We consider the problem of minimizing a smooth, Lipschitz, convex function over a compact, convex set using sub-zeroth-order oracles: an oracle that outputs the sign of the directional derivative for a given point and a given direction, an oracle that compares the function values for a given pair of points, and an oracle that outputs a noisy function value for a given point. We show that the sample complexity of optimization using these oracles is polynomial in the relevant parameters. The optimization algorithm that we provide for the comparator oracle is the first algorithm with a known rate of convergence that is polynomial in the number of dimensions. We also give an algorithm for the noisy-value oracle that incurs sublinear regret in the number of queries and polynomial regret in the number of dimensions. 
                        more » 
                        « less   
                    
                            
                            Active Learning a Convex Body in Low Dimensions
                        
                    
    
            Consider a set P ⊆ ℝ^d of n points, and a convex body C provided via a separation oracle. The task at hand is to decide for each point of P if it is in C using the fewest number of oracle queries. We show that one can solve this problem in two and three dimensions using O(⬡_P log n) queries, where ⬡_P is the largest subset of points of P in convex position. In 2D, we provide an algorithm which efficiently generates these adaptive queries. Furthermore, we show that in two dimensions one can solve this problem using O(⊚(P,C) log² n) oracle queries, where ⊚(P,C) is a lower bound on the minimum number of queries that any algorithm for this specific instance requires. Finally, we consider other variations on the problem, such as using the fewest number of queries to decide if C contains all points of P. As an application of the above, we show that the discrete geometric median of a point set P in ℝ² can be computed in O(n log² n (log n log log n + ⬡(P))) expected time. 
        more » 
        « less   
        
    
                            - Award ID(s):
- 1907400
- PAR ID:
- 10226344
- Editor(s):
- Czumaj, Artur; Dawar, Anuj; Merelli, Emanuela
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Leibniz international proceedings in informatics
- Volume:
- 168
- ISSN:
- 1868-8969
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 64:1--64:17
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
- 
            
- 
            null (Ed.)We consider the problem of minimizing a smooth, Lipschitz, convex function over a compact, convex set using sub-zerothorder oracles: an oracle that outputs the sign of the directional derivative for a given point and a given direction, an oracle that compares the function values for a given pair of points, and an oracle that outputs a noisy function value for a given point. We show that the sample complexity of optimization using these oracles is polynomial in the relevant parameters. The optimization algorithm that we provide for the comparator oracle is the first algorithm with a known rate of convergence that is polynomial in the number of dimensions. We also give an algorithm for the noisy-value oracle that incurs sublinear regret in the number of queries and polynomial regret in the number of dimensions.more » « less
- 
            Mulzer, Wolfgang; Phillips, Jeff M (Ed.)We consider two restricted cases of the planar dynamic convex hull problem with point insertions and deletions. We assume all updates are performed on a deque (double-ended queue) of points. The first case considers the monotonic path case, where all points are sorted in a given direction, say horizontally left-to-right, and only the leftmost and rightmost points can be inserted and deleted. The second case, which is more general, assumes that the points in the deque constitute a simple path. For both cases, we present solutions supporting deque insertions and deletions in worst-case constant time and standard queries on the convex hull of the points in O(log n) time, where n is the number of points in the current point set. The convex hull of the current point set can be reported in O(h+log n) time, where h is the number of edges of the convex hull. For the 1-sided monotone path case, where updates are only allowed on one side, the reporting time can be reduced to O(h), and queries on the convex hull are supported in O(log h) time. All our time bounds are worst case. In addition, we prove lower bounds that match these time bounds, and thus our results are optimal.more » « less
- 
            null (Ed.)We initiate the study of quantum algorithms for escaping from saddle points with provable guarantee. Given a function f : R n → R , our quantum algorithm outputs an ϵ -approximate second-order stationary point using O ~ ( log 2  ( n ) / ϵ 1.75 ) queries to the quantum evaluation oracle (i.e., the zeroth-order oracle). Compared to the classical state-of-the-art algorithm by Jin et al. with O ~ ( log 6  ( n ) / ϵ 1.75 ) queries to the gradient oracle (i.e., the first-order oracle), our quantum algorithm is polynomially better in terms of log  n and matches its complexity in terms of 1 / ϵ . Technically, our main contribution is the idea of replacing the classical perturbations in gradient descent methods by simulating quantum wave equations, which constitutes the improvement in the quantum query complexity with log  n factors for escaping from saddle points. We also show how to use a quantum gradient computation algorithm due to Jordan to replace the classical gradient queries by quantum evaluation queries with the same complexity. Finally, we also perform numerical experiments that support our theoretical findings.more » « less
- 
            Mulzer, Wolfgang; Phillips, Jeff M (Ed.)Let X be a set of points in ℝ² and 𝒪 be a set of geometric objects in ℝ², where |X| + |𝒪| = n. We study the problem of computing a minimum subset 𝒪^* ⊆ 𝒪 that encloses all points in X. Here a point x ∈ X is enclosed by 𝒪^* if it lies in a bounded connected component of ℝ²∖(⋃_{O ∈ 𝒪^*} O). We propose two algorithmic frameworks to design polynomial-time approximation algorithms for the problem. The first framework is based on sparsification and min-cut, which results in O(1)-approximation algorithms for unit disks, unit squares, etc. The second framework is based on LP rounding, which results in an O(α(n)log n)-approximation algorithm for segments, where α(n) is the inverse Ackermann function, and an O(log n)-approximation algorithm for disks.more » « less
 An official website of the United States government
An official website of the United States government 
				
			 
					 
					
 
                                    