Optimization Theory And Related Topics

This book has grown out of lectures and courses in calculus of variations and optimization taught for many years at the University of Michigan to graduate students at various stages of their careers, and always to a mixed audience of students in mathematics and engineering. It attempts to present a balanced view of the subject, giving some emphasis to its connections with the classical theory and to a number of those problems of economics and engineering which have motivated so many of the present developments, as well as presenting aspects of the current theory, particularly value theory and existence theorems. However, the presentation ofthe theory is connected to and accompanied by many concrete problems of optimization, classical and modern, some more technical and some less so, some discussed in detail and some only sketched or proposed as exercises. No single part of the subject (such as the existence theorems, or the more traditional approach based on necessary conditions and on sufficient conditions, or the more recent one based on value function theory) can give a sufficient representation of the whole subject. This holds particularly for the existence theorems, some of which have been conceived to apply to certain large classes of problems of optimization. For all these reasons it is essential to present many examples (Chapters 3 and 6) before the existence theorems (Chapters 9 and 11-16), and to investigate these examples by means of the usual necessary conditions, sufficient conditions, and value function theory.

This volume provides a comprehensive introduction to the theory of (deterministic) optimization. It covers both continuous and discrete optimization. This allows readers to study problems under different points-of-view, which supports a better understanding of the entire field. Many exercises are included to increase the reader's understanding.

Nonconvex Optimization is a multi-disciplinary research field that deals with the characterization and computation of local/global minima/maxima of nonlinear, nonconvex, nonsmooth, discrete and continuous functions. Nonconvex optimization problems are frequently encountered in modeling real world systems for a very broad range of applications including engineering, mathematical economics, management science, financial engineering, and social science. This contributed volume consists of selected contributions from the Advanced Training Programme on Nonconvex Optimization and Its Applications held at Banaras Hindu University in March 2009. It aims to bring together new concepts, theoretical developments, and applications from these researchers. Both theoretical and applied articles are contained in this volume which adds to the state of the art research in this field. Topics in Nonconvex Optimization is suitable for advanced graduate students and researchers in this area.

This volume contains the proceedings of the workshop on Optimization Theory and Related Topics, held in memory of Dan Butnariu, from January 11-14, 2010, in Haifa, Israel. An active researcher in various fields of applied mathematics, Butnariu published over 80 papers. His extensive bibliography is included in this volume. The articles in this volume cover many different areas of Optimization Theory and its applications: maximal monotone operators, sensitivity estimates via Lyapunov functions, inverse Newton transforms, infinite-horizon Pontryagin principles, singular optimal control problems with state delays, descent methods for mixed variational inequalities, games on MV-algebras, ergodic convergence in subgradient optimization, applications to economics and technology planning, the exact penalty property in constrained optimization, nonsmooth inverse problems, Bregman distances, retraction methods in Banach spaces, and iterative methods for solving equilibrium problems. This volume will be of interest to both graduate students and research mathematicians.

This volume contains, in part, a selection of papers presented at the sixth Australian Optimization Day Miniconference (Ballarat, 16 July 1999), and the Special Sessions on Nonlinear Dynamics and Optimization and Operations Re search - Methods and Applications, which were held in Melbourne, July 11-15 1999 as a part of the Joint Meeting of the American Mathematical Society and Australian Mathematical Society. The editors have strived to present both con tributed papers and survey style papers as a more interesting mix for readers. Some participants from the meetings mentioned above have responded to this approach by preparing survey and 'semi-survey' papers, based on presented lectures. Contributed paper, which contain new and interesting results, are also included. The fields of the presented papers are very large as demonstrated by the following selection of key words from selected papers in this volume: • optimal control, stochastic optimal control, MATLAB, economic models, implicit constraints, Bellman principle, Markov process, decision-making under uncertainty, risk aversion, dynamic programming, optimal value function. • emergent computation, complexity, traveling salesman problem, signal estimation, neural networks, time congestion, teletraffic. • gap functions, nonsmooth variational inequalities, derivative-free algo rithm, Newton's method. • auxiliary function, generalized penalty function, modified Lagrange func tion. • convexity, quasiconvexity, abstract convexity.

This volume contains the edited texts of the lectures presented at the Workshop on Nonlinear Optimization held in Erice, Sicily, at the "G. Stampacchia" School of Mathematics of the "E. Majorana" Centre for Scientific Culture, June 23 -July 2, 1998. In the tradition of these meetings, the main purpose was to review and discuss recent advances and promising research trends concerning theory, algorithms and innovative applications in the field of Nonlinear Optimization, and of related topics such as Convex Optimization, Nonsmooth Optimization, Variational Inequalities and Complementarity Problems. The meeting was attended by 83 people from 21 countries. Besides the lectures, several formal and informal discussions took place. The result was a wide and deep knowledge of the present research tendencies in the field. We wish to express our appreciation for the active contribution of all the par ticipants in the meeting. Our gratitude is due to the Ettore Majorana Centre in Erice, which offered its facilities and rewarding environment: its staff was certainly instrumental for the success of the meeting. Our gratitude is also due to Francisco Facchinei and Massimo Roma for the effort and time devoted as members of the Organising Committee. We are indebted to the Italian National Research Council, and in particular to the Group on Functional Analysis and its Applications and to the Committees on Engineering Sciences and on Information Sciences and Technolo gies for their financial support. Finally, we address our thanks to Kluwer Academic Publishers for having offered to publish this volume.

Praise for the Third Edition ". . . guides and leads the reader through the learning path . . . [e]xamples are stated very clearly and the results are presented with attention to detail." —MAA Reviews Fully updated to reflect new developments in the field, the Fourth Edition of Introduction to Optimization fills the need for accessible treatment of optimization theory and methods with an emphasis on engineering design. Basic definitions and notations are provided in addition to the related fundamental background for linear algebra, geometry, and calculus. This new edition explores the essential topics of unconstrained optimization problems, linear programming problems, and nonlinear constrained optimization. The authors also present an optimization perspective on global search methods and include discussions on genetic algorithms, particle swarm optimization, and the simulated annealing algorithm. Featuring an elementary introduction to artificial neural networks, convex optimization, and multi-objective optimization, the Fourth Edition also offers: A new chapter on integer programming Expanded coverage of one-dimensional methods Updated and expanded sections on linear matrix inequalities Numerous new exercises at the end of each chapter MATLAB exercises and drill problems to reinforce the discussed theory and algorithms Numerous diagrams and figures that complement the written presentation of key concepts MATLAB M-files for implementation of the discussed theory and algorithms (available via the book's website) Introduction to Optimization, Fourth Edition is an ideal textbook for courses on optimization theory and methods. In addition, the book is a useful reference for professionals in mathematics, operations research, electrical engineering, economics, statistics, and business.

This book is a slightly augmented version of a set of lec­ tures on optimization which I held at the University of Got­ tingen in the winter semester 1983/84. The lectures were in­ tended to give an introduction to the foundations and an im­ pression of the applications of optimization theory. Since in­ finite dimensional problems were also to be treated and one could only assume a minimal knowledge of functional analysis, the necessary tools from functional analysis were almost com­ pletely developed during the course of the semester. The most important aspects of the course are the duality theory for convex programming and necessary optimality conditions for nonlinear optimization problems; here we strive to make the geometric background particularly clear. For lack of time and space we were not able to go into several important problems in optimization - e. g. vector optimization, geometric program­ ming and stability theory. I am very grateful to various people for their help in pro­ ducing this text. R. Schaback encouraged me to publish my lec­ tures and put me in touch with the Vieweg-Verlag. W. BrUbach and O. Herbst proofread the manuscript; the latter also pro­ duced the drawings and assembled the index. I am indebted to W. LUck for valuable suggestions for improvement. I am also particularly grateful to R. Switzer, who translated the German text into English. Finally I wish to thank Frau P. Trapp for her Gare and patience in typing the final version.