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Wednesday 2 September

Optimization and Control

Stochastic Optimal Control Problem under Inside Information

This paper is concerned with a stochastic optimal control problem under inside information. The control process depends on an $\mathcal{F}_{T_0}$-measurable random variable $Y$, representing the static inside information, and is adapted to the enlarged filtration generated by the underlying Brownian motion and the random variable $Y$. Accordingly, the traditional stochastic integral fails to be well-defined in this non-adapted setting; we adopt forward integrals to formulate the stochastic integral terms in the system. By means of the Donsker delta function, the original controlled system is transformed into a $y$-parameterized system. We further establish the existence of solutions to forward stochastic differential equations (SDEs), and prove the uniqueness of solutions via flow transformation techniques. Under a Gaussian assumption on $Y$, we derive both necessary and sufficient optimality conditions for the aforementioned control problem. Subsequently, we formulate the linear-quadratic (LQ) optimal control problem under inside information. Through the $y$-parameterized transformation, the original problem is converted into an LQ control problem with random coefficients. A numerical example for the LQ case is provided at the end to validate our theoretical findings.
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Optimization and Control · Cross-listed from quant-ph

A variational quantum eigensolver-based cutting plane framework for semidefinite programming problems

Semidefinite programming plays a key role in optimization, with broad impact across control theory, machine learning, and combinatorial optimization. Although semidefinite programs are polynomially solvable, several commonly used algorithms rest on a linear-algebraic step whose running time grows cubically with the matrix dimension and which requires the matrix itself to be held in memory, at quadratic cost. In this study, we propose replacing it with a variational quantum eigensolver, whose qubit requirement is logarithmic in the matrix dimension, and present the first end-to-end implementation of such an approach within a cutting-plane framework, together with an operator-derived ansatz whose entanglement structure is read directly from the Pauli support of the candidate matrix. Evaluated on the control family of SDPLIB against an identical scheme driven by an exact eigendecomposition, the variational oracle produces valid cuts throughout, closing 32 to 82% of the initial optimality gap against a near-constant 75 to 82% for the exact oracle. Implementing and measuring the method end to end surfaces several effects not visible from theoretical analyses alone: where memory is actually consumed, how the padding required to fit a matrix onto a quantum register can mislead the variational optimizer, and why the candidate matrices prove dense in the Pauli basis, reducing the operator-derived ansatz to full entanglement. We report these findings and discuss their implications for near-term hybrid quantum-classical approaches.
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Optimization and Control · Cross-listed from math.NA

Two Adjoint Perspectives on Fokker-Planck Optimization: A Microscopic-Macroscopic Correspondence

The Fokker-Planck equation admits both a macroscopic Eulerian description through probability densities and a microscopic Lagrangian description through stochastic trajectories. Consequently, optimization problems constrained by the Fokker-Planck equation can be formulated from either perspective. Surprisingly, the corresponding adjoint equations appear to be fundamentally different: the macroscopic adjoint is governed by the backward Kolmogorov equation, whereas the microscopic adjoint evolves pathwise along stochastic trajectories. In this note, we reconcile these two formulations by establishing their correspondence in the continuum setting. We further show that, although their discrete gradients no longer coincide after discretization, both provide consistent numerical approximations of the continuum gradient. Explicit convergence rates are established for both discretization strategies.
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Optimization and Control · Cross-listed from eess.SY

Turnpike properties in nonlinear system identification

We analyze the problem of learning general discrete-time nonlinear state-space models using the simulation error minimization (SEM) method. In this setting, model parameters are typically learned by minimizing the mismatch between simulated and measured outputs over a training dataset, or shorter subsequences extracted from it. Specifically, we study the cumulative output turnpike property of the underlying SEM optimization problem, which requires optimal output sequences emanating from a fixed initial state to approach and remain close to an optimal output sequence of the corresponding SEM problem with free initial state. In the presence of non-unique optimal output sequences—as may arise, for instance, in fully black-box system identification using neural networks—the property is formulated with respect to the closest such sequence. Turnpike behavior is generally desirable in practice, as it provides a theoretical justification for employing computationally more tractable SEM formulations with fixed initial states while ensuring that their optimal output sequences remain close to unconstrained optimal ones. Under a mild reachability condition, we establish equivalence between the cumulative turnpike property, coercivity of the value function, and a tailored notion of strict dissipativity. We additionally introduce a cardinality turnpike property and show that it is strictly weaker than the cumulative notion. Finally, we establish sufficient conditions for turnpike behavior based on incremental output stability, convexity of the stage cost, and a suitable optimality condition, and illustrate the theory by means of a numerical example.
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Optimization and Control

A Hereditary Property of Cutting Plane Procedures

Let $K'$ denote the closure of a convex set $K$ under a given cutting-plane procedure. The procedure satisfies the hereditary property if $F' = K' \cap F$ for every face $F$ of $K$. The property underlies inductive proofs of finite-rank and the polyhedrality of closures, and it is an admissibility requirement in abstract frameworks for cutting-plane procedures. Yet, it has not been studied systematically across well-known cutting-plane procedures. We establish two sufficient conditions for the property. The first applies to procedures that can be expressed as closures under intersection cuts from a family of lattice-free convex sets, when a single family realizes the closure of $K$ and of each of its faces. It yields the hereditary property for the split, lift-and-project, Lovász–Schrijver, Sherali–Adams, and Lasserre closures, applied over general convex sets and for faces that need not be exposed. The second applies to procedures whose cuts are valid inequalities for Gomory's corner polyhedron, and it yields the hereditary property for the closure of Dantzig cuts derived from all bases. We complement these results with four classical procedures for which the hereditary property fails, namely the closure of Gomory's fractional cuts (derived from either all bases or feasible bases only), the mixed-integer Chvátal closure, the $+$-cut closure, and the closure of Dantzig cuts derived from feasible bases.
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Tuesday 1 September

Optimization and Control

KAYROS: An Anytime and Exact Solver for the Time-Dependent Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows - Extended Version

The Time-Dependent Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows (TDVRPTW) captures a central difficulty of urban logistics: travel times vary with the time of day, so the cost of a route depends on when it is driven. This paper introduces KAYROS, an open-source solver for the duration-minimization TDVRPTW that is both anytime and exact. It returns improving valid solutions throughout its time budget and can close instances with conditional computational optimality certificates through an integrated branch-price-and-cut component. We extend the composition of continuous arrival-time functions from the literature, previously described only at proof or proposition level, to the left-continuous functions that stepwise benchmarks require. We prove that the composition routine shipped in the checker computes that operation exactly. We analyze when its evaluation and breakpoint normalization are exact in IEEE-754 double-precision arithmetic, and argue that a canonical, epsilon-free checker must define the objective. The anytime layer combines greedy construction, granular time-dependent local search over balanced route trees, and iterated local search, with a fleet-aware descent for a fleet-cost objective. We further propose an anytime evaluation methodology based on a normalized signed primal integral under a pre-committed statistical design. On 212 instances from five families at a one-hour single-threaded budget, KAYROS achieves a pooled anytime score 63.3% lower than the strongest of three available contenders (Timefold, Hexaly, jsprit). All three contrasts are significant under Holm correction. KAYROS improves all 30 high-effort references of Blauth et al. and 10 literature best-known solutions, and publishes 704 such certificates. The solver, benchmarks and campaign data are openly released.
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2609.29597 · 1 Sep · 93 pages, 4 figures, 12 tables. Extended version of a manuscript prepared for journal submission. Companion papers and reports: arXiv:2608.18288, arXiv:2607.23116, arXiv:2608.10079. Data and code: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22095718, https://github.com/0nyr/kayros-campaign-analysis, https://github.com/0nyr/kayros

Optimization and Control

New strategies for some pursuit-evasion differential games with Gronwall-type constraints

This paper studies a class of non-cooperative pursuit-evasion differential games in the sequence space $l_{2}.$ The motions of the pursuer and the evader are described by certain first-order differential equations while their control functions are subject to Gronwall-type constraints which impose history-dependent bounds on their control resources. Two fundamental problems are investigated. For the pursuit problem, new strategy for the pursuer is constructed and sufficient conditions guaranteeing the completion of pursuit are established. For evasion problem, an admissible strategy of the evader ensuring avoidance of capture is obtained, and corresponding sufficient conditions for successful evasion are derived. The proposed approached extends existing results on differential games with classical geometric and integral constraints to a broader class of systems governed by Gronwall-type restrictions.
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All authors Jamilu Adamu, Mehdi Salimi, Farouq Abba Wabi, Jewaidu Rilwan

Optimization and Control · Cross-listed from cs.NE

Reinforcement learning to choose optimizers

No single optimization method is uniformly best for all problems, and the most suitable optimizer choice can change during a run. Existing approaches that change optimizer during execution typically predetermine part of the strategy: the portfolio is restricted to one algorithm class, the switch occurs once at a fixed time, or the frequency of decisions is treated as a hyperparameter rather than a learned one. We introduce "Reinforcement Learning to Choose Optimizers", which formulates the optimization algorithm choice as a sequential decision-making problem. At each decision, a recurrent policy reads the current run state and decides both which optimizer should be used next and for how long. The portfolio includes both gradient-based and derivative-free optimizers, and each switch passes on the current best solution and a representative step size. A context proxy conditions a gating network over expert heads, and training employs a decoupled actor-critic whose return is expressed in the same empirical runtime distribution metric used at evaluation. Training tasks and portfolio are designed jointly so that no optimizer dominates. On unseen problems, the learned policy outperforms every portfolio optimizer at all but the smallest budgets, and it remains robust under distribution shift.
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Optimization and Control

Generalized Semi-Infinite Programming for Robust Optimal Control with Decision-Dependent Uncertainty

Generalized semi-infinite programs (GSIPs) arise in robust optimal control whenever the admissible uncertainty depends on the state or controls. Existing GSIP methods either impose restrictive structural assumptions or require global optimization that scales poorly to control problems. We present a general framework that reformulates any GSIP with mild regularity as an existence-constrained semi-infinite program, smoothing its disjunctive feasibility condition into differentiable existence constraints over a fixed index superset. The resulting program is solved by established adaptive discretization (cutting-plane) methods using only off-the-shelf nonlinear-programming solvers, and converges under standard assumptions. Treating the state trajectory as part of the uncertainty extends the framework to robust nonlinear optimal control with state-dependent uncertainty. We demonstrate it on a nonconvex benchmark GSIP and a satellite de-tumbling problem with dynamically varying inertia.
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Optimization and Control

Accelerated primal-dual dynamics and algorithms for convex optimization with nonlinear inequality constraints

We consider convex optimization with nonlinear inequality constraints and develop a primal-dual multiplier framework that is consistent in continuous and discrete time. We first propose continuous-time dynamics with Nesterov-type vanishing damping $\alpha/t$, together with compatible extrapolations of the dual variable and the nonlinear constraint mapping. Under convexity assumptions and $\alpha\geq3$, we establish $\mathcal O(t^{-2})$ convergence rates for both nonlinear feasibility and the objective residual. In the noncritical regime $\alpha>3$, with an admissible choice of the extrapolation parameter, we further prove that the entire primal-dual trajectory converges to a KKT pair and sharpen both continuous-time estimates to $o(t^{-2})$. We then derive an inexact accelerated primal-dual algorithm through a compatible discretization of a perturbed version of the dynamic. For composite convex objectives, a weighted summability condition on the primal inexactness yields $\mathcal O(k^{-2})$ rates for feasibility and the objective residual. In the corresponding noncritical regime, the discrete primal-dual sequence converges to a KKT pair and both residual estimates improve to $o(k^{-2})$. Thus the continuous and discrete results exhibit matching accelerated rates and matching asymptotic improvements. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first Nesterov-type primal-dual multiplier framework for convex optimization with nonlinear inequality constraints.
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Optimization and Control

A Scalable Framework for Simultaneously Optimizing Damper Positions and Viscosities

We consider damping optimization for vibrating systems described by a second-order differential equation. The goal is to determine the damping positions and viscosity values of the dampers in the system so that they produce the lowest average total energy. We propose a new framework for determining the number and positions of the dampers, using re-weighted $l_1$ minimization and pruning techniques. The efficiency and performance of our new approach are verified and illustrated in several numerical examples.
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Optimization and Control · Cross-listed from eess.SY

Exact Risk-Complexity Laws for Projective Boundaries in Scenario Optimization and Distribution-Free Certification

Scenario optimization, conformal prediction, and related distribution-free certification methods use finite samples to construct decisions or prediction sets with violation-risk guarantees for fresh observations. In several classical settings, the conditional violation risk follows an exact beta law, whose tail has a beta-binomial representation and whose parameter is a support, calibration, or compression dimension. This paper identifies the deterministic boundary mechanism behind these formulas and derives the corresponding law when the observed boundary size is random. A decision rule is represented by an acceptance set for future observations, together with a boundary map selecting the sample points responsible for that set. The resulting pair is called a proper projective boundary scheme when held-out samples are accepted precisely if the full-sample boundary is retained, and accepted non-boundary samples can be deleted without changing that boundary. For every such scheme, the conditional law of the violation risk given the observed boundary size is determined by the boundary's cross-sample complexity profile. A stable profile yields the usual beta law, whereas a varying profile produces an exact profile correction. The framework covers scalar order-statistic calibration, support-reconstructive scenario programs, cascaded support-removal certificates, coordinatewise envelopes, and Pareto-frontier calibration with vector scores. It also yields conditional probabilistic certificates and a no-go result explaining why observed complexity alone is insufficient.
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Optimization and Control

Consensus-based optimization for linearly separable functions

Consensus-based optimization (CBO) is an efficient metaheuristic for global optimisation with attractive mathematical properties, allowing global convergence results even in non-convex settings. In practice it suffers greatly from the curse of dimensionality, as do most particle-based optimisers. Different strategies have been proposed to apply CBO even for high-dimensional optimisation problems, the most prominent being the so-called anisotropic noise model. However, a recent work by Bonandin et al. highlighted that this method performs well primarily on separable objective functions, and even small coordinate rotations severely degrade the performance. Motivated by this observation, in this work we study the case where the objective function is separable only in a linearly transformed coordinate system. To leverage the efficiency of anisotropic CBO we propose a reparametrisation scheme, which provably estimates such a coordinate transformation and then applies CBO in the new variables. Furthermore, we show how our scheme can be interpreted as noise adaptation in CBO. Numerical examples highlight the efficacy of the method, demonstrating significant performance improvements on challenging benchmark objectives.
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Optimization and Control

Optimal Inflow Control for Transport Equations with Uncertain Velocities and Demand

We study optimal inflow control for a linear transport equation subject to uncertainty in both time-dependent downstream demand and transport velocity. The random velocity induces a random travel time and thereby changes the relation between an inflow decision and the demand observed at its arrival time. For a fixed downstream observation window, we derive explicit optimal controls in the continuous-time setting and for piecewise constant controls. We decompose the irreducible stochastic error into contributions from demand and velocity uncertainty and show that the latter admits a bound that is linear in the velocity variance. As a computationally attractive alternative, we analyze a deterministic mean-velocity proxy whose additional performance loss admits a higher-order bound. We also establish Lipschitz stability of the optimal control with respect to perturbations of the velocity law in the Wasserstein distance. Numerical experiments illustrate the analytical results and investigate the proxy strategy for an uncertain nonlocal transport model beyond the linear theory.
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Optimization and Control · Cross-listed from quant-ph

A Backend-Agnostic MWIS Kernel for Stochastic Unit Commitment with Neutral-Atom Hardware Validation

Quantum hardware is beginning to address structured combinatorial optimisation, but two steps still block practical use: mapping real operational models onto hardware-compatible instances, and converting noisy hardware output back into feasible decisions. Here we introduce a backend-agnostic computational interface that compiles the discrete decision layer of stochastic unit commitment into a move-based maximum-weight independent set (MWIS) problem, while retaining continuous dispatch and feasibility recovery in the classical computational layer. We validate the approach in a green hydrogen scheduling setting and deploy it on the QuEra Aquila neutral-atom quantum processor. This is the first end-to-end industrial scheduling workflow that connects real operational decisions to programmable neutral-atom hardware through a solver-agnostic MWIS representation. Across a 15-day hardware campaign on 50-node instances, hardware-generated solutions after classical refinement match or exceed the dispatch margins obtained from exact MWIS on every day. When scaling to 144 nodes, encoding quality remains stable, while the probability that the full atom array survives, rather than graph embedding, emerges as the dominant bottleneck to further scaling. Together, these results establish a hardware-compatible computational pathway toward larger problem scales, and lay the groundwork for exploring regimes in which exact classical optimisation may no longer scale efficiently.
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All authors Jiying Chen, Min Lin, Jingwei Wen, Zhihong Zhang, Chuixiong Wu

Optimization and Control

New insights into the NLP-Id bound for maximum-entropy sampling

We establish new properties of the NLP-Id upper bound for the maxi\-mum-entropy sampling problem (MESP). In particular, we give a detailed look at the concavity of its objective function as a function of the scaling parameter employed for NLP bounds for MESP. This leads to more relaxed choices for the scaling parameter for NLP-Id and even improved upper bounds for MESP.
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All authors Kurt Anstreicher, Marcia Fampa, Jon Lee, Yongchun Li, Gabriel Ponte

Optimization and Control

Optimal Gradient-Norm Minimization in Non-Euclidean Hölder-Smooth Convex Optimization

Minimizing gradients of a convex function is an important problem across optimization and learning tasks. The gradient provides a directly computable certificate of approximate stationarity, and its minimization usually implies stronger results than those for minimization of function values. In this work, we study gradient-norm minimization for convex functions that are $(L,\kappa)$-Hölder smooth with respect to the $\ell_p$-norms, $p \geq 1$. We develop algorithms that achieve near-optimal gradient-oracle complexity for this problem. In the smooth case, our results resolve the previously open setting $p>2$. For Hölder-smooth objectives, we close the complexity gap throughout the full $p$-range, including to the best of our knowledge, a gap in the Euclidean case. We provide two families of algorithms: the first one comes with a simple iteration and generalizes a phenomenon known as mirror duality, exploiting dual behaviours of algorithms with errors and inexact computations. The second makes use of accumulating regularizers centered at different approximate solutions, which we sequentially minimize in order to provide our near-optimal rates.
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All authors Nico Pelleriti, Maryam Shiran, David Martínez-Rubio, Max Zimmer, Sebastian Pokutta

Optimization and Control

The Complexity of Approximating the Value in Revealing POMDPs with Long-Run Average Objectives

We study partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs) with long-run average objectives, where the payoff is defined as the limit inferior of the expected average rewards. We consider the computational problem of approximating the long-run average value of a POMDP. In general, the long-run average value of a POMDP is neither computable nor approximable. We therefore consider the subclass of revealing POMDPs. Informally, a POMDP is revealing when the controller observes the underlying state with positive probability at each stage of the process. Our main contributions are threefold. First, we illustrate the practical relevance of this class of POMDPs through an application in control and optimization. Second, we present an exponential-time algorithm for the value approximation problem. Third, we establish EXPTIME-hardness by a reduction from the problem of almost-sure safety in POMDPs. Together, these results show that the problem of approximating the long-run average value in revealing POMDPs is EXPTIME-complete.
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Optimization and Control · Cross-listed from cs.LG

The Multiple Timescales of Gradient Descent on the Edge of Stability: A Perturbative Derivation of the Central Flow

The central flow of Cohen et al. (2025) is an empirically accurate continuous-time model of gradient descent at the edge of stability in deep learning, However, its derivation is heuristic. We propose a perturbative regime in which the central flow is the limit of gradient descent: we assume that the loss decomposes as $f = g + \varepsilon h$; in the limit $\varepsilon \to 0$, the dynamics of gradient descent with learning rate $\eta$ converge to the gradient flow of $h$ constrained to the minimizers of $g$ of sharpness at most $2/\eta$. Our approach is formal rather than rigorous; it treats gradient descent as a singularly perturbed dynamical system in $\varepsilon$. Three timescales emerge: a fast timescale of oscillations along the sharpest direction, an intermediate timescale of the self-stabilization mechanism, and a slow timescale of the dynamics along the minimizers of $g$-the central flow. Using the method of multiple scales, a classical formal method from singular perturbation theory, we derive the expansion of the dynamics in $\varepsilon$: the central flow emerges as the leading-order term in the expansion, while the self-stabilization mechanism appears in the next-order term. We study this mechanism beyond previous analyses: with a single eigenvalue at the edge of stability, we compute the slow drift of the energy of the fluctuations; with several eigenvalues at the edge of stability, we derive the self-stabilization system and explain why fluctuations persist.
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Optimization and Control

Sum-of-Squares Certificates for Copositive Matrices via Recursive Identities: The de Klerk-Pasechnik Conjecture and Hoffman–Pereira Matrices

We establish the conjecture by de Klerk and Pasechnik (2002), claiming that the semidefinite bounds $\vartheta^{(r)}(G)(r\geq 0)$ for the stability number $\alpha(G)$ are exact at $r=\alpha(G)-1$, by exhibiting an explicit sum-of-squares certificate. This certificate allows us to recover a known characterization of the minimizers of the Motzkin-Straus formulation for $1/\alpha(G)$. Additionally, we give sum-of-squares copositivity certificates for the matrices satisfying the Hoffman–Pereira sign condition, a crucial condition for characterizing copositive matrices with $\{-1,0,1\}$ entries.
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Optimization and Control

Further analysis and extension of the higher-order Newton method of Ahmadi, Chaudhry, and Zhang

We extend a $d$th-order Newton method for unconstrained optimization by Ahmadi, Chaudhry, and Zhang [Advances in Mathematics, 452:109808] to optimization with SOS-convex polynomial constraints. Consider the problem of minimizing a smooth function $f:\mathbb{R}^{n}\to\mathbb{R}$ subject to SOS-convex polynomial constraints. Given an iterate $x\in\mathbb{R}^n$, Ahmadi et al. define the next iterate $x^{+}$ as the minimizer of the $d$th-order Taylor expansion of $f$ at $x$ with a regularization term of degree $d^{\prime}$, where $d^{\prime}$ is the smallest even number greater than $d$, chosen such that this polynomial is SOS-convex, subject to the constraints. Constructing this polynomial and minimizing it subject to the constraints can both be reduced in time polynomial in $n$ to a semidefinite program (SDP). We prove that, if $f$ is strongly convex and the tensor of the $d$th-order partial derivatives of $f$ is Lipschitz continuous, then our method converges locally to the optimal solution $x^{\ast}$ with order $d$. We further prove that, under certain constraint qualifications, the set of active constraints at $x^{\ast}$ is identified locally in a single iteration. Next, we study the worst-case performance of the third-order Newton method in the unconstrained setting for two classes of univariate $f$ using performance estimation. Finally, we extend a globally convergent modification of the $d$th-order Newton method to the setting of SOS-convex polynomial constraints.
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Optimization and Control

Real-Time Model Predictive Control Algorithms for Autonomous Spacecraft Guidance

This report studies and compares four families of Model Predictive Control (MPC) algorithms for autonomous spacecraft rendezvous guidance: Linear MPC, Tube MPC, Fast/Embedded MPC, and Successive Convexification (SCvx). Using the Clohessy-Wiltshire-Hill (CWH) relative-motion model, we show that the marginal stability of the underlying dynamics causes the condition number of the condensed Hessian to grow sharply with the prediction horizon, which explains why gradient-based solvers such as Fast MPC diverge under long-horizon stress tests while exact linear-algebra solvers (ADMM with Cholesky factorisation) remain unaffected. Tube MPC is validated across five standard rendezvous manoeuvres (Translation, R-bar, V-bar, Natural Motion Circumnavigation, and Corkscrew) using a single fixed controller configuration, and a two-sided, provably correct bound is derived to bracket the worst-case tracking error directly from the cost weight matrices. The framework is further extended to track an arbitrary, non-closed-form reference trajectory through online-recomputed linearisation, with the safety guarantee holding throughout. Finally, to assess feasibility for real flight software, the core numerical routines (Cholesky factorisation and the Riccati equation solver) are re-implemented from first principles, without external libraries, and validated against standard scientific computing tools to machine precision. Taken together, these results support Tube MPC as a robust and computationally realistic controller for onboard, real-time spacecraft rendezvous guidance.
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Optimization and Control

Partially Observed Mean Field Games Without Perfect Recall: Optimality Conditions and Equilibria

This paper studies partially observed mean field games without perfect recall (WPR). The representative agent observes a noisy signal, but the control at time \(t\) uses only \(\mathcal G_t^I=\sigma(y_t)\), a generally non-nested information family. The conditional population law instead uses the observation filtration \(\mathbb F^Y\). These coupled levels rely on different information scales and are difficult to close within one construction. We parameterize the environment by a deterministic compatible joint law of state, driving variables, and random mean field term, thereby preserving its dependence structure without enlarging the agent's control information. For a fixed law, a reference measure and Girsanov's theorem yield a WPR stochastic maximum principle; the selected response is represented by the conditional Hamiltonian and WPR belief measure. The joint path posterior of hidden state and mean field term gives a weak Kushner-Stratonovich representation of the conditional population law. A recursive response map is continuous on a compact convex set of compatible laws, so Schauder-Tychonoff yields a weak WPR equilibrium. For a fixed equilibrium law and feedback, a compatible Yamada-Watanabe theorem lifts pathwise uniqueness to a strong realization. Finally, a linear-quadratic interbank lending example compares perfect recall (PR) with WPR. The PR response follows the Kalman-Bucy feedback, whereas the WPR response solves a Fredholm-Volterra equation and is affine in the current observation under Gaussianity. The numerical experiment illustrates how equilibrium behavior differs between PR and WPR.
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Optimization and Control

DOFFO_TR: a Decentralized Objective Function-Free Optimization method with Trust-Region

In this paper, we propose a novel objective function-free trust-region method designed to solve optimization problems over decentralized networks. Unlike traditional approaches that often rely on stepsize tuning, our framework employs a function-free trust-region procedure that enables adaptive selection of the step length. Our approach accommodates first- and second-order models and eliminates the need to share local function values and gradients among agents, thereby enhancing privacy and computational efficiency. On the theoretical side, we establish provable iteration complexity guarantees that, for some variants, match those established for classical centralized trust-region methods. Numerical evaluations demonstrate that our approach achieves a favorable trade-off between performance and efficiency, requiring only moderate communication overhead compared to state-of-the-art methods in the literature.
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Optimization and Control

Stochastic Optimization of Tree Tensor Networks

Tensor networks, originally developed for quantum many-body physics, are promising models for machine learning. We derive stochastic Riemannian optimizers for tree tensor networks (TTNs) on both their parameter and quotient manifolds, including adaptive and learning-rate-free schemes suitable for minibatch training. Using a hybrid CNN-TTN architecture, we evaluate the methods on Fashion-MNIST, CIFAR10, and Imagenette. The proposed optimizers achieve predictive performance comparable to unconstrained optimization while enabling numerically stable downstream compression.
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All authors Marius Willner, Maximilian Scharf, André Uschmajew, Timo Felser, Marco Trenti

Optimization and Control

Low-Thrust Trajectory Optimization with Quantum Computing and Sequential Convex Programming

Low-thrust trajectory optimization is a central task in interplanetary mission design, but its nonlinear dynamics and operational constraints often lead to challenging non-convex optimal-control problems. Sequential convex programming has emerged as an effective approach to address these problems, while quantum annealing offers a complementary paradigm for solving quadratic unconstrained binary optimization problems. This paper introduces quSCP, a quantum-based sequential convex programming framework that reformulates each convex subproblem as a quadratic unconstrained binary optimization problem suitable for quantum and hybrid quantum–classical solvers. Equality, inequality, and trust-region constraints are embedded through quadratic penalty terms, while an iterative refinement strategy is used to reduce the accuracy loss introduced by binary discretization. The method is assessed on a fuel-optimal Earth–Mars low-thrust transfer by comparing standard sequential convex programming, a continuous quadratic unconstrained formulation, direct quantum processing unit sampling, and D-Wave hybrid solvers. Results show that quSCP produces physically consistent trajectories with propellant consumption and nonlinear constraint violations close to classical benchmarks. Direct quantum annealing is feasible only for small instances because of embedding overhead and hardware connectivity limits, whereas hybrid solvers scale to larger discretizations. Although no computational quantum advantage is demonstrated with current hardware, the results show that quantum and hybrid quantum–classical optimization can already provide competitive solutions for demanding trajectory design problems.
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Optimization and Control · Cross-listed from cond-mat.soft

Optimizing diffusion-limited transport, with applications to electrochemical systems

Transport in certain systems fails when diffusion cannot replenish or remove material from a boundary rapidly enough, causing the boundary concentration to reach a critical minimum or maximum. Motivated by experiments in electrochemical systems that demonstrate this diffusion-limited failure of charge transport, we determine dynamic current protocols that maximize charge transfer subject to a prescribed concentration constraint. The optimal protocol has a "bang-ride" structure: the maximum feasible current is used until the boundary concentration reaches its critical value, after which the current is progressively reduced to maintain that value. For semi-infinite domains, we derive the optimal currents analytically and obtain system-independent upper bounds on their improvement over constant-current operation. We also extend the framework to finite and multilayer domains and show that the same formulation applies to both charging and discharging.
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Optimization and Control · Cross-listed from cs.SC

The Indefinite Summation Problem for the Laurent Ring

This article solves the Indefinite Summation Problem (ISP) for the difference ring $(A, \alpha)$, where $A$ is the Laurent ring of shift operators on the lattice $\Z^n$, and $\alpha$ is any ring automorphism of $A$ of finite order. The solution translates to a finite procedure involving a matrix multiplication, where the size of the matrix can be estimated. It follows that the arithmetic complexity of the solution can also be determined. These results extend to a solution of the ISP for the ring of functions on $\Z^n$, on which $\alpha$ acts by duality. The article points out that the solution to the ISP amounts to calculating the group cohomologies $H^i([\alpha], A), i = 0, 1$, where $[\alpha]$ is the cyclic group generated by $\alpha$.
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Optimization and Control · Cross-listed from cs.LG

Subspace Levenberg Marquardt Algorithms in Training Neural Networks

The Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) algorithm is a well-known second-order method for rapid convergence and strong robustness when training small- to medium-sized neural networks (NNs). However, its computational and memory costs increase significantly as the number of parameters in an NN grows. To address this limitation, subspace methods have been proposed, such as the Krylov subspace LM (KSLM) and the hybrid subspace LM (HSLM), making second-order algorithms more efficient. In this work, we evaluate the subspace Levenberg-Marquardt algorithms for regression and classification tasks in neural networks. We compare the performance of subspace LM variants with the classical LM method, as well as other popular first-order algorithms, such as stochastic gradient descent (SGD) and Adam.
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Optimization and Control · Cross-listed from cs.AI

SOVER: Formal Certification of Optimization Reformulations via LLM-Assisted SMT Verification

Large Language Models (LLMs) have shown remarkable promise in translating and reformulating complex mathematical optimization problems across modeling languages. However, validating such transformations through empirical solver executions alone is unreliable, as solver outcomes may be affected by local minima, structural timeouts, numerical artifacts, and subtle semantic divergence between formulations. We introduce SOVER, an LLM-assisted SMT framework that separates semantic mapping from formal certification: Z3 checks domain cross-feasibility and global objective-order preservation for mixed-integer linear formulations, while dReal provides tolerance-aware feasibility/range and $\epsilon$-argmin checks for continuous nonlinear formulations. We also introduce NLEquiv-150, a public benchmark of 100 equivalent and 50 deliberately hard non-equivalent nonlinear reformulation pairs. With LLM-extracted mappings, SOVER classifies 149/150 pairs (99.33%) correctly, including all 50 hard negatives; the sole error is an incomplete mapping extraction.
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