1,643 research outputs found
Convex Optimal Uncertainty Quantification
Optimal uncertainty quantification (OUQ) is a framework for numerical
extreme-case analysis of stochastic systems with imperfect knowledge of the
underlying probability distribution. This paper presents sufficient conditions
under which an OUQ problem can be reformulated as a finite-dimensional convex
optimization problem, for which efficient numerical solutions can be obtained.
The sufficient conditions include that the objective function is piecewise
concave and the constraints are piecewise convex. In particular, we show that
piecewise concave objective functions may appear in applications where the
objective is defined by the optimal value of a parameterized linear program.Comment: Accepted for publication in SIAM Journal on Optimizatio
A distributionally robust perspective on uncertainty quantification and chance constrained programming
The objective of uncertainty quantification is to certify that a given physical, engineering or economic system satisfies multiple safety conditions with high probability. A more ambitious goal is to actively influence the system so as to guarantee and maintain its safety, a scenario which can be modeled through a chance constrained program. In this paper we assume that the parameters of the system are governed by an ambiguous distribution that is only known to belong to an ambiguity set characterized through generalized moment bounds and structural properties such as symmetry, unimodality or independence patterns. We delineate the watershed between tractability and intractability in ambiguity-averse uncertainty quantification and chance constrained programming. Using tools from distributionally robust optimization, we derive explicit conic reformulations for tractable problem classes and suggest efficiently computable conservative approximations for intractable ones
Online Local Learning via Semidefinite Programming
In many online learning problems we are interested in predicting local
information about some universe of items. For example, we may want to know
whether two items are in the same cluster rather than computing an assignment
of items to clusters; we may want to know which of two teams will win a game
rather than computing a ranking of teams. Although finding the optimal
clustering or ranking is typically intractable, it may be possible to predict
the relationships between items as well as if you could solve the global
optimization problem exactly.
Formally, we consider an online learning problem in which a learner
repeatedly guesses a pair of labels (l(x), l(y)) and receives an adversarial
payoff depending on those labels. The learner's goal is to receive a payoff
nearly as good as the best fixed labeling of the items. We show that a simple
algorithm based on semidefinite programming can obtain asymptotically optimal
regret in the case where the number of possible labels is O(1), resolving an
open problem posed by Hazan, Kale, and Shalev-Schwartz. Our main technical
contribution is a novel use and analysis of the log determinant regularizer,
exploiting the observation that log det(A + I) upper bounds the entropy of any
distribution with covariance matrix A.Comment: 10 page
Computing semiparametric bounds on the expected payments of insurance instruments via column generation
It has been recently shown that numerical semiparametric bounds on the
expected payoff of fi- nancial or actuarial instruments can be computed using
semidefinite programming. However, this approach has practical limitations.
Here we use column generation, a classical optimization technique, to address
these limitations. From column generation, it follows that practical univari-
ate semiparametric bounds can be found by solving a series of linear programs.
In addition to moment information, the column generation approach allows the
inclusion of extra information about the random variable; for instance,
unimodality and continuity, as well as the construction of corresponding
worst/best-case distributions in a simple way
Theory and Applications of Robust Optimization
In this paper we survey the primary research, both theoretical and applied,
in the area of Robust Optimization (RO). Our focus is on the computational
attractiveness of RO approaches, as well as the modeling power and broad
applicability of the methodology. In addition to surveying prominent
theoretical results of RO, we also present some recent results linking RO to
adaptable models for multi-stage decision-making problems. Finally, we
highlight applications of RO across a wide spectrum of domains, including
finance, statistics, learning, and various areas of engineering.Comment: 50 page
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