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We discuss the (first- and second-order) optimality conditions for nonlinear programming under the relaxed constant rank constraint qualification (RCRCQ). Although the optimality conditions are well established in the literature, the proofs presented here are based solely on the well-known inverse function theorem. This is the only prerequisite from real analysis used to establish two auxiliary results needed to prove the optimality conditions. To be precise, we provide a simple and alternative proof that RCRCQ is a constraint qualification that implies strong second-order optimality conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Augmented Lagrangian (AL) algorithms are very popular and successful methods for solving constrained optimization problems. Recently, global convergence analysis of these methods has been dramatically improved by using the notion of sequential optimality conditions. Such conditions are necessary for optimality, regardless of the fulfillment of any constraint qualifications, and provide theoretical tools to justify stopping criteria of several numerical optimization methods. Here, we introduce a new sequential optimality condition stronger than previously stated in the literature. We show that a well-established safeguarded Powell–Hestenes–Rockafellar (PHR) AL algorithm generates points that satisfy the new condition under a Lojasiewicz-type assumption, improving and unifying all the previous convergence results. Furthermore, we introduce a new primal–dual AL method capable of achieving such points without the Lojasiewicz hypothesis. We then propose a hybrid method in which the new strategy acts to help the safeguarded PHR method when it tends to fail. We show by preliminary numerical tests that all the problems already successfully solved by the safeguarded PHR method remain unchanged, while others where the PHR method failed are now solved with an acceptable additional computational cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this work we discuss global convergence of a general filter algorithm that depends neither on the definition of the forbidden region, which can be given by the original or slanting filter rule, nor on the way in which the step is computed. This algorithm basically consists of calculating a point not forbidden by the filter from the current point. Assuming that this step must be efficient, in the sense that near a feasible non-stationary point the decrease in the objective function is relatively large, we prove the global convergence of the algorithm. We also discuss that such a condition is satisfied if the step is computed by the SQP or Inexact Restoration methods. For SQP we present a general proof of this result that is valid for both the original and the slanting filter criterion. In order to compare the performance of the general filter algorithm according to the method used to calculate the step and the filter rule regarded, we present numerical experiments performed with problems from CUTEr collection. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In Gonzaga et al. [A globally convergent filter method for nonlinear programming, SIAM J. Optimiz. 14 (2003), pp. 646-669] we discuss general conditions to ensure global convergence of inexact restoration filter algorithms for non-linear programming. In this article we show how to avoid the Maratos effect by means of a second-order correction. The algorithms are based on feasibility and optimality phases, which can be either independent or not. The optimality phase differs from the original one only when a full Newton step for the tangential minimization of the Lagrangian is efficient but not acceptable by the filter method. In this case a second-order corrector step tries to produce an acceptable point keeping the efficiency of the rejected step. The resulting point is tested by trust region criteria. Under the usual hypotheses, the algorithm inherits the quadratic convergence properties of the feasibility and optimality phases. This article includes a comparison between classical Sequential Quadratic Programming (SQP) and Inexact Restoration (IR) iterations, showing that both methods share the same asymptotic convergence properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inexact Restoration methods have been introduced for solving nonlinear programming problems. Each iteration is composed of two phases. The first one reduces a measure of infeasibility, while in the second one the objective function value is reduced in a tangential approximation of the feasible set. The point obtained from the second phase is compared with the current point either by means of a merit function or by using a filter criterion. A comparative numerical study about these criteria by using a family of Hard-Spheres Problems is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a general filter algorithm that allows a great deal of freedom in the step computation. Each iteration of the algorithm consists basically in computing a point which is not forbidden by the filter, from the current point. We prove its global convergence, assuming that the step must be efficient, in the sense that, near a feasible nonstationary point, the reduction of the objective function is "large." We show that this condition is reasonable, by presenting two classical ways of performing the step which satisfy it. In the first one, the step is obtained by the inexact restoration method of Martínez and Pilotta. In the second, the step is computed by sequential quadratic programming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper, we present a general algorithm for nonlinear programming which uses a slanting filter criterion for accepting the new iterates. Independently of how these iterates are computed, we prove that all accumulation points of the sequence generated by the algorithm are feasible. Computing the new iterates by the inexact restoration method, we prove stationarity of all accumulation points of the sequence. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]