This work shows that a simple denominator-only regularization of the DBGD multiplier eliminates the need for such an assumption while preserving fast convergence rates, and improves upon the best assumption-free complexities.
Abstract
We investigate stochastic simple bilevel optimization with smooth and possibly nonconvex upper- and lower-level objectives. Existing stochastic extensions of dynamic barrier gradient descent (DBGD) either obtain fast convergence under an unverifiable trajectory-dependent ``rare-visit''assumption, or remove this assumption at a substantially higher oracle cost. We show that a simple denominator-only regularization of the DBGD multiplier eliminates the need for such an assumption while preserving fast convergence rates. Specifically, our method achieves $(\varepsilon, \varepsilon)$-stationarity in $O(\varepsilon^{-2})$ iterations using $O(\varepsilon^{-4})$ upper-level and $O(\varepsilon^{-7})$ lower-level stochastic gradients, which improves upon the best assumption-free complexities. We additionally derive anytime parameter schedules.
We study nonconvex--strongly-convex bilevel optimization under a stochastic first-order oracle. We introduce MRT-FD, a single-loop first-order method that simultaneously tracks the upper-level variable, the lower-level solution, and the auxiliary response arising from implicit differentiation of the hyperobjective. MRT...
We study the sample complexity of finding a point with expected hypergradient norm at most $\epsilon>0$ in nonconvex--strongly-convex stochastic bilevel optimization using fresh, globally unbiased first-order samples with bounded variance. For lower-variable smoothness order $p\ge1$, F$^2$SA-$p$ achieves $\widetilde O(...
Wen-Dao Wu, Hai-Han Zhang, Chen-Heng Zhang et al.· 0 citations
We study deterministic first-order bilevel optimization under weak lower-level convexity, allowing nonconvex lower-level objectives and without assuming strong convexity, the Polyak-{\L}ojasiewicz condition, or an error-bound property. We consider a $\delta$-relaxed Moreau-gap constraint, with $\delta>0$, for the lower...
Jan Harold Alcantara, Masahiro Inoue, Akiko Takeda· 0 citations
We study whether the linear condition-number dependence in the stochastic complexity of SAPD+ is necessary for nonconvex-strongly-concave minimax optimization. For jointly $L$-smooth objectives with dual strong-concavity parameter $\mu$, we prove a lower bound that matches the SAPD+ upper bound under the same Moreau-en...
We study the time-uniform convergence of the raw iterate of standard stochastic gradient descent (SGD) for unconstrained smooth convex objectives. We prove that, under standard noise assumptions, the time-uniform convergence rate gets arbitrarily close to $\sqrt{\log n / n}$ but never reaches it. More specifically, we...
We analyze a stochastic algorithm with Halpern-type anchoring for constrained convex-concave problems and monotone variational inequalities. This single-loop and single-call algorithm uses one unbiased sample of the gradient operator at every iteration, to be applicable to monotone games with noisy feedback. With $t$ d...
Jun-Hyun Kim, Ahmet Alacaoglu· arXiv.org· 1 citation
Related blog posts
MIT News · Artificial Intelligence· news.mit.eduNov 6, 2026
A machine-learning approach called CheMeleon provides a practical way to develop new drugs or other molecules with much less detailed, expensive experimentation.
Research Manager Mike Walker reflects on a career spanning hacker culture, cybersecurity, and AI, sharing lessons about trust, teamwork, leadership, and why solving difficult problems requires curiosity, judgment, agility—and an understanding of the rules. The post Learn the rules: The hacker mindset appeared first on Microsoft Research.
Learn how Google Antigravity and our Cheminformatics Skills accelerate drug discovery workflows, search compounds, and propose novel rigidified macrocycles.
We use cookies to run the site and, with your consent, for analytics and to show ads.
See our Cookie Policy.