13,613 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
Strong Stationarity Conditions for Optimal Control of Hybrid Systems
We present necessary and sufficient optimality conditions for finite time
optimal control problems for a class of hybrid systems described by linear
complementarity models. Although these optimal control problems are difficult
in general due to the presence of complementarity constraints, we provide a set
of structural assumptions ensuring that the tangent cone of the constraints
possesses geometric regularity properties. These imply that the classical
Karush-Kuhn-Tucker conditions of nonlinear programming theory are both
necessary and sufficient for local optimality, which is not the case for
general mathematical programs with complementarity constraints. We also present
sufficient conditions for global optimality.
We proceed to show that the dynamics of every continuous piecewise affine
system can be written as the optimizer of a mathematical program which results
in a linear complementarity model satisfying our structural assumptions. Hence,
our stationarity results apply to a large class of hybrid systems with
piecewise affine dynamics. We present simulation results showing the
substantial benefits possible from using a nonlinear programming approach to
the optimal control problem with complementarity constraints instead of a more
traditional mixed-integer formulation.Comment: 30 pages, 4 figure
Shape-constrained Estimation of Value Functions
We present a fully nonparametric method to estimate the value function, via
simulation, in the context of expected infinite-horizon discounted rewards for
Markov chains. Estimating such value functions plays an important role in
approximate dynamic programming and applied probability in general. We
incorporate "soft information" into the estimation algorithm, such as knowledge
of convexity, monotonicity, or Lipchitz constants. In the presence of such
information, a nonparametric estimator for the value function can be computed
that is provably consistent as the simulated time horizon tends to infinity. As
an application, we implement our method on price tolling agreement contracts in
energy markets
Lower Bounds on Complexity of Lyapunov Functions for Switched Linear Systems
We show that for any positive integer , there are families of switched
linear systems---in fixed dimension and defined by two matrices only---that are
stable under arbitrary switching but do not admit (i) a polynomial Lyapunov
function of degree , or (ii) a polytopic Lyapunov function with facets, or (iii) a piecewise quadratic Lyapunov function with
pieces. This implies that there cannot be an upper bound on the size of the
linear and semidefinite programs that search for such stability certificates.
Several constructive and non-constructive arguments are presented which connect
our problem to known (and rather classical) results in the literature regarding
the finiteness conjecture, undecidability, and non-algebraicity of the joint
spectral radius. In particular, we show that existence of an extremal piecewise
algebraic Lyapunov function implies the finiteness property of the optimal
product, generalizing a result of Lagarias and Wang. As a corollary, we prove
that the finiteness property holds for sets of matrices with an extremal
Lyapunov function belonging to some of the most popular function classes in
controls
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