63 research outputs found
Quasiconvex Programming
We define quasiconvex programming, a form of generalized linear programming
in which one seeks the point minimizing the pointwise maximum of a collection
of quasiconvex functions. We survey algorithms for solving quasiconvex programs
either numerically or via generalizations of the dual simplex method from
linear programming, and describe varied applications of this geometric
optimization technique in meshing, scientific computation, information
visualization, automated algorithm analysis, and robust statistics.Comment: 33 pages, 14 figure
Multiplicative measures on free groups
We introduce a family of atomic measures on free groups generated by
no-return random walks. These measures are shown to be very convenient for
comparing "relative sizes" of subgroups, context-free and regular subsets
(that, subsets generated by finite automata) of free groups. Many asymptotic
characteristics of subsets and subgroups are naturally expressed as analytic
properties of related generating functions. We introduce an hierarchy of
asymptotic behaviour "at infinity" of subsets in the free groups, more
sensitive than the traditionally used asymptotic density, and apply it to
normal subgroups and regular subsets.Comment: LaTeX, requires amssymb.sty; 31 pp Version 3: more detail in Example
2 and Tauberian theorem
Zero-Convex Functions, Perturbation Resilience, and Subgradient Projections for Feasibility-Seeking Methods
The convex feasibility problem (CFP) is at the core of the modeling of many
problems in various areas of science. Subgradient projection methods are
important tools for solving the CFP because they enable the use of subgradient
calculations instead of orthogonal projections onto the individual sets of the
problem. Working in a real Hilbert space, we show that the sequential
subgradient projection method is perturbation resilient. By this we mean that
under appropriate conditions the sequence generated by the method converges
weakly, and sometimes also strongly, to a point in the intersection of the
given subsets of the feasibility problem, despite certain perturbations which
are allowed in each iterative step. Unlike previous works on solving the convex
feasibility problem, the involved functions, which induce the feasibility
problem's subsets, need not be convex. Instead, we allow them to belong to a
wider and richer class of functions satisfying a weaker condition, that we call
"zero-convexity". This class, which is introduced and discussed here, holds a
promise to solve optimization problems in various areas, especially in
non-smooth and non-convex optimization. The relevance of this study to
approximate minimization and to the recent superiorization methodology for
constrained optimization is explained.Comment: Mathematical Programming Series A, accepted for publicatio
Design by Measure and Conquer, A Faster Exact Algorithm for Dominating Set
The measure and conquer approach has proven to be a powerful tool to analyse
exact algorithms for combinatorial problems, like Dominating Set and
Independent Set. In this paper, we propose to use measure and conquer also as a
tool in the design of algorithms. In an iterative process, we can obtain a
series of branch and reduce algorithms. A mathematical analysis of an algorithm
in the series with measure and conquer results in a quasiconvex programming
problem. The solution by computer to this problem not only gives a bound on the
running time, but also can give a new reduction rule, thus giving a new,
possibly faster algorithm. This makes design by measure and conquer a form of
computer aided algorithm design. When we apply the methodology to a Set Cover
modelling of the Dominating Set problem, we obtain the currently fastest known
exact algorithms for Dominating Set: an algorithm that uses time
and polynomial space, and an algorithm that uses time
Robust and large-scale quasiconvex programming in structure-from-motion
Structure-from-Motion (SfM) is a cornerstone of computer vision. Briefly speaking,
SfM is the task of simultaneously estimating the poses of the cameras behind a set of images of a
scene, and the 3D coordinates of the points in the scene.
Often, the optimisation problems that underpin SfM do not have closed-form solutions, and finding
solutions via numerical schemes is necessary. An objective function, which measures the discrepancy
of a geometric object (e.g., camera poses, rotations, 3D coordi- nates) with a set of image
measurements, is to be minimised. Each image measurement gives rise to an error function. For
example, the reprojection error, which measures the distance between an observed image point and
the projection of a 3D point onto the image, is a commonly used error function.
An influential optimisation paradigm in SfM is the βββ paradigm, where the objective function takes
the form of the maximum of all individual error functions (e.g. individual reprojection errors of
scene points). The benefit of the βββ paradigm is that the objective function of many SfM
optimisation problems become quasiconvex, hence there is a unique minimum in the objective
function. The task of formulating and minimising quasiconvex objective functions is called
quasiconvex programming.
Although tremendous progress in SfM techniques under the βββ paradigm has been made, there are still
unsatisfactorily solved problems, specifically, problems associated with large-scale input data and
outliers in the data. This thesis describes novel techniques to
tackle these problems.
A major weakness of the βββ paradigm is its susceptibility to outliers. This thesis improves the
robustness of βββ solutions against outliers by employing the least median of squares (LMS)
criterion, which amounts to minimising the median error. In the context of triangulation, this
thesis proposes a locally convergent robust algorithm underpinned by a novel quasiconvex plane
sweep technique. Imposing the LMS criterion achieves significant outlier tolerance, and, at the
same time, some properties of quasiconvexity greatly simplify the process of solving the LMS
problem.
Approximation is a commonly used technique to tackle large-scale input data. This thesis introduces
the coreset technique to quasiconvex programming problems. The coreset technique aims find a
representative subset of the input data, such that solving the same problem on the subset yields a
solution that is within known bound of the optimal solution on the complete input set. In
particular, this thesis develops a coreset approximate algorithm to handle large-scale
triangulation tasks.
Another technique to handle large-scale input data is to break the optimisation into multiple
smaller sub-problems. Such a decomposition usually speeds up the overall optimisation process,
and alleviates the limitation on memory. This thesis develops a large-scale optimisation algorithm
for the known rotation problem (KRot). The proposed method decomposes the original quasiconvex
programming problem with potentially hundreds of thousands of parameters into multiple sub-problems
with only three parameters each. An efficient solver based on a novel minimum enclosing ball
technique is proposed to solve the sub-problems.Thesis (Ph.D.) (Research by Publication) -- University of Adelaide, School of Computer Science, 201
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