Education

Abstract

The Education section in this issue presents two contributions. In `"Nesterov's Method for Convex Optimization," Noel J. Walkington proposes a teaching guide for a first course in optimization of this well-known algorithm for computing the minimum of a convex function. This algorithm, first proposed in 1983 by Yuri Nesterov, though well recognized in computational optimization in the presence of large data as a more efficient tool than the steepest descent method, is still absent in most modern textbooks on optimization. The author of the present article develops an elementary analysis of Nesterov's first order algorithm that parallels that of steepest descent but with an additional requirement proposed by Nesterov. Two cases are discussed. The first concerns an unconstrained minimization problem, while the second includes closed convex constraints represented using infinite penalization of the cost. More generally, the cost function becomes the sum of a smooth convex function and a lower semicontinuous convex function. Several student-level exercises are included in this paper. Results are nicely illustrated by an example of a signal recovery problem and a discussion of the Uzawa algorithm for optimization problems with constraints defined by inequalities involving convex functions. The second paper, "A Comprehensive Proof of Bertrand's Theorem," is presented by Patrick De Leenheer, John Musgrove, and Tyler Schimleck. It concerns the behavior of the solutions of the classical two-body problem and states that, among all possible gravitational laws, there are only two exhibiting the property that all bounded orbits are closed: Newtonian gravitation and Hookean gravitation. Historically, even if Newton was aware that there are to specific gravitational laws having the above property, it was only two centuries later, in 1873, that Bertrand realized that these are the only ones. Bertrand's theorem, due to its important consequences, has been integrated into the undergraduate curriculum in theoretical mechanics, but its proof, accessible to undergraduate mathematics or physics students, seems to be absent from modern textbooks. Although Bertrand's original paper did not contain a precise proof, V. Arnold proposed a sketch of it based on six subproblems. Among other contributions, this article provides a complete proof of the sixth subproblem under a specific assumption imposed on the magnitude of the force in the motion model. Under this assumption, a complete proof of Bertrand's theorem is then given, incorporating also earlier contributions by other authors. Still, comprehensive does not mean simple here, and this paper may be used to conceive several research projects for advanced-level undergraduate students in mathematics or physics.