Solve robust minimax optimization problem in two subsequent steps?












0












$begingroup$


I want to solve a robust optimization problem (worst-case optimization) of the form



$$
min_{x} max_q f(x,q) tag{1}
$$



with $x in mathbb{R}^n$ and $q subset mathbb{R}^m$ where $q_i in [underline{q}_i, overline{q}_i]$ and $underline{q}_i < overline{q}_i ,forall i dots m$. The variables in $x$ are the desicion variables, the $q$ are uncertain parameters (box-uncertainty).



Assume now we can analytically solve the following problem



$$
M(q) = min_x f(x, q) tag{2}
$$



and i.e. derive the minimum $M(q)$ of $f$ over $x$ as a function of the parameters $q$. Further assume I can then solve the following optimization problem



$$
max_{q} M(q). tag{3}
$$



Question: Is the solution to $(3)$, computed with the solution of $(2)$ also a solution of $(1)$? I.e., can I solve a problem like $(1)$ by first finding a parameter dependent minimizer for $x$ and then a parameter combination $q$ that is a maximizer for this minimum?










share|cite|improve this question









$endgroup$

















    0












    $begingroup$


    I want to solve a robust optimization problem (worst-case optimization) of the form



    $$
    min_{x} max_q f(x,q) tag{1}
    $$



    with $x in mathbb{R}^n$ and $q subset mathbb{R}^m$ where $q_i in [underline{q}_i, overline{q}_i]$ and $underline{q}_i < overline{q}_i ,forall i dots m$. The variables in $x$ are the desicion variables, the $q$ are uncertain parameters (box-uncertainty).



    Assume now we can analytically solve the following problem



    $$
    M(q) = min_x f(x, q) tag{2}
    $$



    and i.e. derive the minimum $M(q)$ of $f$ over $x$ as a function of the parameters $q$. Further assume I can then solve the following optimization problem



    $$
    max_{q} M(q). tag{3}
    $$



    Question: Is the solution to $(3)$, computed with the solution of $(2)$ also a solution of $(1)$? I.e., can I solve a problem like $(1)$ by first finding a parameter dependent minimizer for $x$ and then a parameter combination $q$ that is a maximizer for this minimum?










    share|cite|improve this question









    $endgroup$















      0












      0








      0





      $begingroup$


      I want to solve a robust optimization problem (worst-case optimization) of the form



      $$
      min_{x} max_q f(x,q) tag{1}
      $$



      with $x in mathbb{R}^n$ and $q subset mathbb{R}^m$ where $q_i in [underline{q}_i, overline{q}_i]$ and $underline{q}_i < overline{q}_i ,forall i dots m$. The variables in $x$ are the desicion variables, the $q$ are uncertain parameters (box-uncertainty).



      Assume now we can analytically solve the following problem



      $$
      M(q) = min_x f(x, q) tag{2}
      $$



      and i.e. derive the minimum $M(q)$ of $f$ over $x$ as a function of the parameters $q$. Further assume I can then solve the following optimization problem



      $$
      max_{q} M(q). tag{3}
      $$



      Question: Is the solution to $(3)$, computed with the solution of $(2)$ also a solution of $(1)$? I.e., can I solve a problem like $(1)$ by first finding a parameter dependent minimizer for $x$ and then a parameter combination $q$ that is a maximizer for this minimum?










      share|cite|improve this question









      $endgroup$




      I want to solve a robust optimization problem (worst-case optimization) of the form



      $$
      min_{x} max_q f(x,q) tag{1}
      $$



      with $x in mathbb{R}^n$ and $q subset mathbb{R}^m$ where $q_i in [underline{q}_i, overline{q}_i]$ and $underline{q}_i < overline{q}_i ,forall i dots m$. The variables in $x$ are the desicion variables, the $q$ are uncertain parameters (box-uncertainty).



      Assume now we can analytically solve the following problem



      $$
      M(q) = min_x f(x, q) tag{2}
      $$



      and i.e. derive the minimum $M(q)$ of $f$ over $x$ as a function of the parameters $q$. Further assume I can then solve the following optimization problem



      $$
      max_{q} M(q). tag{3}
      $$



      Question: Is the solution to $(3)$, computed with the solution of $(2)$ also a solution of $(1)$? I.e., can I solve a problem like $(1)$ by first finding a parameter dependent minimizer for $x$ and then a parameter combination $q$ that is a maximizer for this minimum?







      optimization convex-optimization linear-programming nonlinear-optimization






      share|cite|improve this question













      share|cite|improve this question











      share|cite|improve this question




      share|cite|improve this question










      asked Dec 31 '18 at 13:07









      SampleTimeSampleTime

      55139




      55139






















          1 Answer
          1






          active

          oldest

          votes


















          1












          $begingroup$

          According to the minimax theorem, if $f$ is continuous function which is concave in $q$ and convex in $x$ (roughly speaking), then
          $$
          min_xmax_q f(x,q) =max_qmin_x f(x,q)=max_q M(q)
          $$

          holds. Hence in this case, your method can solve the problem. However, in general cases, we can say at most
          $$
          min_xmax_q f(x,q) gemax_qmin_x f(x,q),
          $$
          and equality may not hold. In this case, your method does not give the solution.






          share|cite|improve this answer









          $endgroup$









          • 1




            $begingroup$
            note that the minimax theorem only applies if the domain of either $x$ or $q$ is compact (which holds for $q$ here), if both domains are convex, and if the function is lower semicontinuous & quasiconvex in $x$ and upper semicontinuous & quasiconcave in $q$
            $endgroup$
            – LinAlg
            Dec 31 '18 at 14:10












          • $begingroup$
            @LinAlg Thanks. One more question, what if $f$ is both concave and convex (i.e. linear) in $q$?
            $endgroup$
            – SampleTime
            Dec 31 '18 at 14:18






          • 1




            $begingroup$
            @SampleTime then it is concave in $q$ and satisfies that part of the conditions.
            $endgroup$
            – LinAlg
            Dec 31 '18 at 14:19











          Your Answer





          StackExchange.ifUsing("editor", function () {
          return StackExchange.using("mathjaxEditing", function () {
          StackExchange.MarkdownEditor.creationCallbacks.add(function (editor, postfix) {
          StackExchange.mathjaxEditing.prepareWmdForMathJax(editor, postfix, [["$", "$"], ["\\(","\\)"]]);
          });
          });
          }, "mathjax-editing");

          StackExchange.ready(function() {
          var channelOptions = {
          tags: "".split(" "),
          id: "69"
          };
          initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

          StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
          // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
          if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
          StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
          createEditor();
          });
          }
          else {
          createEditor();
          }
          });

          function createEditor() {
          StackExchange.prepareEditor({
          heartbeatType: 'answer',
          autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
          convertImagesToLinks: true,
          noModals: true,
          showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
          reputationToPostImages: 10,
          bindNavPrevention: true,
          postfix: "",
          imageUploader: {
          brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
          contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
          allowUrls: true
          },
          noCode: true, onDemand: true,
          discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
          ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
          });


          }
          });














          draft saved

          draft discarded


















          StackExchange.ready(
          function () {
          StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fmath.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f3057693%2fsolve-robust-minimax-optimization-problem-in-two-subsequent-steps%23new-answer', 'question_page');
          }
          );

          Post as a guest















          Required, but never shown

























          1 Answer
          1






          active

          oldest

          votes








          1 Answer
          1






          active

          oldest

          votes









          active

          oldest

          votes






          active

          oldest

          votes









          1












          $begingroup$

          According to the minimax theorem, if $f$ is continuous function which is concave in $q$ and convex in $x$ (roughly speaking), then
          $$
          min_xmax_q f(x,q) =max_qmin_x f(x,q)=max_q M(q)
          $$

          holds. Hence in this case, your method can solve the problem. However, in general cases, we can say at most
          $$
          min_xmax_q f(x,q) gemax_qmin_x f(x,q),
          $$
          and equality may not hold. In this case, your method does not give the solution.






          share|cite|improve this answer









          $endgroup$









          • 1




            $begingroup$
            note that the minimax theorem only applies if the domain of either $x$ or $q$ is compact (which holds for $q$ here), if both domains are convex, and if the function is lower semicontinuous & quasiconvex in $x$ and upper semicontinuous & quasiconcave in $q$
            $endgroup$
            – LinAlg
            Dec 31 '18 at 14:10












          • $begingroup$
            @LinAlg Thanks. One more question, what if $f$ is both concave and convex (i.e. linear) in $q$?
            $endgroup$
            – SampleTime
            Dec 31 '18 at 14:18






          • 1




            $begingroup$
            @SampleTime then it is concave in $q$ and satisfies that part of the conditions.
            $endgroup$
            – LinAlg
            Dec 31 '18 at 14:19
















          1












          $begingroup$

          According to the minimax theorem, if $f$ is continuous function which is concave in $q$ and convex in $x$ (roughly speaking), then
          $$
          min_xmax_q f(x,q) =max_qmin_x f(x,q)=max_q M(q)
          $$

          holds. Hence in this case, your method can solve the problem. However, in general cases, we can say at most
          $$
          min_xmax_q f(x,q) gemax_qmin_x f(x,q),
          $$
          and equality may not hold. In this case, your method does not give the solution.






          share|cite|improve this answer









          $endgroup$









          • 1




            $begingroup$
            note that the minimax theorem only applies if the domain of either $x$ or $q$ is compact (which holds for $q$ here), if both domains are convex, and if the function is lower semicontinuous & quasiconvex in $x$ and upper semicontinuous & quasiconcave in $q$
            $endgroup$
            – LinAlg
            Dec 31 '18 at 14:10












          • $begingroup$
            @LinAlg Thanks. One more question, what if $f$ is both concave and convex (i.e. linear) in $q$?
            $endgroup$
            – SampleTime
            Dec 31 '18 at 14:18






          • 1




            $begingroup$
            @SampleTime then it is concave in $q$ and satisfies that part of the conditions.
            $endgroup$
            – LinAlg
            Dec 31 '18 at 14:19














          1












          1








          1





          $begingroup$

          According to the minimax theorem, if $f$ is continuous function which is concave in $q$ and convex in $x$ (roughly speaking), then
          $$
          min_xmax_q f(x,q) =max_qmin_x f(x,q)=max_q M(q)
          $$

          holds. Hence in this case, your method can solve the problem. However, in general cases, we can say at most
          $$
          min_xmax_q f(x,q) gemax_qmin_x f(x,q),
          $$
          and equality may not hold. In this case, your method does not give the solution.






          share|cite|improve this answer









          $endgroup$



          According to the minimax theorem, if $f$ is continuous function which is concave in $q$ and convex in $x$ (roughly speaking), then
          $$
          min_xmax_q f(x,q) =max_qmin_x f(x,q)=max_q M(q)
          $$

          holds. Hence in this case, your method can solve the problem. However, in general cases, we can say at most
          $$
          min_xmax_q f(x,q) gemax_qmin_x f(x,q),
          $$
          and equality may not hold. In this case, your method does not give the solution.







          share|cite|improve this answer












          share|cite|improve this answer



          share|cite|improve this answer










          answered Dec 31 '18 at 13:22









          SongSong

          18.6k21651




          18.6k21651








          • 1




            $begingroup$
            note that the minimax theorem only applies if the domain of either $x$ or $q$ is compact (which holds for $q$ here), if both domains are convex, and if the function is lower semicontinuous & quasiconvex in $x$ and upper semicontinuous & quasiconcave in $q$
            $endgroup$
            – LinAlg
            Dec 31 '18 at 14:10












          • $begingroup$
            @LinAlg Thanks. One more question, what if $f$ is both concave and convex (i.e. linear) in $q$?
            $endgroup$
            – SampleTime
            Dec 31 '18 at 14:18






          • 1




            $begingroup$
            @SampleTime then it is concave in $q$ and satisfies that part of the conditions.
            $endgroup$
            – LinAlg
            Dec 31 '18 at 14:19














          • 1




            $begingroup$
            note that the minimax theorem only applies if the domain of either $x$ or $q$ is compact (which holds for $q$ here), if both domains are convex, and if the function is lower semicontinuous & quasiconvex in $x$ and upper semicontinuous & quasiconcave in $q$
            $endgroup$
            – LinAlg
            Dec 31 '18 at 14:10












          • $begingroup$
            @LinAlg Thanks. One more question, what if $f$ is both concave and convex (i.e. linear) in $q$?
            $endgroup$
            – SampleTime
            Dec 31 '18 at 14:18






          • 1




            $begingroup$
            @SampleTime then it is concave in $q$ and satisfies that part of the conditions.
            $endgroup$
            – LinAlg
            Dec 31 '18 at 14:19








          1




          1




          $begingroup$
          note that the minimax theorem only applies if the domain of either $x$ or $q$ is compact (which holds for $q$ here), if both domains are convex, and if the function is lower semicontinuous & quasiconvex in $x$ and upper semicontinuous & quasiconcave in $q$
          $endgroup$
          – LinAlg
          Dec 31 '18 at 14:10






          $begingroup$
          note that the minimax theorem only applies if the domain of either $x$ or $q$ is compact (which holds for $q$ here), if both domains are convex, and if the function is lower semicontinuous & quasiconvex in $x$ and upper semicontinuous & quasiconcave in $q$
          $endgroup$
          – LinAlg
          Dec 31 '18 at 14:10














          $begingroup$
          @LinAlg Thanks. One more question, what if $f$ is both concave and convex (i.e. linear) in $q$?
          $endgroup$
          – SampleTime
          Dec 31 '18 at 14:18




          $begingroup$
          @LinAlg Thanks. One more question, what if $f$ is both concave and convex (i.e. linear) in $q$?
          $endgroup$
          – SampleTime
          Dec 31 '18 at 14:18




          1




          1




          $begingroup$
          @SampleTime then it is concave in $q$ and satisfies that part of the conditions.
          $endgroup$
          – LinAlg
          Dec 31 '18 at 14:19




          $begingroup$
          @SampleTime then it is concave in $q$ and satisfies that part of the conditions.
          $endgroup$
          – LinAlg
          Dec 31 '18 at 14:19


















          draft saved

          draft discarded




















































          Thanks for contributing an answer to Mathematics Stack Exchange!


          • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

          But avoid



          • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

          • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


          Use MathJax to format equations. MathJax reference.


          To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




          draft saved


          draft discarded














          StackExchange.ready(
          function () {
          StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fmath.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f3057693%2fsolve-robust-minimax-optimization-problem-in-two-subsequent-steps%23new-answer', 'question_page');
          }
          );

          Post as a guest















          Required, but never shown





















































          Required, but never shown














          Required, but never shown












          Required, but never shown







          Required, but never shown

































          Required, but never shown














          Required, but never shown












          Required, but never shown







          Required, but never shown







          Popular posts from this blog

          Wiesbaden

          To store a contact into the json file from server.js file using a class in NodeJS

          Marschland