Adaptive Algorithms with Sharp Convergence Rates for Stochastic Hierarchical Optimization

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Gong, Xiaochuan, Hao, Jie, Liu, Mingrui
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Gong, Xiaochuan
Hao, Jie
Liu, Mingrui
author_facet Gong, Xiaochuan
Hao, Jie
Liu, Mingrui
contents Hierarchical optimization refers to problems with interdependent decision variables and objectives, such as minimax and bilevel formulations. While various algorithms have been proposed, existing methods and analyses lack adaptivity in stochastic optimization settings: they cannot achieve optimal convergence rates across a wide spectrum of gradient noise levels without prior knowledge of the noise magnitude. In this paper, we propose novel adaptive algorithms for two important classes of stochastic hierarchical optimization problems: nonconvex-strongly-concave minimax optimization and nonconvex-strongly-convex bilevel optimization. Our algorithms achieve sharp convergence rates of $\widetilde{O}(1/\sqrt{T} + \sqrt{\barσ}/T^{1/4})$ in $T$ iterations for the gradient norm, where $\barσ$ is an upper bound on the stochastic gradient noise. Notably, these rates are obtained without prior knowledge of the noise level, thereby enabling automatic adaptivity in both low and high-noise regimes. To our knowledge, this work provides the first adaptive and sharp convergence guarantees for stochastic hierarchical optimization. Our algorithm design combines the momentum normalization technique with novel adaptive parameter choices. Extensive experiments on synthetic and deep learning tasks demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithms.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_15399
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Adaptive Algorithms with Sharp Convergence Rates for Stochastic Hierarchical Optimization
Gong, Xiaochuan
Hao, Jie
Liu, Mingrui
Machine Learning
Optimization and Control
Hierarchical optimization refers to problems with interdependent decision variables and objectives, such as minimax and bilevel formulations. While various algorithms have been proposed, existing methods and analyses lack adaptivity in stochastic optimization settings: they cannot achieve optimal convergence rates across a wide spectrum of gradient noise levels without prior knowledge of the noise magnitude. In this paper, we propose novel adaptive algorithms for two important classes of stochastic hierarchical optimization problems: nonconvex-strongly-concave minimax optimization and nonconvex-strongly-convex bilevel optimization. Our algorithms achieve sharp convergence rates of $\widetilde{O}(1/\sqrt{T} + \sqrt{\barσ}/T^{1/4})$ in $T$ iterations for the gradient norm, where $\barσ$ is an upper bound on the stochastic gradient noise. Notably, these rates are obtained without prior knowledge of the noise level, thereby enabling automatic adaptivity in both low and high-noise regimes. To our knowledge, this work provides the first adaptive and sharp convergence guarantees for stochastic hierarchical optimization. Our algorithm design combines the momentum normalization technique with novel adaptive parameter choices. Extensive experiments on synthetic and deep learning tasks demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithms.
title Adaptive Algorithms with Sharp Convergence Rates for Stochastic Hierarchical Optimization
topic Machine Learning
Optimization and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.15399