Scenario Reduction for Distributionally Robust Optimization

Fuente: arXiv
Salvato in:
Dettagli Bibliografici
Autori principali: Aigner, Kevin-Martin, Denzler, Sebastian, Liers, Frauke, Pokutta, Sebastian, Sharma, Kartikey
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
Soggetti:
Accesso online:
Tags: Aggiungi Tag
Nessun Tag, puoi essere il primo ad aggiungerne!!
_version_ 1866914378927833088
author Aigner, Kevin-Martin
Denzler, Sebastian
Liers, Frauke
Pokutta, Sebastian
Sharma, Kartikey
author_facet Aigner, Kevin-Martin
Denzler, Sebastian
Liers, Frauke
Pokutta, Sebastian
Sharma, Kartikey
contents Stochastic and (distributionally) robust optimization problems often become computationally challenging as the number of scenarios or data points increases. Scenario reduction is therefore a key technique for improving tractability. We introduce a general scenario reduction method for distributionally robust optimization (DRO), which includes stochastic and robust optimization as special cases. Our approach constructs the reduced DRO problem by projecting the original ambiguity set onto a reduced set of scenarios. Under mild conditions, we establish bounds on the relative quality of the reduction. The methodology is applicable to random variables following either discrete or continuous probability distributions, with representative scenarios appropriately selected in both cases. Given the relevance of optimization problems with linear and quadratic objectives, we further refine our approach for these settings. Finally, we demonstrate its effectiveness through numerical experiments on mixed-integer benchmark instances from MIPLIB and portfolio optimization problems. Our results show that the proposed approximation significantly reduces solution time while maintaining high solution quality with only minor errors.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_11484
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Scenario Reduction for Distributionally Robust Optimization
Aigner, Kevin-Martin
Denzler, Sebastian
Liers, Frauke
Pokutta, Sebastian
Sharma, Kartikey
Optimization and Control
49
Stochastic and (distributionally) robust optimization problems often become computationally challenging as the number of scenarios or data points increases. Scenario reduction is therefore a key technique for improving tractability. We introduce a general scenario reduction method for distributionally robust optimization (DRO), which includes stochastic and robust optimization as special cases. Our approach constructs the reduced DRO problem by projecting the original ambiguity set onto a reduced set of scenarios. Under mild conditions, we establish bounds on the relative quality of the reduction. The methodology is applicable to random variables following either discrete or continuous probability distributions, with representative scenarios appropriately selected in both cases. Given the relevance of optimization problems with linear and quadratic objectives, we further refine our approach for these settings. Finally, we demonstrate its effectiveness through numerical experiments on mixed-integer benchmark instances from MIPLIB and portfolio optimization problems. Our results show that the proposed approximation significantly reduces solution time while maintaining high solution quality with only minor errors.
title Scenario Reduction for Distributionally Robust Optimization
topic Optimization and Control
49
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.11484