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Robust optimization is still a relatively new approach to optimization problems affected by uncertainty, but it has already proved so useful in real applications that it is difficult to tackle such problems today without considering this powerful methodology. Written by the principal developers of robust optimization, and describing the main achievements of a decade of research, this is the first book to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date account of the subject. Robust optimization is designed to meet some major challenges associated with uncertainty-affected optimization problems: to operate under lack of full information on the nature of uncertainty; to model the problem in a form that can be solved efficiently; and to provide guarantees about the performance of the solution. The book starts with a relatively simple treatment of uncertain linear programming, proceeding with a deep analysis of the interconnections between the construction of appropriate uncertainty sets and the classical chance constraints (probabilistic) approach. It then develops the robust optimization theory for uncertain conic quadratic and semidefinite optimization problems and dynamic (multistage) problems. The theory is supported by numerous examples and computational illustrations. An essential book for anyone working on optimization and decision making under uncertainty, Robust Optimization also makes an ideal graduate textbook on the subject.

The modeling of stochastic dependence is fundamental for understanding random systems evolving in time. When measured through linear correlation, many of these systems exhibit a slow correlation decay--a phenomenon often referred to as long-memory or long-range dependence. An example of this is the absolute returns of equity data in finance. Selfsimilar stochastic processes (particularly fractional Brownian motion) have long been postulated as a means to model this behavior, and the concept of selfsimilarity for a stochastic process is now proving to be extraordinarily useful. Selfsimilarity translates into the equality in distribution between the process under a linear time change and the same process properly scaled in space, a simple scaling property that yields a remarkably rich theory with far-flung applications. After a short historical overview, this book describes the current state of knowledge about selfsimilar processes and their applications. Concepts, definitions and basic properties are emphasized, giving the reader a road map of the realm of selfsimilarity that allows for further exploration. Such topics as noncentral limit theory, long-range dependence, and operator selfsimilarity are covered alongside statistical estimation, simulation, sample path properties, and stochastic differential equations driven by selfsimilar processes. Numerous references point the reader to current applications. Though the text uses the mathematical language of the theory of stochastic processes, researchers and end-users from such diverse fields as mathematics, physics, biology, telecommunications, finance, econometrics, and environmental science will find it an ideal entry point for studying the already extensive theory and applications of selfsimilarity.

Research on interior-point methods (IPMs) has dominated the field of mathematical programming for the last two decades. Two contrasting approaches in the analysis and implementation of IPMs are the so-called small-update and large-update methods, although, until now, there has been a notorious gap between the theory and practical performance of these two strategies. This book comes close to bridging that gap, presenting a new framework for the theory of primal-dual IPMs based on the notion of the self-regularity of a function. The authors deal with linear optimization, nonlinear complementarity problems, semidefinite optimization, and second-order conic optimization problems. The framework also covers large classes of linear complementarity problems and convex optimization. The algorithm considered can be interpreted as a path-following method or a potential reduction method. Starting from a primal-dual strictly feasible point, the algorithm chooses a search direction defined by some Newton-type system derived from the self-regular proximity. The iterate is then updated, with the iterates staying in a certain neighborhood of the central path until an approximate solution to the problem is found. By extensively exploring some intriguing properties of self-regular functions, the authors establish that the complexity of large-update IPMs can come arbitrarily close to the best known iteration bounds of IPMs. Researchers and postgraduate students in all areas of linear and nonlinear optimization will find this book an important and invaluable aid to their work.

Provides surveys of the uses and concepts of entropy in diverse areas of mathematics and the physical sciences. This book starts by providing basic concepts and terminology, illustrated by examples from both the macroscopic and microscopic lines of thought. In-depth surveys covering the macroscopic, microscopic and probabilistic approaches follow.

Presents an introduction to the theory of algebraic curves over a finite field, a subject that has applications in areas such as finite geometry, number theory, error-correcting codes, and cryptology. This book emphasizes the algebraic geometry rather than the function field approach to algebraic curves.