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Francisco J. Aragón Artacho

Publications and source records attributed to Francisco J. Aragón Artacho.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2022

The Boosted DC Algorithm for linearly constrained DC programming

The Boosted Difference of Convex functions Algorithm (BDCA) has been recently introduced to accelerate the performance of the classical Difference of Convex functions Algorithm (DCA). This acceleration is achieved thanks to an extrapolation step from the point computed by DCA via a line search procedure. In this work, we propose an extension of BDCA that can be applied to difference of convex functions programs with linear constraints, and prove that every cluster point of the sequence generated by this algorithm is a Karush--Kuhn-Tucker point of the problem if the feasible set has a Slater point. When the objective function is quadratic, we prove that any sequence generated by the algorithm is bounded and R-linearly (geometrically) convergent. Finally, we present some numerical experiments where we compare the performance of DCA and BDCA on some challenging problems: to test the copositivity of a given matrix, to solve one-norm and infinity-norm trust-region subproblems, and to solve piecewise quadratic problems with box constraints. Our numerical results demonstrate that this new extension of BDCA outperforms DCA.

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arXiv2021

Strengthened Splitting Methods for Computing Resolvents

In this work, we develop a systematic framework for computing the resolvent of the sum of two or more monotone operators which only activates each operator in the sum individually. The key tool in the development of this framework is the notion of the "strengthening" of a set-valued operator, which can be viewed as a type of regularisation that preserves computational tractability. After deriving a number of iterative schemes through this framework, we demonstrate their application to best approximation problems, image denoising and elliptic PDEs.

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arXiv2020

Using positive spanning sets to achieve d-stationarity with the Boosted DC Algorithm

The Difference of Convex functions Algorithm (DCA) is widely used for minimizing the difference of two convex functions. A recently proposed accelerated version, termed BDCA for Boosted DC Algorithm, incorporates a line search step to achieve a larger decrease of the objective value at each iteration. Thanks to this step, BDCA usually converges much faster than DCA in practice. The solutions found by DCA are guaranteed to be critical points of the problem, but these may not be local minima. Although BDCA tends to improve the objective value of the solutions it finds, these are frequently just critical points as well. In this paper we combine BDCA with a simple Derivative-Free Optimization (DFO) algorithm to force the d-stationarity (lack of descent direction) at the point obtained. The potential of this approach is illustrated through some computational experiments on a Minimum-Sum-of-Squares clustering problem. Our numerical results demonstrate that the new method provides better solutions while still remains faster than DCA in the majority of test cases.

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arXiv2019

The Boosted DC Algorithm for nonsmooth functions

The Boosted Difference of Convex functions Algorithm (BDCA) was recently proposed for minimizing smooth difference of convex (DC) functions. BDCA accelerates the convergence of the classical Difference of Convex functions Algorithm (DCA) thanks to an additional line search step. The purpose of this paper is twofold. Firstly, to show that this scheme can be generalized and successfully applied to certain types of nonsmooth DC functions, namely, those that can be expressed as the difference of a smooth function and a possibly nonsmooth one. Secondly, to show that there is complete freedom in the choice of the trial step size for the line search, which is something that can further improve its performance. We prove that any limit point of the BDCA iterative sequence is a critical point of the problem under consideration, and that the corresponding objective value is monotonically decreasing and convergent. The global convergence and convergent rate of the iterations are obtained under the Kurdyka-Lojasiewicz property. Applications and numerical experiments for two problems in data science are presented, demonstrating that BDCA outperforms DCA. Specifically, for the Minimum Sum-of-Squares Clustering problem, BDCA was on average sixteen times faster than DCA, and for the Multidimensional Scaling problem, BDCA was three times faster than DCA.

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arXiv2019

The Douglas-Rachford Algorithm for Convex and Nonconvex Feasibility Problems

The Douglas-Rachford method, a projection algorithm designed to solve continuous optimization problems, forms the basis of a useful heuristic for solving combinatorial optimization problems. In order to successfully use the method, it is necessary to formulate the problem at hand as a feasibility problem with constraint sets having efficiently computable nearest points. In this self-contained tutorial, we develop the convergence theory of projection algorithms within the framework of fixed point iterations, explain how to devise useful feasibility problem formulations, and demonstrate the application of the Douglas-Rachford method to said formulations. The paradigm is then illustrated on two concrete problems: a generalization of the "eight queens puzzle" known as the "(m,n)-queens problem", and the problem of constructing a probability distribution with prescribed moments.

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arXiv2019

Finding magic squares with the Douglas-Rachford algorithm

In this expository paper, we show how to use the Douglas-Rachford algorithm as a successful heuristic for finding magic squares. The Douglas-Rachford algorithm is an iterative projection method for solving feasibility problems. Although its convergence is only guaranteed in the convex setting, the algorithm has been successfully applied to a number of similar nonconvex problems, such as solving Sudoku puzzles. We present two formulations of the nonconvex feasibility problem of finding magic squares, which are inspired by those of Sudoku, and test the Douglas-Rachford algorithm on them.

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arXiv2019

Local convergence of the Levenberg-Marquardt method under Hölder metric subregularity

We describe and analyse Levenberg-Marquardt methods for solving systems of nonlinear equations. More specifically, we propose an adaptive formula for the Levenberg-Marquardt parameter and analyse the local convergence of the method under Hölder metric subregularity of the function defining the equation and Hölder continuity of its gradient mapping. Further, we analyse the local convergence of the method under the additional assumption that the Łojasiewicz gradient inequality holds. We finally report encouraging numerical results confirming the theoretical findings for the problem of computing moiety conserved steady states in biochemical reaction networks. This problem can be cast as finding a solution of a system of nonlinear equations, where the associated mapping satisfies the Łojasiewicz gradient inequality assumption.

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arXiv2018

The Cyclic Douglas-Rachford Algorithm with r-sets-Douglas-Rachford Operators

The Douglas-Rachford (DR) algorithm is an iterative procedure that uses sequential reflections onto convex sets and which has become popular for convex feasibility problems. In this paper we propose a structural generalization that allows to use $r$-sets-DR operators in a cyclic fashion. We prove convergence and present numerical illustrations of the potential advantage of such operators with $r>2$ over the classical $2$-sets-DR operators in a cyclic algorithm.

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arXiv2018

Creation and analysis of biochemical constraint-based models: the COBRA Toolbox v3.0

COnstraint-Based Reconstruction and Analysis (COBRA) provides a molecular mechanistic framework for integrative analysis of experimental data and quantitative prediction of physicochemically and biochemically feasible phenotypic states. The COBRA Toolbox is a comprehensive software suite of interoperable COBRA methods. It has found widespread applications in biology, biomedicine, and biotechnology because its functions can be flexibly combined to implement tailored COBRA protocols for any biochemical network. Version 3.0 includes new methods for quality controlled reconstruction, modelling, topological analysis, strain and experimental design, network visualisation as well as network integration of chemoinformatic, metabolomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and thermochemical data. New multi-lingual code integration also enables an expansion in COBRA application scope via high-precision, high-performance, and nonlinear numerical optimisation solvers for multi-scale, multi-cellular and reaction kinetic modelling, respectively. This protocol can be adapted for the generation and analysis of a constraint-based model in a wide variety of molecular systems biology scenarios. This protocol is an update to the COBRA Toolbox 1.0 and 2.0. The COBRA Toolbox 3.0 provides an unparalleled depth of constraint-based reconstruction and analysis methods.

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arXiv2017

Optimal rates of linear convergence of the averaged alternating modified reflections method for two subspaces

The averaged alternating modified reflections (AAMR) method is a projection algorithm for finding the closest point in the intersection of convex sets to any arbitrary point in a Hilbert space. This method can be seen as an adequate modification of the Douglas--Rachford method that yields a solution to the best approximation problem. In this paper we consider the particular case of two subspaces in a Euclidean space. We obtain the rate of linear convergence of the AAMR method in terms of the Friedrichs angle between the subspaces and the parameters defining the scheme, by studying the linear convergence rates of the powers of matrices. We further optimize the value of these parameters in order to get the minimal convergence rate, which turns out to be better than the one of other projection methods. Finally, we provide some numerical experiments that demonstrate the theoretical results.

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arXiv2017

A feasibility approach for constructing combinatorial designs of circulant type

In this work, we propose an optimization approach for constructing various classes of circulant combinatorial designs that can be defined in terms of autocorrelations. The problem is formulated as a so-called feasibility problem having three sets, to which the Douglas-Rachford projection algorithm is applied. The approach is illustrated on three different classes of circulant combinatorial designs: circulant weighing matrices, D-optimal matrices, and Hadamard matrices with two circulant cores. Furthermore, we explicitly construct two new circulant weighing matrices, a $CW(126,64)$ and a $CW(198,100)$, whose existence was previously marked as unresolved in the most recent version of Strassler's table.

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arXiv2017

A new projection method for finding the closest point in the intersection of convex sets

In this paper we present a new iterative projection method for finding the closest point in the intersection of convex sets to any arbitrary point in a Hilbert space. This method, termed AAMR for averaged alternating modified reflections, can be viewed as an adequate modification of the Douglas--Rachford method that yields a solution to the best approximation problem. Under a constraint qualification at the point of interest, we show strong convergence of the method. In fact, the so-called strong CHIP fully characterizes the convergence of the AAMR method for every point in the space. We report some promising numerical experiments where we compare the performance of AAMR against other projection methods for finding the closest point in the intersection of pairs of finite dimensional subspaces.

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arXiv2016

Solving graph coloring problems with the Douglas-Rachford algorithm

We present the Douglas-Rachford algorithm as a successful heuristic for solving graph coloring problems. Given a set of colors, these type of problems consist in assigning a color to each node of a graph, in such a way that every pair of adjacent nodes are assigned with different colors. We formulate the graph coloring problem as an appropriate feasibility problem that can be effectively solved by the Douglas-Rachford algorithm, despite the nonconvexity arising from the combinatorial nature of the problem. Different modifications of the graph coloring problem and applications are also presented. The good performance of the method is shown in various computational experiments.

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arXiv2016

Accelerating the DC algorithm for smooth functions

We introduce two new algorithms to minimise smooth difference of convex (DC) functions that accelerate the convergence of the classical DC algorithm (DCA). We prove that the point computed by DCA can be used to define a descent direction for the objective function evaluated at this point. Our algorithms are based on a combination of DCA together with a line search step that uses this descent direction. Convergence of the algorithms is proved and the rate of convergence is analysed under the Lojasiewicz property of the objective function. We apply our algorithms to a class of smooth DC programs arising in the study of biochemical reaction networks, where the objective function is real analytic and thus satisfies the Lojasiewicz property. Numerical tests on various biochemical models clearly show that our algorithms outperforms DCA, being on average more than four times faster in both computational time and the number of iterations. Numerical experiments show that the algorithms are globally convergent to a non-equilibrium steady state of various biochemical networks, with only chemically consistent restrictions on the network topology.

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arXiv2015

Global Behavior of the Douglas-Rachford Method for a Nonconvex Feasibility Problem

In recent times the Douglas-Rachford algorithm has been observed empirically to solve a variety of nonconvex feasibility problems including those of a combinatorial nature. For many of these problems current theory is not sufficient to explain this observed success and is mainly concerned with questions of local convergence. In this paper we analyze global behavior of the method for finding a point in the intersection of a half-space and a potentially non-convex set which is assumed to satisfy a well-quasi-ordering property or a property weaker than compactness. In particular, the special case in which the second set is finite is covered by our framework and provides a prototypical setting for combinatorial optimization problems.

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arXiv2014

Global convergence of a non-convex Douglas-Rachford iteration

We establish a region of convergence for the proto-typical non-convex Douglas-Rachford iteration which finds a point on the intersection of a line and a circle. Previous work on the non-convex iteration [2] was only able to establish local convergence, and was ineffective in that no explicit region of convergence could be given.

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arXiv2013

Applications of Convex Analysis within Mathematics

In this paper, we study convex analysis and its theoretical applications. We first apply important tools of convex analysis to Optimization and to Analysis. We then show various deep applications of convex analysis and especially infimal convolution in Monotone Operator Theory. Among other things, we recapture the Minty surjectivity theorem in Hilbert space, and present a new proof of the sum theorem in reflexive spaces. More technically, we also discuss autoconjugate representers for maximally monotone operators. Finally, we consider various other applications in mathematical analysis.

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