Riemannian Gradient Method with Momentum

Abstract

In this paper, we consider the problem of minimizing a smooth function on a Riemannian manifold and present a Riemannian gradient method with momentum. The proposed algorithm represents a substantial and nontrivial extension of a recently introduced method for unconstrained optimization. We prove that the algorithm, supported by a safeguarding rule, produces an $\epsilon$-stationary point with a worst-case complexity bound of $\mathcal{O}(\epsilon^{-2})$. Extensive computational experiments on benchmark problems are carried out, comparing the proposed method with state-of-the-art solvers available in the Manopt package. The results demonstrate competitive and often superior performance. Overall, the numerical evidence confirms the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed approach, which provides a meaningful extension of the recently introduced momentum-based method to Riemannian optimization.