Revisiting implicit variables in mathematical optimization: simplified modeling and a numerical evidence

Fuente: arXiv
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Autor principal: Mehlitz, Patrick
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2025
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author Mehlitz, Patrick
author_facet Mehlitz, Patrick
contents Implicit variables of an optimization problem are used to model variationally challenging feasibility conditions in a tractable way while not entering the objective function. Hence, it is a standard approach to treat implicit variables as explicit ones. Recently, it has been shown in terms of a comparatively complex model problem that this approach, generally, is theoretically disadvantageous as the surrogate problem typically suffers from the presence of artificial stationary points and the need for stronger constraint qualifications. The purpose of the present paper is twofold. First, it introduces a much simpler and easier accessible model problem which can be used to recapitulate and even broaden the aforementioned findings. Indeed, we will extend the analysis to two more classes of stationary points and the associated constraint qualifications. These theoretical results are accompanied by illustrative examples from cardinality-constrained, vanishing-constrained, and bilevel optimization. Second, the present paper illustrates, in terms of cardinality-constrained portfolio optimization problems, that treating implicit variables as explicit ones may also be disadvantageous from a numerical point of view.
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id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_16902
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Revisiting implicit variables in mathematical optimization: simplified modeling and a numerical evidence
Mehlitz, Patrick
Optimization and Control
49J53, 90C30, 90C33
Implicit variables of an optimization problem are used to model variationally challenging feasibility conditions in a tractable way while not entering the objective function. Hence, it is a standard approach to treat implicit variables as explicit ones. Recently, it has been shown in terms of a comparatively complex model problem that this approach, generally, is theoretically disadvantageous as the surrogate problem typically suffers from the presence of artificial stationary points and the need for stronger constraint qualifications. The purpose of the present paper is twofold. First, it introduces a much simpler and easier accessible model problem which can be used to recapitulate and even broaden the aforementioned findings. Indeed, we will extend the analysis to two more classes of stationary points and the associated constraint qualifications. These theoretical results are accompanied by illustrative examples from cardinality-constrained, vanishing-constrained, and bilevel optimization. Second, the present paper illustrates, in terms of cardinality-constrained portfolio optimization problems, that treating implicit variables as explicit ones may also be disadvantageous from a numerical point of view.
title Revisiting implicit variables in mathematical optimization: simplified modeling and a numerical evidence
topic Optimization and Control
49J53, 90C30, 90C33
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.16902