Newton’s method for minimizing a convex function
if ∇2g(x) is positive definite everywhere, we can minimize g(x) by solving
∇g(x) = 0
using Newton’s method
given initial x, tolerance ǫ > 0
repeat
1. evaluate ∇g(x) and ∇2g(x).
2. if k∇g(x)k ≤ ǫ, return x.
3. Solve ∇2g(x)v = −∇g(x).
4. x := x + v .
until maximum number of iterations is exceeded
• v = −∇2g(x)−1∇g(x) is called the Newton step at x
• converges if started sufficiently close to the solution
Unconstrained minimization 13-15
Newton’s method with backtracking line search
use update x+ = x + tv; choose t so that g(x+) < g(x)
given initial x, tolerance ǫ > 0, parameter α ∈ (0, 1/2).
repeat
1. evaluate ∇g(x) and ∇2g(x).
2. if k∇g(x)k ≤ ǫ, return x.
3. Solve ∇2g(x)v = −∇g(x).
4. t := 1.
while g(x + tv) > g(x) + αt∇g(x)T v , t := t/2.
5. x := x + tv .
until maximum number of iterations is exceeded
• typical values of α are small (e.g., α = 0.01)
• t is called the step size
• inner loop is called backtracking line search
Unconstrained minimization 13-19
solution: always use a descent direction v, for example, v = −∇g(x)
given initial x, tolerance ǫ > 0, parameter α ∈ (0, 1/2).
repeat
1. evaluate ∇g(x) and ∇2g(x).
2. if k∇g(x)k ≤ ǫ, return x.
3. if ∇2g(x) is positive definite, solve ∇2g(x)v = −∇g(x) for v
else, v := −∇g(x).
4. t := 1.
while g(x + tv) > g(x) + αt∇g(x)T v, t := t/2.
5. x := x + tv.
until maximum number of iterations is exceeded
practical methods use more sophisticated choices of v if ∇2g(x) is not
positive definite
Unconstrained minimization 13-25