Effective results on compositions of nonexpansive mappings

This paper provides uniform bounds on the asymptotic regularity for iterations associated to a finite family of nonexpansive mappings. We obtain our quantitative results in the setting of $(r,\delta)$-convex spaces, a class of geodesic spaces which generalizes metric spaces with a convex geodesic bicombing

Proof mining in metric fixed point theory and ergodic theory

In this survey we present some recent applications of proof mining to the fixed point theory of (asymptotically) nonexpansive mappings and to the metastability (in the sense of Terence Tao) of ergodic averages in uniformly convex Banach spaces.Comment: appeared as OWP 2009-05, Oberwolfach Preprints; 71 page

An abstract proximal point algorithm

The proximal point algorithm is a widely used tool for solving a variety of convex optimization problems such as finding zeros of maximally monotone operators, fixed points of nonexpansive mappings, as well as minimizing convex functions. The algorithm works by applying successively so-called “resolvent” mappings associated to the original object that one aims to optimize. In this paper we abstract from the corresponding resolvents employed in these problems the natural notion of jointly firmly nonexpansive families of mappings. This leads to a streamlined method of proving weak convergence of this class of algorithms in the context of complete CAT(0) spaces (and hence also in Hilbert spaces). In addition, we consider the notion of uniform firm nonexpansivity in order to similarly provide a unified presentation of a case where the algorithm converges strongly. Methods which stem from proof mining, an applied subfield of logic, yield in this situation computable and low-complexity rates of convergence.Dirección General de Enseñanza Superior (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad)Romanian National Authority for Scientific Researc

Coverage, Continuity and Visual Cortical Architecture

The primary visual cortex of many mammals contains a continuous representation of visual space, with a roughly repetitive aperiodic map of orientation preferences superimposed. It was recently found that orientation preference maps (OPMs) obey statistical laws which are apparently invariant among species widely separated in eutherian evolution. Here, we examine whether one of the most prominent models for the optimization of cortical maps, the elastic net (EN) model, can reproduce this common design. The EN model generates representations which optimally trade of stimulus space coverage and map continuity. While this model has been used in numerous studies, no analytical results about the precise layout of the predicted OPMs have been obtained so far. We present a mathematical approach to analytically calculate the cortical representations predicted by the EN model for the joint mapping of stimulus position and orientation. We find that in all previously studied regimes, predicted OPM layouts are perfectly periodic. An unbiased search through the EN parameter space identifies a novel regime of aperiodic OPMs with pinwheel densities lower than found in experiments. In an extreme limit, aperiodic OPMs quantitatively resembling experimental observations emerge. Stabilization of these layouts results from strong nonlocal interactions rather than from a coverage-continuity-compromise. Our results demonstrate that optimization models for stimulus representations dominated by nonlocal suppressive interactions are in principle capable of correctly predicting the common OPM design. They question that visual cortical feature representations can be explained by a coverage-continuity-compromise.Comment: 100 pages, including an Appendix, 21 + 7 figure

Revisiting jointly firmly nonexpansive families of mappings

Recently, the author, together with L. Leustean and A. Nicolae, introduced the notion of jointly firmly nonexpansive families of mappings in order to investigate in an abstract manner the convergence of proximal methods. Here, we further the study of this concept, by giving a characterization in terms of the classical resolvent identity, by improving on the rate of convergence previously obtained for the uniform case, and by giving a treatment of the asymptotic behaviour at infinity of such families