Convex bifunctions and generalized convex programs #
A bifunction F : U → X → EReal is a family of minimisation problems indexed by a perturbation
parameter u. The generalized convex program (P) associated with F is "minimise F 0 over
X, with the perturbations F u on offer"; its perturbation function is
inf F : u ↦ ⨅ x, F u x, and its Kuhn–Tucker vectors are the prices at which no perturbation
is worth buying.
Everything rests on one identification: inf F is a partial minimisation of the graph function,
hence convex, and v is a Kuhn–Tucker vector exactly when -v ∈ ∂(inf F)(0). The Kuhn–Tucker set
is a reflected subdifferential, so the whole subgradient theory transfers wholesale: existence
under strong consistency, compactness under strict consistency, the directional-derivative
formulas, the polyhedral case.
Main definitions #
Bifun U X— a bifunction;graphFn Fis the same data onU × X,ConvexBifun FandPolyhedralBifun Fare convexity and polyhedrality of it.infBifun F,domBifun F— the perturbation function and the effective domain{u | F u ≢ ⊤}.KuhnTucker B F— thevfor which⨅ u (⟨u, v⟩ + inf F u)is finite and equal toinf F 0.Consistent,StronglyConsistent,StrictlyConsistent—0 ∈ dom F,0 ∈ ri (dom F),0 ∈ int (dom F).
Main results #
convexFn_infBifun,dom_infBifun,mem_kuhnTucker_iff_neg_mem_subgradient—inf Fis convex with effective domaindom F, and∂(inf F)(0)is the reflected Kuhn–Tucker set (Theorem 29.1 in [^1]).kuhnTucker_eq_neg_subgradient,convex_kuhnTucker,isClosed_kuhnTucker,supportFn_kuhnTucker— the Kuhn–Tucker set is closed convex with a computable support function;kuhnTucker_eq_empty_iff— when it is empty;kuhnTucker_eq_singleton_of_hasGradientAt— when it is one vector;kuhnTucker_nonempty_of_stronglyConsistent,dirDeriv_infBifun_eq— existence and the directional-derivative formula.isCompact_kuhnTucker_of_strictlyConsistent,continuousOn_infBifun_interior— what strict consistency buys;infBifun_eq_bot_of_mem_relint— an improperinf Fis-∞onri (dom F).PolyhedralBifun.polyhedralFn_infBifun,kuhnTucker_nonempty_of_polyhedralBifun,argmin_nonempty_of_polyhedralBifunand companions — the polyhedral case (Theorem 29.2 in [^1]).
Implementation notes #
KuhnTucker is the book's own definition, not the subdifferential characterisation: the inequality
form inf F 0 ≤ ⟨u, v⟩ + inf F u is a consequence, and defining KuhnTucker by it would have made
that characterisation an Iff.rfl. The boundedness clause under strict consistency is
finite-dimensional in V: pairing-boundedness is all a general dual pair supports, and a norm
bound needs a coordinate estimate against a finite basis.
References #
[^1]: R. T. Rockafellar, Convex Analysis, Princeton University Press, 1970, §29.
Bifunctions and the perturbation function #
A bifunction from U to X: a family of EReal-valued functions on X indexed by a
perturbation parameter in U. The program (P) is identified with F itself.
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- Tdaf.ConvexAnalysis.Bifun U X = (U → X → EReal)
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The graph function of a bifunction: the same data as a function on U × X. Every convexity
statement about F is one about graphFn F.
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- Tdaf.ConvexAnalysis.graphFn F p = F p.1 p.2
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The inverse F_* of a bifunction: (F_* x) u = -(F u)(x). Unlike flipBifun it also
changes the sign, so it carries convex bifunctions to concave ones and back; it is involutory, and
composition of bifunctions is built on it. The sign flip is what makes
(Ff)(x) = ⨅ (f - F_* x) agree with ⨅ u, f u + (F u)(x).
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- Tdaf.ConvexAnalysis.inverseBifun F x u = -F u x
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The inverse operation is involutory: (F_*)_* = F.
The perturbation function inf F; its value at 0 is the optimal value of (P).
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- Tdaf.ConvexAnalysis.infBifun F u = ⨅ (x : X), F u x
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Convexity #
A bifunction is convex when its graph function is a convex function on U × X.
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The perturbation function of a convex bifunction is convex: a partial minimisation of the
jointly convex graph function along the projection (u, x) ↦ u.
Each image F u of a convex bifunction is a convex function: a slice of a jointly convex
function, since a * u + b * u = u when a + b = 1.
The effective domain of a convex bifunction is convex — it is dom (inf F).
Consistency #
(P) is consistent when it has a feasible solution, i.e. when its optimal value is
< ⊤.
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(P) is strongly consistent when 0 is a relative interior point of dom F: the
qualification behind the existence of Kuhn–Tucker vectors.
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(P) is strictly consistent when 0 is an interior point of dom F.
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Kuhn–Tucker vectors #
Kuhn–Tucker vectors for the program associated with F: the prices v at which
⨅ u (⟨u, v⟩ + inf F u) is finite and equal to the optimal value inf F 0.
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- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
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A Kuhn–Tucker vector is a price at which every perturbation costs at least what it saves.
When the optimal value is finite, the Kuhn–Tucker vectors are exactly the v with
-v ∈ ∂(inf F)(0). The subgradient inequality at 0 in the direction -v says precisely that no
perturbation is worth buying at the price v.
The same as an equation between sets: the Kuhn–Tucker set is the reflected subdifferential of the perturbation function at the origin.
The Kuhn–Tucker vectors form a convex set.
Closedness and existence #
The Kuhn–Tucker vectors form a closed set.
A strongly consistent convex program whose perturbation function is proper has a Kuhn–Tucker
vector: inf F is subdifferentiable at the origin, a relative-interior point of its domain.
The directional derivative of the perturbation function #
(inf F)'(0; ·) is positively homogeneous, for every bifunction.
(inf F)'(0; ·) is convex in the direction when inf F 0 is finite.
The support function of the Kuhn–Tucker set is the closure of u ↦ (inf F)'(0; -u): the
support function of a subdifferential, composed with the reflection.
The improper and the empty case #
If some perturbation drives the optimal value to -∞, so does every perturbation in
ri (dom F): an improper convex function is -∞ throughout the relative interior of its
domain.
A convex program with a finite optimal value has no Kuhn–Tucker vector exactly when some
direction of perturbation makes the two-sided directional derivative -∞,
(inf F)'(0; u) = -(inf F)'(0; -u) = -∞. Forwards: an empty subdifferential makes
cl (inf F)'(0; ·) the constant -∞, and the closure of a proper convex function is proper.
What consistency and differentiability buy #
A strongly consistent convex program whose optimal value is > -∞ has a proper perturbation
function: an improper inf F would be -∞ throughout ri (dom F).
Under strict consistency the optimal value is finite and continuous on int (dom F), a
neighbourhood of the origin.
The derivative formula: for a strongly consistent program with a proper perturbation
function, (inf F)'(0; u) = δ*(-u | U*), the support function of the Kuhn–Tucker set read at the
reflected direction.
Under strict consistency the Kuhn–Tucker set is bounded in the pairing sense: every
⟨u, ·⟩ is bounded above on it.
Under strict consistency the Kuhn–Tucker set is bounded in the norm. The upgrade from pairing-boundedness is finite-dimensional.
Under strict consistency the Kuhn–Tucker set is compact — closed and bounded, hence compact by Heine–Borel. With nonemptiness and convexity this is the book's "non-empty closed bounded convex set".
A strictly consistent program is strongly consistent, so it has a Kuhn–Tucker vector.
Algebraic form: if (inf F)'(0; ·) is the linear function ⟨·, -v₀⟩ then v₀ is the
unique Kuhn–Tucker vector.
Fréchet form: where the perturbation function is differentiable, the program has exactly
one Kuhn–Tucker vector, namely -∇(inf F)(0).
Polyhedral convex programs #
A polyhedral convex function agrees with its closure throughout its effective domain: if proper
it is closed, and otherwise both are -∞ there.
A convex bifunction is polyhedral when its graph function is; the associated program is then a polyhedral convex program.
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Every image F u of a polyhedral convex bifunction — the objective F 0 in particular — is a
polyhedral convex function.
The perturbation function of a polyhedral convex program is polyhedral: a partial minimisation
of a polyhedral function along the projection (u, x) ↦ u.
A polyhedral convex program with a finite optimal value has a Kuhn–Tucker vector: a polyhedral convex function is subdifferentiable throughout its effective domain.
The Kuhn–Tucker vectors of a polyhedral convex program with a finite optimal value form a polyhedral convex set.
A polyhedral convex program whose optimal value is not -∞ has an optimal solution. The
book assumes the optimal value finite; only inf F 0 ≠ -∞ is used here, an optimal value of +∞
meaning every point is optimal. Finiteness is what the polyhedrality of the minimum set below
needs.
The optimal solutions of a polyhedral convex program with a finite optimal value form a
polyhedral convex set — a sublevel set of F 0 at the optimal value.