problems.     

Sequential quadratic programming with a flexible step acceptance strategy

A new sequential quadratic programming (SQP) method for nonlinear inequality constrained optimization is proposed. The aim of this paper is to promote global convergence for SQP methods using a flexible step acceptance strategy which combines merit functions and filter techniques. Global convergence is proved under some reasonable assumptions and preliminary numerical results are reported.     

Another greedy heuristic for the constrained forest problem

The constrained forest problem seeks a minimum-weight spanning forest in an undirected edge-weighted graph such that each tree spans at least a specified number of vertices. We present a greedy heuristic for this NP-hard problem, whose solutions are at least as good as, and often better than, those produced by the best-known 2-approximate heuristic.     

Newton's method for constrained optimization

We derive a quadratically convergent algorithm for minimizing a nonlinear function subject to nonlinear equality constraints. We show, following Kaufman [4], how to compute efficiently the derivative of a basis of the subspace tangent to the feasible surface. The derivation minimizes the use of Lagrange multipliers, producing multiplier estimates as a by-product of other calculations. An extension of Kantorovich's theorem shows that the algorithm maintains quadratic convergence even if the basis of the tangent space changes abruptly from iteration to iteration. The algorithm and its quadratic convergence are known but the drivation is new, simple, and suggests several new modifications of the algorithm.     

Constraint incorporation in optimization

Numerical methods for solving constrained optimization problems need to incorporate the constraints in a manner that satisfies essentially competing interests; the incorporation needs to be simple enough that the solution method is tractable, yet complex enough to ensure the validity of the ultimate solution. We introduce a framework for constraint incorporation that identifies a minimal acceptable level of complexity and defines two basic types of constraint incorporation which (with combinations) cover nearly all popular numerical methods for constrained optimization, including trust region methods, penalty methods, barrier methods, penalty-multiplier methods, and sequential quadratic programming methods. The broad application of our framework relies on addition and chain rules for constraint incorporation which we develop here.     

Normality of the maximum principle for nonconvex constrained Bolza problems

We consider a Bolza optimal control problem with state constraints. It is well known that under some technical assumptions every strong local minimizer of this problem satisfies first order necessary optimality conditions in the form of a constrained maximum principle. In general, the maximum principle may be abnormal or even degenerate and so does not provide a sufficient information about optimal controls. In the recent literature some sufficient conditions were proposed to guarantee that at least one maximum principle is nondegenerate, cf. [A.V. Arutyanov, S.M. Aseev, Investigation of the degeneracy phenomenon of the maximum principle for optimal control problems with state constraints, SIAM J. Control Optim. 35 (1997) 930–952; F. Rampazzo, R.B. Vinter, A theorem on existence of neighbouring trajectories satisfying a state constraint, with applications to optimal control, IMA 16 (4) (1999) 335–351; F. Rampazzo, R.B. Vinter, Degenerate optimal control problems with state constraints, SIAM J. Control Optim. 39 (4) (2000) 989–1007]. Our aim is to show that actually conditions of a similar nature guarantee normality of every nondegenerate maximum principle. In particular we allow the initial condition to be fixed and the state constraints to be nonsmooth. To prove normality we use J. Yorke type linearization of control systems and show the existence of a solution to a linearized control system satisfying new state constraints defined, in turn, by linearization of the original set of constraints along an extremal trajectory.     

解非线性互补问题的积分水平集方法

本文考虑有约束的非线性互补问题的全局最优化问题,在文《IntegralGlobalOptimizationMethodforSolutionofNonlinearComplementarityproblem》和《一种修正的求总极值的积分一水平集方法》的基础上,给出了一种修正的求约束总极值的积分一水平集方法,它同样具有修正的求总极值的积分一水平集方法的两个特点：1）每一步需要构造一个新的函数,而且它与原目标函数具有相同的总极值;2）避免了郑权算法在一般情况下,由于水平集不易求得而造成难以求出水平的困难,并证明了算法的收敛性