Inexact Interior Point Research Articles

Active-Set based Inexact Interior Point QP Solver for Model Predictive Control

Interior point methods are applicable to a large class of problems and can be very reliable for convex optimization, even without a good initial guess for the optimal solution. Active-set methods, on the other hand, are often restricted to linear or quadratic programming but they have a lower computational cost per iteration and superior warm starting properties. The present paper proposes an approach for improving the numerical conditioning and warm starting properties of interior point methods, based on an active-set identification strategy and inexact Newton-type optimization techniques. In addition, we show how this reduces the average computational cost of the linear algebra operations in each interior point iteration. We developed an efficient C code implementation of the active-set based interior point method (ASIPM) and show that it can be competitive with state of the art solvers for a standard case study of model predictive control stabilizing an inverted pendulum on a cart.

Inverse kinematics of asymmetric octahedral variable geometry truss manipulator with obstacle avoidance through inexact interior point optimization

This article studies the inverse kinematics for asymmetric octahedral variable geometry truss manipulator with obstacle avoidance. The inverse kinematics problem is cast as a nonconvex optimization that having quadratic objective function subject to quadratic constraints. This article uses an inexact interior point optimization to solve it, which is developed on the basis of the imprecise algorithm Ipopt. According to the particularity of our actual optimization problem, each iteration undergoes specific modifications so as to minimize the memory consumption as well as computation time. Utilizing the sparse and binary characteristics of the coefficient matrix, respectively, the algorithm allocates the computation to the finite sparse matrix vector multiplication and changes the storage form, which greatly reduces the memory space. Based on the unique rules of inverse kinematics, the iteration direction of the algorithm becomes more clear. With the aid of mechanical constraints inherent in the manipulator, the algorithm omits the feasibility recovery part that embedded in the solver Ipopt. All these make us save the operation time greatly while utilizing Ipopt algorithm. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, the scheme was applied to obstacle avoidance inverse kinematics of variable geometry truss manipulator with three modules.

Fast convergence of an inexact interior point method for horizontal complementarity problems

In Andreani et al. (Numer. Algorithms 57:457–485, 2011), an interior point method for the horizontal nonlinear complementarity problem was introduced. This method was based on inexact Newton directions and safeguarding projected gradient iterations. Global convergence, in the sense that every cluster point is stationary, was proved in Andreani et al. (Numer. Algorithms 57:457–485, 2011). In Andreani et al. (Eur. J. Oper. Res. 249:41–54, 2016), local fast convergence was proved for the underdetermined problem in the case that the Newtonian directions are computed exactly. In the present paper, it will be proved that the method introduced in Andreani et al. (Numer. Algorithms 57:457–485, 2011) enjoys fast (linear, superlinear, or quadratic) convergence in the case of truly inexact Newton computations. Some numerical experiments will illustrate the accuracy of the convergence theory.

Stability and Accuracy of Inexact Interior Point Methods for Convex Quadratic Programming

We consider primal–dual interior point methods where the linear system arising at each iteration is formulated in the reduced (augmented) form and solved approximately. Focusing on the iterates close to a solution, we analyze the accuracy of the so-called inexact step, i.e., the step that solves the unreduced system, when combining the effects of both different levels of accuracy in the inexact computation and different processes for retrieving the step after block elimination. Our analysis is general and includes as special cases sources of inexactness due either to roundoff and computational errors or to the iterative solution of the augmented system using typical procedures. In the roundoff case, we recover and extend some known results.

An inexact interior point method for optimization of differential algebraic systems

This paper presents an inexact factorization technique in the context of an interior point method for optimal control of systems described by Differential Algebraic Equations (DAEs). The proposed method is based on a numerically banded structure arising in the normal equations. The structure implies that banded factorization techniques can be used to calculate inexact Newton directions at a low computational cost. Numerical experiments show that a narrow band in the normal equations can be selected without impeding the convergence of the method.

An inexact interior point method for the large-scale simulation of granular material

Non-smooth contact dynamics provides an increasingly popular simulation framework for granular material. In contrast to classical discrete element methods, this approach is stable for arbitrary time steps and produces visually acceptable results in very short computing time. Yet when it comes to the prediction of draft forces, non-smooth contact dynamics is typically not accurate enough. We therefore propose to combine the method class with an interior point algorithm for higher accuracy. Our specific algorithm is based on the so-called Jordan algebras and exploits the relation to symmetric cones in order to tackle the conical constraints that are intrinsic to frictional contact problems. In every interior point iteration a linear system has to be solved. We analyze how the interior point method behaves when it is combined with Krylov subspace solvers and incomplete factorizations. We show that efficient preconditioners and efficient linear solvers are essential for the method to be applicable to large-scale problems. Using CG as a linear solver and incomplete LU factorizations, we substantially improve the accuracy in comparison to the projected Gauß–Jacobi solver.

Inexact Interior-Point Method for PDE-Constrained Nonlinear Optimization

Starting from the inexact interior-point framework from Curtis, Schenk, and Wächter [SIAM J. Sci. Comput., 32 (2012), pp. 3447--3475], we propose an effective Schur-complement slack-control preconditioner for the full Lagrangian Hessian matrix needed at each Newton iteration. Together they yield a scalable, robust, and highly parallel method for the numerical solution of large-scale nonconvex PDE-constrained optimization problems with inequality constraints. Because it uses the full Hessian matrix, modifying it whenever needed, the method not only is globally convergent, but also converges fast locally. Our preconditioner is not tailored to any particular class of PDEs or constraints, but instead judiciously exploits the sparsity structure of the Hessian. Numerical examples from PDE-constrained optimal control, parameter estimation, and full-waveform inversion demonstrate the robustness and efficiency of the method, even in the presence of active inequality constraints.

Local path-following property of inexact interior methods in nonlinear programming

We study the local behavior of a primal-dual inexact interior point methods for solving nonlinear systems arising from the solution of nonlinear optimization problems or more generally from nonlinear complementarity problems. The algorithm is based on the Newton method applied to a sequence of perturbed systems that follows by perturbation of the complementarity equations of the original system. In case of an exact solution of the Newton system, it has been shown that the sequence of iterates is asymptotically tangent to the central path (Armand and Benoist in Math. Program. 115:199---222, 2008). The purpose of the present paper is to extend this result to an inexact solution of the Newton system. We give quite general conditions on the different parameters of the algorithm, so that this asymptotic property is satisfied. Some numerical tests are reported to illustrate our theoretical results.

An inexact interior point method for L 1-regularized sparse covariance selection

Sparse covariance selection problems can be formulated as log-determinant (log-det) semidefinite programming (SDP) problems with large numbers of linear constraints. Standard primal–dual interior-point methods that are based on solving the Schur complement equation would encounter severe computational bottlenecks if they are applied to solve these SDPs. In this paper, we consider a customized inexact primal–dual path-following interior-point algorithm for solving large scale log-det SDP problems arising from sparse covariance selection problems. Our inexact algorithm solves the large and ill-conditioned linear system of equations in each iteration by a preconditioned iterative solver. By exploiting the structures in sparse covariance selection problems, we are able to design highly effective preconditioners to efficiently solve the large and ill-conditioned linear systems. Numerical experiments on both synthetic and real covariance selection problems show that our algorithm is highly efficient and outperforms other existing algorithms.

Solving scalarized multi‐objective network flow problems using an interior point method

AbstractIn this paper, we present a primal‐dual interior‐point algorithm to solve a class of multi‐objective network flow problems. More precisely, our algorithm is an extension of the single‐objective primal infeasible dual feasible inexact interior point method for multi‐objective linear network flow problems. Our algorithm is contrasted with standard interior point methods and experimental results on bi‐objective instances are reported. The multi‐objective instances are converted into single objective problems with the aid of an achievement function, which is particularly adequate for interactive decision‐making methods.

A Truncated SQP Method Based on Inexact Interior-Point Solutions of Subproblems

We consider sequential quadratic programming (SQP) methods applied to optimization problems with nonlinear equality constraints and simple bounds. In particular, we propose and analyze a truncated SQP algorithm in which subproblems are solved approximately by an infeasible predictor-corrector interior-point method, followed by setting to zero some variables and some multipliers so that complementarity conditions for approximate solutions are enforced. Verifiable truncation conditions based on the residual of optimality conditions of subproblems are developed to ensure both global and fast local convergence. Global convergence is established under assumptions that are standard for linesearch SQP with exact solution of subproblems. The local superlinear convergence rate is shown under the weakest assumptions that guarantee this property for pure SQP with exact solution of subproblems, namely, the strict Mangasarian–Fromovitz constraint qualification and second-order sufficiency. Local convergence results for our truncated method are presented as a special case of the local convergence for a more general perturbed SQP framework, which is of independent interest and is applicable even to some algorithms whose subproblems are not quadratic programs. For example, the framework can also be used to derive sharp local convergence results for linearly constrained Lagrangian methods. Preliminary numerical results confirm that it can be indeed beneficial to solve subproblems approximately, especially on early iterations.

Non-negatively constrained image deblurring with an inexact interior point method

Nonlinear image deblurring procedures based on probabilistic considerations have been widely investigated in the literature. This approach leads to model the deblurring problem as a large scale optimization problem, with a nonlinear, convex objective function and non-negativity constraints on the sign of the variables. The interior point methods have shown in the last years to be very reliable in nonlinear programs. In this paper we propose an inexact Newton interior point (IP) algorithm designed for the solution of the deblurring problem. The numerical experience compares the IP method with another state-of-the-art method, the Lucy Richardson algorithm, and shows a significant improvement of the processing time.

An inexact interior point proximal method for the variational inequality problem

We propose an infeasible interior proximal method for solving variational inequality problems with maximal monotone operators and linear constraints. The interior proximal method proposed by Auslender, Teboulle and Ben-Tiba [3] is a proximal method using a distance-like barrier function and it has a global convergence property under mild assumptions. However, this method is applicable only to problems whose feasible region has nonempty interior. The algorithm we propose is applicable to problems whose feasible region may have empty interior. Moreover, a new kind of inexact scheme is used. We present a full convergence analysis for our algorithm.

Rescaled proximal methods for linearly constrained convex problems

We present an inexact interior point proximal method to solve linearly constrained convex problems. In fact, we derive a primal-dual algorithm to solve the KKT conditions of the optimization problem using a modified version of the rescaled proximal method. We also present a pure primal method. The proposed proximal method has as distinctive feature the possibility of allowing inexact inner steps even for Linear Programming. This is achieved by using an error criterion that bounds the subgradient of the regularized function, instead of using ϵ -subgradients of the original objective function. Quadratic convergence for LP is also proved using a more stringent error criterion.

Numerical solution of special linear and quadratic programs via a parallel interior-point method

This paper concerns a parallel inexact interior-point (IP) method for solving linear and quadratic programs with a special structure in the constraint matrix and in the objective function. In order to exploit these features, a preconditioned conjugate gradient (PCG) algorithm is used to approximately solve the normal equations or the reduced KKT system obtained from the linear inner system arising at each iteration of the IP method. A suitable adaptive termination rule for the PCG method enables to save computing time at the early steps of the outer scheme and, at the same time, it assures the global and the local superlinear convergence of the whole method. We analyse a parallel implementation of the method, referring some kinds of meaningful large-scale problems. In particular we discuss the data allocation and the workload distribution among the processors. The results of a numerical experimentation carried out on Cray T3E and SGI Origin 3800 show a good scalability of the parallel code and confirm the effectiveness of the method for problems with special structure.

Indefinitely preconditioned conjugate gradient method for large sparse equality and inequality constrained quadratic problems

AbstractThis paper is concerned with the numerical solution of a symmetric indefinite system which is a generalization of the Karush–Kuhn–Tucker system. Following the recent approach of Lukšan and Vlček, we propose to solve this system by a preconditioned conjugate gradient (PCG) algorithm and we devise two indefinite preconditioners with good theoretical properties. In particular, for one of these preconditioners, the finite termination property of the PCG method is stated. The PCG method combined with a parallel version of these preconditioners is used as inner solver within an inexact Interior‐Point (IP) method for the solution of large and sparse quadratic programs. The numerical results obtained by a parallel code implementing the IP method on distributed memory multiprocessor systems enable us to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed approach for problems with special structure in the constraint matrix and in the objective function. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Convergence of a Class of Inexact Interior-Point Algorithms for Linear Programs

We present a convergence analysis for a class of inexact infeasible-interior-point methods for solving linear programs. The main feature of inexact methods is that the linear systems defining the search direction at each interior-point iteration need not be solved to high accuracy. More precisely, we allow that these linear systems are only solved to a moderate accuracy in the residual, but no assumptions are made on the accuracy of the search direction in the search space. In particular, our analysis does not require that feasibility is maintained even if the initial iterate happened to be a feasible solution of the linear program. We also present a few numerical examples to illustrate the effect of using inexact search directions on the number of interior-point iterations.

An inexact interior point method for monotone NCP

In this paper we present an inexact Interior Point method for solving monotone nonlinear complementarity problems. We show that the theory presented by Kojima, Noma and Yoshise for an exact version of this method can be used to establish global convergence for the inexact form. Then we prove that local superlinear convergence can be achieved under some stronger hypotheses. The complexity of the algorithm is also studied under the assumption that the problem satisfies a scaled Lipschitz condition. It is proved that the feasible version of the algorithm is polynomial, while the infeasible one is globally convergent at a linear rate.