Recall that in the context of Fenchel–Rockafellar duality, the primal problem is defined by

246 Views Asked by At

Let X and Y be two Hilbert spaces. Let $f : X \rightarrow ]-\infty, +\infty]$ be convex and lower semicontinuous, let $A : X \rightarrow Y$ be linear, and let $g: Y \rightarrow ]-\infty,+\infty]$ be convex and lower semicontinuous. Recall that in the context of Fenchel–Rockafellar duality, the primal problem is defined by

$(P)\qquad p := \inf_{x\in X} f(x) + g(Ax)$

and the dual problem is

$(D)\qquad d := \inf_{y\in Y} f^*(-A^*y) + g^*(y),$

where $A^*$ denote the conjugate/transpose of A. Let $\bar{x}\in X$ and $\bar{y}\in Y$ . Show that the following are equivalent:

(i) $\;\;\bar{x} $ is a primal solution, $\bar{y}$ is a dual solution, and $p = -d$.

(ii) $-A^*\bar{y}\in\partial f(\bar{x})$ and $\bar{y}\in\partial g(A\bar{x}).$

(iii) $\;\;\bar{x}\in\partial f^*(-A^* \bar{y})\cap A^{-1}\partial g^*(\bar{y})$.

I believe I can show $(i)\Rightarrow (ii)$ as follows

\begin{align} (i)&\Rightarrow f(\bar{x}) + g(A\bar{x})=p=-d=-f^*(-A^*\bar{y}) + g^*(\bar{y})\\ &\Rightarrow f(\bar{x})+g(A\bar{x})=-f^*(-A^*\bar{y}) + g^*(\bar{y})\\ &\Rightarrow (f(\bar{x})+f^*(-A^*\bar{y})-\langle \bar{x},-A^*\bar{y}\rangle)+(g(A\bar{x})+g^*(\bar{y})-\langle A\bar{x},\bar{y}\rangle)=0\\ &\Rightarrow -A^*\bar{y}\in\partial f(\bar{x}) \text{ and } \bar{y}\in\partial g(A\bar{x}). \end{align}

but I am looking for pointers with the other two implication.

1

There are 1 best solutions below

0
On

The proof (i) implies (ii) is correct and reversible, so (i) and (ii) are equivalent. To see that (ii) and (iii) are equivalent, observe that $(\partial f)^{-1} = \partial f^*$ and $(\partial g)^{-1}=\partial g^*$.