The system of generalized absolute value equations (GAVE) has attracted more and more attention in the optimization community. In this paper, by introducing a smoothing function, we develop a smoothing Newton algorithm with non-monotone line search to solve the GAVE. We show that the non-monotone algorithm is globally and locally quadratically convergent under a weaker assumption than those given in most existing algorithms for solving the GAVE. Numerical results are given to demonstrate the viability and efficiency of the approach.
In this letter, an efficient motion planning approach with grid-based generalized Voronoi diagrams is newly proposed for mobile robots. Different from existing approaches, the novelty of this work is twofold: 1) a new state lattice-based path searching approach is proposed, in which the search space is reduced to a Voronoi corridor to further improve the search efficiency, along with a Voronoi potential field constructed to make the searched path keep a reasonable distance from obstacles to provide sufficient optimization margin for the subsequent path smoothing, and 2) an efficient quadratic programming-based path smoothing approach is presented, wherein the clearance to obstacles is considered in the form of the penalty of the deviation from the safe reference path to improve the path clearance of hard-constrained path smoothing approaches. We validate the efficiency and smoothness of our approach in various challenging simulation scenarios and large-scale outdoor environments. It is shown that the computational efficiency is improved by 17.1% in the path searching stage, and smoothing the path with our approach is 11.86 times faster than a recent gradient-based path smoothing approach. We will release the source code to the robotics community.
Iterative regularization exploits the implicit bias of an optimization algorithm to regularize ill-posed problems. Constructing algorithms with such built-in regularization mechanisms is a classic challenge in inverse problems but also in modern machine learning, where it provides both a new perspective on algorithms analysis, and significant speed-ups compared to explicit regularization. In this work, we propose and study the first iterative regularization procedure able to handle biases described by non smooth and non strongly convex functionals, prominent in low-complexity regularization. Our approach is based on a primal-dual algorithm of which we analyze convergence and stability properties, even in the case where the original problem is unfeasible. The general results are illustrated considering the special case of sparse recovery with the $\ell_1$ penalty. Our theoretical results are complemented by experiments showing the computational benefits of our approach.
Bilevel optimization, the problem of minimizing a value function which involves the arg-minimum of another function, appears in many areas of machine learning. In a large scale setting where the number of samples is huge, it is crucial to develop stochastic methods, which only use a few samples at a time to progress. However, computing the gradient of the value function involves solving a linear system, which makes it difficult to derive unbiased stochastic estimates. To overcome this problem we introduce a novel framework, in which the solution of the inner problem, the solution of the linear system, and the main variable evolve at the same time. These directions are written as a sum, making it straightforward to derive unbiased estimates. The simplicity of our approach allows us to develop global variance reduction algorithms, where the dynamics of all variables is subject to variance reduction. We demonstrate that SABA, an adaptation of the celebrated SAGA algorithm in our framework, has $O(\frac1T)$ convergence rate, and that it achieves linear convergence under Polyak-Lojasciewicz assumption. This is the first stochastic algorithm for bilevel optimization that verifies either of these properties. Numerical experiments validate the usefulness of our method.
In this paper, some preliminaries about signal flow graph, linear time-invariant system on F(z) and computational complexity are first introduced in detail. In order to synthesize the necessary and sufficient condition on F(z) for a general 2-path problem, the sufficient condition on F(z) or R and necessary conditions on F(z) for a general 2-path problem are secondly analyzed respectively. Moreover, an equivalent sufficient and necessary condition on R whether there exists a general 2-path is deduced in detail. Finally, the computational complexity of the algorithm for this equivalent sufficient and necessary condition is introduced so that it means that the general 2-path problem is a P problem.
Zero-free based algorithm is a major technique for deterministic approximate counting. In Barvinok's original framework[Bar17], by calculating truncated Taylor expansions, a quasi-polynomial time algorithm was given for estimating zero-free partition functions. Patel and Regts[PR17] later gave a refinement of Barvinok's framework, which gave a polynomial-time algorithm for a class of zero-free graph polynomials that can be expressed as counting induced subgraphs in bounded-degree graphs. In this paper, we give a polynomial-time algorithm for estimating classical and quantum partition functions specified by local Hamiltonians with bounded maximum degree, assuming a zero-free property for the temperature. Consequently, when the inverse temperature is close enough to zero by a constant gap, we have polynomial-time approximation algorithm for all such partition functions. Our result is based on a new abstract framework that extends and generalizes the approach of Patel and Regts.
A family of sets is $(p,q)$-intersecting if every nonempty subfamily of $p$ or fewer sets has at least $q$ elements in its total intersection. A family of sets has the $(p,q)$-Helly property if every nonempty $(p,q)$-intersecting subfamily has total intersection of cardinality at least $q$. The $(2,1)$-Helly property is the usual Helly property. A hypergraph is $(p,q)$-Helly if its edge family has the $(p,q)$-Helly property and hereditary $(p,q)$-Helly if each of its subhypergraphs has the $(p,q)$-Helly property. A graph is $(p,q)$-clique-Helly if the family of its maximal cliques has the $(p,q)$-the Helly property and hereditary $(p,q)$-clique-Helly if each of its induced subgraphs is $(p,q)$-clique-Helly. The classes of $(p,q)$-biclique-Helly and hereditary $(p,q)$-biclique-Helly graphs are defined analogously. We prove several characterizations of hereditary $(p,q)$-Helly hypergraphs, including one by minimal forbidden partial subhypergraphs. We give an improved time bound for the recognition of $(p,q)$-Helly hypergraphs for each fixed $q$ and show that the recognition of hereditary $(p,q)$-Helly hypergraphs can be solved in polynomial time if $p$ and $q$ are fixed but co-NP-complete if $p$ is part of the input. In addition, we generalize to $(p,q)$-clique-Helly graphs the characterization of $p$-clique-Helly graphs in terms of expansions and give different characterizations of hereditary $(p,q)$-clique-Helly graphs, including one by forbidden induced subgraphs. We give an improvement on the time bound for the recognition of $(p,q)$-clique-Helly graphs and prove that the recognition problem of hereditary $(p,q)$-clique-Helly graphs is polynomial-time solvable for $p$ and $q$ fixed but NP-hard if $p$ or $q$ is part of the input. Finally, we provide different characterizations, give recognition algorithms, and prove hardness results for (hereditary) $(p,q)$-biclique-Helly graphs.
The scalar auxiliary variable (SAV) approach \cite{shen2018scalar} and its generalized version GSAV proposed in \cite{huang2020highly} are very popular methods to construct efficient and accurate energy stable schemes for nonlinear dissipative systems. However, the discrete value of the SAV is not directly linked to the free energy of the dissipative system, and may lead to inaccurate solutions if the time step is not sufficiently small. Inspired by the relaxed SAV method proposed in \cite{jiang2022improving} for gradient flows, we propose in this paper a generalized SAV approach with relaxation (R-GSAV) for general dissipative systems. The R-GSAV approach preserves all the advantages of the GSAV appraoch, in addition, it dissipates a modified energy that is directly linked to the original free energy. We prove that the $k$-th order implicit-explicit (IMEX) schemes based on R-GSAV are unconditionally energy stable, and we carry out a rigorous error analysis for $k=1,2,3,4,5$. We present ample numerical results to demonstrate the improved accuracy and effectiveness of the R-GSAV approach.
We present a percolation inverse problem for diode networks: Given information about which pairs of nodes allow current to percolate from one to the other, can one construct a diode network consistent with the observed currents? We implement a divide-and-concur iterative projection method for solving the problem and demonstrate the supremacy of our method over an exhaustive approach for nontrivial instances of the problem. We find that the problem is most difficult when some but not all of the percolation data are hidden, and that the most difficult networks to reconstruct generally are those for which the currents are most sensitive to the addition or removal of a single diode.
We study the numerical approximation by space-time finite element methods of a multi-physics system coupling hyperbolic elastodynamics with parabolic transport and modelling poro- and thermoelasticity. The equations are rewritten as a first-order system in time. Discretizations by continuous Galerkin methods in space and time with inf-sup stable pairs of finite elements for the spatial approximation of the unknowns are investigated. Optimal order error estimates of energy-type are proven. Superconvergence at the time nodes is addressed briefly. The error analysis can be extended to discontinuous and enriched Galerkin space discretizations. The error estimates are confirmed by numerical experiments.
The main contribution of this paper is a new submap joining based approach for solving large-scale Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) problems. Each local submap is independently built using the local information through solving a small-scale SLAM; the joining of submaps mainly involves solving linear least squares and performing nonlinear coordinate transformations. Through approximating the local submap information as the state estimate and its corresponding information matrix, judiciously selecting the submap coordinate frames, and approximating the joining of a large number of submaps by joining only two maps at a time, either sequentially or in a more efficient Divide and Conquer manner, the nonlinear optimization process involved in most of the existing submap joining approaches is avoided. Thus the proposed submap joining algorithm does not require initial guess or iterations since linear least squares problems have closed-form solutions. The proposed Linear SLAM technique is applicable to feature-based SLAM, pose graph SLAM and D-SLAM, in both two and three dimensions, and does not require any assumption on the character of the covariance matrices. Simulations and experiments are performed to evaluate the proposed Linear SLAM algorithm. Results using publicly available datasets in 2D and 3D show that Linear SLAM produces results that are very close to the best solutions that can be obtained using full nonlinear optimization algorithm started from an accurate initial guess. The C/C++ and MATLAB source codes of Linear SLAM are available on OpenSLAM.