Skip to main content
Log in

A generalized subgradient method with relaxation step

  • Published:
Mathematical Programming Submit manuscript

Abstract

We study conditions for convergence of a generalized subgradient algorithm in which a relaxation step is taken in a direction, which is a convex combination of possibly all previously generated subgradients. A simple condition for convergence is given and conditions that guarantee a linear convergence rate are also presented. We show that choosing the steplength parameter and convex combination of subgradients in a certain sense optimally is equivalent to solving a minimum norm quadratic programming problem. It is also shown that if the direction is restricted to be a convex combination of the current subgradient and the previous direction, then an optimal choice of stepsize and direction is equivalent to the Camerini—Fratta—Maffioli modification of the subgradient method.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. S. Agmon, “The relaxation method for linear inequalities,”Canadian Journal of Mathematics 6 (1954) 282–292.

    Google Scholar 

  2. U. Brännlund, “A convergent subgradient method based on the relaxation step,” in: U. Brännlund, “On relaxation methods for nonsmooth optimization,” Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Mathematics, Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan (Stockholm, 1993).

    Google Scholar 

  3. U. Brännlund, K.C. Kiwiel and P.O. Lindberg, “A descent proximal level bundle method for convex nondifferentiable optimization,”Operations Research Letters 17 (3) (1995) 121–126.

    Google Scholar 

  4. P.M. Camerini, L. Fratta and F. Maffioli, “On improving relaxation methods by modified gradient techniques,”Mathematical Programming Study 3 (1975) 26–34.

    Google Scholar 

  5. J.L. Goffin, “Nondifferentiable optimization and the relaxation method,” in: C.L. Lemaréchal and R. Mifflin, eds.,Nonsmooth Optimization (Pergamon, Oxford, 1977) pp. 31–49.

    Google Scholar 

  6. S. Kim and H. Ahn, “Convergence of a generalized subgradient method for nondifferentiable convex optimization,”Mathematical Programming 50 (1) (1991) 75–80.

    Google Scholar 

  7. K.C. Kiwiel, “An aggregate subgradient method for nonsmooth convex minimization,”Mathematical Programming 27 (3) (1983) 320–341.

    Google Scholar 

  8. K.C. Kiwiel,Methods of Descent for Nondifferentiable Optimization (Springer, Berlin, 1985).

    Google Scholar 

  9. K.C. Kiwiel, “The efficiency of subgradient projection methods for convex nondifferentiable optimization, part II: implementations and extensions,”SIAM Journal on Control and Optimization, to appear.

  10. C. Lemaréchal, “Nondifferentiable optimization,” in: G.L. Nemhauser, A.H.G. Rinnooy Kan and M.J. Todd, eds.,Optimization, Handbooks in Operations Research and Management Science, Vol. 1 (North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1989) pp. 529–572.

    Google Scholar 

  11. C. Lemaréchal, A. Nemirovskii and Yu. Nesterov, “New variants of bundle methods,”Mathematical Programming 69 (1) (1995) 111–147.

    Google Scholar 

  12. M. Minoux,Mathematical Programming, Theory and Algorithms (Wiley, New York, 1986).

    Google Scholar 

  13. T. Motzkin and I.J. Schoenberg, “The relaxation method for linear inequalities,”Canadian Journal of Mathematics 6 (1954) 393–404.

    Google Scholar 

  14. B.T. Polyak, “Minimization of unsmooth functionals,”USSR Computational Mathematics and Mathematical Physics 9 (1969) 14–29.

    Google Scholar 

  15. S. Schaible, “Fractional programming. I, duality,”Management Science 22 (1976) 858–867.

    Google Scholar 

  16. N.Z. Shor,Minimization Methods for Non-Differentiable Functions (Springer, Berlin, 1985).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Additional information

Research supported by the Swedish Research Council for Engineering Sciences (TFR).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Brännlund, U. A generalized subgradient method with relaxation step. Mathematical Programming 71, 207–219 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01585999

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01585999

Keywords

Navigation