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Main Authors: Choi, Jaeseok, Deo, Anand, Lagoa, Constantino, Subramanyam, Anirudh
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.17344
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author Choi, Jaeseok
Deo, Anand
Lagoa, Constantino
Subramanyam, Anirudh
author_facet Choi, Jaeseok
Deo, Anand
Lagoa, Constantino
Subramanyam, Anirudh
contents Chance-constrained optimization is a suitable modeling framework for safety-critical applications where violating constraints is nearly unacceptable. The scenario approach is a popular solution method for these problems, due to its straightforward implementation and ability to preserve problem structure. However, in the rare-event regime where constraint violations must be kept extremely unlikely, the scenario approach becomes computationally infeasible due to the excessively large sample sizes it demands. We address this limitation with a new yet straightforward decision-scaling method that relies exclusively on original data samples and a single scalar hyperparameter that scales the constraints in a way amenable to standard solvers. Our method leverages large deviation principles under mild nonparametric assumptions satisfied by commonly used distribution families in practice. For a broad class of problems satisfying certain practically verifiable structural assumptions, the method achieves a polynomial reduction in sample size requirements compared to the classical scenario approach, while also guaranteeing asymptotic feasibility in the rare-event regime. Numerical experiments spanning finance and engineering applications show that our decision-scaling method significantly expands the scope of problems that can be solved both efficiently and reliably.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_17344
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Decision-Scaled Scenario Approach for Rare Chance-Constrained Optimization
Choi, Jaeseok
Deo, Anand
Lagoa, Constantino
Subramanyam, Anirudh
Optimization and Control
90C15, 60F10, 65C05
Chance-constrained optimization is a suitable modeling framework for safety-critical applications where violating constraints is nearly unacceptable. The scenario approach is a popular solution method for these problems, due to its straightforward implementation and ability to preserve problem structure. However, in the rare-event regime where constraint violations must be kept extremely unlikely, the scenario approach becomes computationally infeasible due to the excessively large sample sizes it demands. We address this limitation with a new yet straightforward decision-scaling method that relies exclusively on original data samples and a single scalar hyperparameter that scales the constraints in a way amenable to standard solvers. Our method leverages large deviation principles under mild nonparametric assumptions satisfied by commonly used distribution families in practice. For a broad class of problems satisfying certain practically verifiable structural assumptions, the method achieves a polynomial reduction in sample size requirements compared to the classical scenario approach, while also guaranteeing asymptotic feasibility in the rare-event regime. Numerical experiments spanning finance and engineering applications show that our decision-scaling method significantly expands the scope of problems that can be solved both efficiently and reliably.
title Decision-Scaled Scenario Approach for Rare Chance-Constrained Optimization
topic Optimization and Control
90C15, 60F10, 65C05
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.17344