Central Swaths (A Generalization of the Central Path)
For convex optimization researchers, this provides a theoretical framework for potentially faster interior-point methods.
The paper generalizes the central path of interior-point methods using derivative cones of hyperbolicity cones, proving that the resulting paths always converge to optimality and may converge faster than the central path.
We develop a natural generalization to the notion of the central path -- a notion that lies at the heart of interior-point methods for convex optimization. The generalization is accomplished via the "derivative cones" of a "hyperbolicity cone," the derivatives being direct and mathematically-appealing relaxations of the underlying (hyperbolic) conic constraint, be it the non-negative orthant, the cone of positive semidefinite matrices, or other. We prove that a dynamics inherent to the derivative cones generates paths always leading to optimality, the central path arising from a special case in which the derivative cones are quadratic. Derivative cones of higher degree better fit the underlying conic constraint, raising the prospect that the paths they generate lead to optimality quicker than the central path.