We consider in this paper the optimal approximations of convex univariate functions with feed-forward Relu neural networks. We are interested in the following question: what is the minimal approximation error given the number of approximating linear pieces? We establish the necessary and sufficient conditions and uniqu…
We study sparse approximate solutions to convex optimization problems. It is known that in many engineering applications researchers are interested in an approximate solution of an optimization problem as a linear combination of elements from a given system of elements. There is an increasing interest in building such …
Develops consistent approximations for composite optimization problems.
problem Significant errors in solutions due to approximations in optimization problems.
method Specifies conditions for well-behaved approximations in minimizers, stationary points, and level-sets for a broad class of composite problems.
result Framework of consistent approximations for composite problems, including stochastic, neural-network, and multi-objective optimization.
Shampoo optimizes preconditioners for faster convergence in machine learning.
problem Improving convergence speed in machine learning optimization.
method Explicit connection between Shampoo's Kronecker product approximation and optimal matrix approximations.
result The square of Shampoo's approximation is equivalent to a single power iteration step for optimal Kronecker product approximation.
iMOCA optimizes multiple objectives with continuous approximations for resource efficiency.
problem Optimizing multiple objectives with continuous function approximations that balance accuracy and evaluation cost.
method Information-Theoretic Multi-Objective Bayesian Optimization with Continuous Approximations (iMOCA) selects input and function approximations to maximize information gain per unit cost.
result iMOCA significantly improves over existing single-fidelity methods in approximating the optimal Pareto set.
Proposes a new method for optimizing large-scale models using Nyström approximation of the Hessian.
problem Optimizing non-convex functions like deep learning models using second-order methods.
method Nyström-approximated curvature for stochastic optimization of large-scale empirical risk minimization.
result The proposed method achieves performance competitive with state-of-the-art first-order and stochastic quasi-Newton methods.
New algorithm finds near-optimal policies efficiently in zero-sum games.
problem Lack of provable efficiency guarantees for policy optimization in zero-sum games.
method Policy optimization algorithm with function approximation.
result Proves efficient convergence to near-optimal policies with polynomial samples and iterations.
Bayesian optimization technique scaled using Vecchia approximations.
problem Scalability issue with Gaussian process surrogate models in Bayesian optimization.
method Adapted Vecchia approximation from spatial statistics to Gaussian processes, developed improvements and extensions.
result Methods compared favorably to state-of-the-art on various test functions and reinforcement learning problems.
We define two new notions of projection of a stochastic differential equation (SDE) onto a submanifold: the Ito-vector and Ito-jet projections. This allows one to systematically develop low dimensional approximations to high dimensional SDEs using differential geometric techniques. The approach generalizes the notion o…
We study the optimal design problems where the goal is to choose a set of linear measurements to obtain the most accurate estimate of an unknown vector in d dimensions. We study the A-optimal design variant where the objective is to minimize the average variance of the error in the maximum likelihood estimate of th…
For optimization on large-scale data, exactly calculating its solution may be computationally difficulty because of the large size of the data. In this paper we consider subsampled optimization for fast approximating the exact solution. In this approach, one gets a surrogate dataset by sampling from the full data, and …
Paper shows deep neural networks can approximate Korobov functions nearly optimally.
problem Approximating Korobov functions with deep neural networks.
method Used deep neural networks and measured approximation rates with Lp and H1 norms. result Achieved a super-convergence rate, outperforming traditional methods.
Paper proposes an algorithm to optimize CVaR using retrospective approximation and importance sampling.
problem Optimizing risk-averse problems with large sample requirements for CVaR.
method Retrospective approximation combined with importance sampling, tailored for CVaR optimization.
result The proposed algorithm reduces variance efficiently and is computationally efficient.
Neural network approximates weakly efficient frontier of convex vector optimization problems.
problem Approximating the weakly efficient frontier of convex vector optimization problems.
method Designing a neural network architecture to approximate the weakly efficient frontier of convex vector optimization problems (CVOP) satisfying Slater's condition.
result The proposed algorithm effectively approximates the true weakly efficient frontier of CVOPs, even for large problems.
A new method for optimizing deep neural networks using TKFAC.
problem Optimizing deep neural networks with second-order methods.
method Proposes Trace-restricted Kronecker-factored Approximate Curvature (TKFAC) for Fisher information matrix approximation.
result TKFAC improves performance on deep network architectures compared to state-of-the-art algorithms.
Particle-based variational inference offers a flexible way of approximating complex posterior distributions with a set of particles. In this paper we introduce a new particle-based variational inference method based on the theory of semi-discrete optimal transport. Instead of minimizing the KL divergence between the po…
We develop a polynomial method to optimize trading in markets with transaction costs.
problem Optimizing trading strategies in markets with proportional transaction costs.
method Polynomial approximation of the residual value function to determine optimal trading strategies.
result Identify the trade-off between trading frequency and trade sizes for satisfactory agreement with theoretically optimal strategies.
A new Kolmogorov-Arnold network improves function approximation and optimization.
problem Approximating potentially irregular functions in high dimensions.
method Proposes a new Kolmogorov-Arnold network (KAN) and provides error bounds and universal approximation theorems.
result Outperforms multilayer perceptrons in accuracy and convergence speed for irregular functions.
Study assesses neural nets for optimization problems, highlighting SiLU's effectiveness.
problem Using neural nets for optimization problems, especially for accurate approximations.
method Determined best activation function (SiLU) for nonlinear optimization problems. Analyzed function approximations using neural networks and interpolation/regression models.
result Neural nets can deliver competitive zero- and first-order approximations but underperform on second-order approximations.
Optimal neural network approximation for Wasserstein gradient direction via convex optimization.
problem Approximating Wasserstein gradient direction with limited data.
method Two-layer networks with squared-ReLU activations, SDP relaxation.
result Optimal approximation of Wasserstein gradient direction in two-layer networks.
Paper tackles robust optimal transport with improved computational complexity and barycenter approximation.
problem Computing robust optimal transport and its barycenter efficiently.
method Sinkhorn-based algorithms for robust optimal transport and iterative Bregman projections for barycenter approximation.
result Improved computational complexity for robust optimal transport and barycenter approximation.
Efficiently plans large MDPs with weak function approximations.
problem Planning in large MDPs with limited function approximation capabilities.
method Uses linear value function approximation with weak requirements and a generative oracle.
result Produces almost-optimal actions for any state with polynomial computation time.
We consider variants of trust-region and cubic regularization methods for non-convex optimization, in which the Hessian matrix is approximated. Under mild conditions on the inexact Hessian, and using approximate solution of the corresponding sub-problems, we provide iteration complexity to achieve ε-approximate seco…
This paper is a follow up to the previous author's paper on convex optimization. In that paper we began the process of adjusting greedy-type algorithms from nonlinear approximation for finding sparse solutions of convex optimization problems. We modified there three the most popular in nonlinear approximation in Banach…
Optimal algorithms for Riemannian optimization with reduced complexity.
problem Stochastic optimization on Riemannian manifolds with limited data.
method Zeroth-order Riemannian Averaging Stochastic Approximation algorithms using Riemannian moving-average estimators and novel geometric conditions.
result Achieves optimal sample complexities for generating approximate first-order stationary solutions.
New method approximates CVaR with less data for heavy-tailed risks.
problem Lack of data for accurate CVaR approximation in heavy-tailed distributions.
method Importance sampling based extrapolation for heavy-tailed distributions.
result Statistically consistent approximations with reduced data requirements.
Sparse optimization refers to an optimization problem involving the zero-norm in objective or constraints. In this paper, nonconvex approximation approaches for sparse optimization have been studied with a unifying point of view in DC (Difference of Convex functions) programming framework. Considering a common DC appro…
Optimizes hyperparameter tuning for models using approximate leave-one-out cross-validation.
problem Finding optimal hyperparameters for regularized models using approximate leave-one-out cross-validation.
method Derive efficient formulas for gradient and hessian of approximate leave-one-out cross-validation, apply second-order optimization.
result Demonstrates the effectiveness of the approach on real-world data sets.
A new knot selection method speeds up sparse Gaussian process approximations.
problem Efficiently selecting knots for sparse Gaussian processes.
method One-at-a-time Bayesian optimization for knot selection.
result Competitive performance with reduced computational cost.
The paper gives a systematic study of the approximate versions of three greedy-type algorithms that are widely used in convex optimization. By approximate version we mean the one where some of evaluations are made with an error. Importance of such versions of greedy-type algorithms in convex optimization and in approxi…
Enhanced Gaussian process models accelerate optimization and posterior approximation.
problem Improving the accuracy and speed of Gaussian process models for optimization and inference.
method Introduces a random exploration step to classical GP-UCB algorithms, facilitating faster convergence.
result New algorithms achieve nearly optimal convergence rates and provide bounds for Hellinger distance.
Recent policy optimization approaches (Schulman et al., 2015a; 2017) have achieved substantial empirical successes by constructing new proxy optimization objectives. These proxy objectives allow stable and low variance policy learning, but require small policy updates to ensure that the proxy objective remains an accur…
TES optimizes black-box functions efficiently with minimal approximations.
problem Efficient Bayesian optimization with minimal approximations and generalization to batch BO.
method TES acquisition function measures information gain on trusted maximizers.
result TES achieves state-of-the-art performance with minimal approximations.
Paper proves CFlows can approximate any diffeomorphism and applies it in Bayesian optimization.
problem Proving the universality of CFlows in approximating diffeomorphisms.
method Deriving the universality of Para-CFlows through affine coupling layers and invertible linear transforms.
result Para-CFlows can approximate any diffeomorphism in C^k-norm.
SAA method solves insurance portfolio optimization with CVaR constraints.
problem Optimal allocation under CVaR constraint in insurance.
method Sample Average Approximation (SAA) method applied to CVaR constrained portfolio optimization.
result Convergence of SAA method and solution uniqueness proved under mild assumptions.
One of the key approaches to save samples in reinforcement learning (RL) is to use knowledge from an approximate model such as its simulator. However, how much does an approximate model help to learn a near-optimal policy of the true unknown model? Despite numerous empirical studies of transfer reinforcement learning, …
This study is aimed at answering the famous question of how the approximation errors at each iteration of Approximate Dynamic Programming (ADP) affect the quality of the final results considering the fact that errors at each iteration affect the next iteration. To this goal, convergence of Value Iteration scheme of ADP…
We consider the problem of portfolio optimization in a simple incomplete market and under a general utility function. By working with the associated Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman partial differential equation (HJB PDE), we obtain a closed-form formula for a trading strategy which approximates the optimal trading strategy whe…
Optimizes decision-making with uncertain variables using auxiliary observations.
problem Contextual stochastic optimization problems with uncertain variables and rich auxiliary observations.
method Trains forest decision policies by growing trees that optimize downstream decision quality, using optimization perturbation analysis for efficient approximations.
result Proves asymptotic optimality and empirical validation of the method's performance and efficiency.
Optimal smooth subspaces approximate large data sets efficiently.
problem Approximating large data sets with invariant subspaces.
method Smooth functions under lattice translations or crystallographic groups, with optimal selection of Paley-Wiener space.
result Optimal lattice selection enhances approximation efficiency.
The paper debiases mini-batch approximations in deep learning for more accurate optimization and uncertainty quantification.
problem Bias in mini-batch approximations distorts the shape of quadratic approximations used in deep learning.
method Developed and evaluated debiasing strategies for mini-batch approximations.
result Debiasing strategies improve the accuracy of second-order optimization and uncertainty quantification in deep learning.
The paper optimizes portfolios in a financial market with correlated assets using a stochastic volatility model.
problem Optimizing portfolios in a financial market with correlated assets and stochastic volatility.
method Derive a Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation, use approximation methods, analyze value function using expansion of utility function, control error with second-order terms, generate close-to-optimal portfolio.
result Close-to-optimal portfolio generated using first-order approximation of utility function with controlled error.
In this paper, we present a discrete-type approximation scheme to solve continuous-time optimal stopping problems based on fully non-Markovian continuous processes adapted to the Brownian motion filtration. The approximations satisfy suitable variational inequalities which allow us to construct ε-optimal stopping tim…
AdaSwarm optimizes deep learning models with swarm intelligence, outperforming Adam.
problem Optimization challenges in deep learning models.
method AdaSwarm uses EMPSO to approximate gradients for optimization.
result AdaSwarm outperforms Adam and handles various loss functions.
This paper tackles the computational complexity of finding approximate stationary points in non-convex optimization.
problem Finding approximate stationary points in non-convex optimization problems.
method PLS-completeness, zero-order algorithms, and gradient queries.
result The query complexity of finding approximate stationary points is Θ(1/ε) for d=2.
We study the finite horizon Merton portfolio optimization problem in a general local-stochastic volatility setting. Using model coefficient expansion techniques, we derive approximations for the both the value function and the optimal investment strategy. We also analyze the `implied Sharpe ratio' and derive a series a…
A new method for uncertainty estimation in neural networks using existing optimization steps.
problem Uncertainty quantification in deep neural networks.
method L2M: Practical posterior Laplace approximation with optimization-driven second moment estimation.
result L2M method yields reasonable results without requiring changes in models or extra computational steps.
In this paper we study a utility maximization problem with both optimal control and optimal stopping in a finite time horizon. The value function can be characterized by a variational equation that involves a free boundary problem of a fully nonlinear partial differential equation. Using the dual control method, we der…