Degree Bounds for Positivstellensätze of general semialgebraic sets

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Heijmans-Kuryatnikova, Olga, Vera, Juan C., Zuluaga, Luis F.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866917513890103296
author Heijmans-Kuryatnikova, Olga
Vera, Juan C.
Zuluaga, Luis F.
author_facet Heijmans-Kuryatnikova, Olga
Vera, Juan C.
Zuluaga, Luis F.
contents Let $p_{\min}$ denote the minimum of a polynomial $p$ over a (general) compact semialgebraic set $S \subseteq \mathbb{R}^n$. A standard way to approximate $p_{\min}$ is via hierarchies built from Positivstellensätze, which certify nonnegativity of polynomials on $S$ using sums of squares or other classes of globally nonnegative polynomials. As the degree of the certificate grows, the values generated by these hierarchies converge asymptotically to $p_{\min}$. A natural question is, then, to determine explicit bounds on the certificate's degree needed to obtain a prescribed $\varepsilon$-approximation to $p_{\min}$, or equivalently certify the positivity of $f:=p - p_{\min} + \varepsilon$ on $S$. We improve the current best degree bounds for Putinar's and Schmüdgen's SOS-Positivstellensatz over $S$. Also, we obtain degree bounds for Krivine--Stengle's and the recently introduced extended-Handelman's $\mathbb{R}_+$-Positivstellensätze over $S$; providing the first explicit degree bounds for linear optimization-based hierarchies over general compact semialgebraic sets. Our approach is based on a lift-and-project construction in which we add new variables to construct an algebraic representation of the distance to the set $S$ using Łojasiewicz's inequality. This lets us lift the problem of certifying the positivity of $f$ on the (complex) set $S$ to the problem of certifying the positivity of a related polynomial $F$ on a higher-dimensional hypercube. By projecting out the added variables, non-negativity certificates for $F$ on the hypercube become non-negativity certificates for $f$ on $S$. Our approach offers a unified methodology to obtain degree bounds for several Positivstellensatz-based hierarchies over general compact sets, narrowing the gap between results for the hypercube (or other simple sets) and more general semialgebraic sets.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_15821
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Degree Bounds for Positivstellensätze of general semialgebraic sets
Heijmans-Kuryatnikova, Olga
Vera, Juan C.
Zuluaga, Luis F.
Optimization and Control
90C23
Let $p_{\min}$ denote the minimum of a polynomial $p$ over a (general) compact semialgebraic set $S \subseteq \mathbb{R}^n$. A standard way to approximate $p_{\min}$ is via hierarchies built from Positivstellensätze, which certify nonnegativity of polynomials on $S$ using sums of squares or other classes of globally nonnegative polynomials. As the degree of the certificate grows, the values generated by these hierarchies converge asymptotically to $p_{\min}$. A natural question is, then, to determine explicit bounds on the certificate's degree needed to obtain a prescribed $\varepsilon$-approximation to $p_{\min}$, or equivalently certify the positivity of $f:=p - p_{\min} + \varepsilon$ on $S$. We improve the current best degree bounds for Putinar's and Schmüdgen's SOS-Positivstellensatz over $S$. Also, we obtain degree bounds for Krivine--Stengle's and the recently introduced extended-Handelman's $\mathbb{R}_+$-Positivstellensätze over $S$; providing the first explicit degree bounds for linear optimization-based hierarchies over general compact semialgebraic sets. Our approach is based on a lift-and-project construction in which we add new variables to construct an algebraic representation of the distance to the set $S$ using Łojasiewicz's inequality. This lets us lift the problem of certifying the positivity of $f$ on the (complex) set $S$ to the problem of certifying the positivity of a related polynomial $F$ on a higher-dimensional hypercube. By projecting out the added variables, non-negativity certificates for $F$ on the hypercube become non-negativity certificates for $f$ on $S$. Our approach offers a unified methodology to obtain degree bounds for several Positivstellensatz-based hierarchies over general compact sets, narrowing the gap between results for the hypercube (or other simple sets) and more general semialgebraic sets.
title Degree Bounds for Positivstellensätze of general semialgebraic sets
topic Optimization and Control
90C23
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.15821