Whole-Sequence Convergence of Variable-Smoothing Full-Splitting Methods via a Lifted Kurdyka-Łojasiewicz Framework

Abstract

We establish whole-sequence convergence of the primal iterates of the smoothing-based full-splitting proximal subgradient method (S-FSPS) of Boţ, Li, and Tao (SIAM J. Optim., 35 (2025), pp.~2623--2653) with a prescribed, nonsummable sequence of vanishing smoothing parameters. The challenge is that each iteration uses a different smoothed model. We address this by constructing fixed lifted potentials, deriving compatible sufficient-decrease and relative-error estimates, and applying a scaled Kurdyka--Łojasiewicz (KL) finite-length argument that controls the residuals caused by changes in the smoothing parameter. Under a KL assumption on the corresponding fixed lifted potential and a weighted summability condition on these residuals, the primal trajectory has finite length. For power schedules $γ_k=(k+k_0)^{-β}$, with $k_0\geq1$ and $1/2<β\leq1$, the summability condition holds when the lift exponent is sufficiently large. Consequently, the primal sequence converges to an exact limiting lifted stationary point without imposing full-row-rank assumptions on the linear operators. As a corollary, we establish whole-sequence convergence for a variable-smoothing full-splitting projected-gradient method in nonconvex nonsmooth composite optimization. Examples distinguish primal convergence from convergence of the auxiliary dual variables and illustrate the role of nonsummability in guaranteeing exact stationarity.