Computer-aided analyses of stochastic first-order methods, via interpolation conditions for stochastic optimization

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Rubbens, Anne, Colla, Sébastien, Hendrickx, Julien M.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866909979467841536
author Rubbens, Anne
Colla, Sébastien
Hendrickx, Julien M.
author_facet Rubbens, Anne
Colla, Sébastien
Hendrickx, Julien M.
contents This work proposes a framework, embedded within the Performance Estimation framework (PEP), for obtaining worst-case performance guarantees on stochastic first-order methods. Given a first-order method, a function class, and a noise model with prescribed expectation and variance properties, we present a semidefinite program (SDP), whose size grows linearly with $N$, the number of iterations analyzed, and whose solution yields a convergence guarantee on the problem. The framework accommodates a wide range of stochastic settings, with finite or infinite support, including the unstructured noise model with bounded variance, finite-sum optimization, and block-coordinate methods, in a unified manner, as guarantees apply to any setting consistent with the noise model, i.e., its expectation and variance. It covers both non-variance-reduced and variance-reduced methods. Using the framework, we analyze the stochastic gradient method under several noise models, and illustrate how the resulting numerical and analytical convergence rates connect with existing results. In particular, we provide improved convergence rates on the unstructured noise model with bounded variance and in the block-coordinate setting.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_05466
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Computer-aided analyses of stochastic first-order methods, via interpolation conditions for stochastic optimization
Rubbens, Anne
Colla, Sébastien
Hendrickx, Julien M.
Optimization and Control
This work proposes a framework, embedded within the Performance Estimation framework (PEP), for obtaining worst-case performance guarantees on stochastic first-order methods. Given a first-order method, a function class, and a noise model with prescribed expectation and variance properties, we present a semidefinite program (SDP), whose size grows linearly with $N$, the number of iterations analyzed, and whose solution yields a convergence guarantee on the problem. The framework accommodates a wide range of stochastic settings, with finite or infinite support, including the unstructured noise model with bounded variance, finite-sum optimization, and block-coordinate methods, in a unified manner, as guarantees apply to any setting consistent with the noise model, i.e., its expectation and variance. It covers both non-variance-reduced and variance-reduced methods. Using the framework, we analyze the stochastic gradient method under several noise models, and illustrate how the resulting numerical and analytical convergence rates connect with existing results. In particular, we provide improved convergence rates on the unstructured noise model with bounded variance and in the block-coordinate setting.
title Computer-aided analyses of stochastic first-order methods, via interpolation conditions for stochastic optimization
topic Optimization and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.05466