Rates of convergence for a method of centers algorithm

Convergence of a method of centers algorithm for solving nonlinear programming problems is considered. The algorithm is defined so that the subproblems that must be solved during its execution may be solved by finite-step procedures. Conditions are given under which the algorithm generates sequences of feasible points and constraint multiplier vectors that have accumulation points satisfying the Fritz John or the Kuhn-Tucker optimality conditions. Under stronger assumptions, linear convergence rates are established for the sequences of objective function, constraint function, feasible point, and multiplier values.This work was supported in part by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Predoctoral Traineeship No. NsG(T)-117, and by the National Science Foundation, Grants No. GP-25081 and No. GK-32710.The author wishes to thank Donald M. Topkis for his valuable criticism of an earlier version of this paper and a referee for his helpful comments.