Distributed Optimization with Nonconvexities and Limited Communication

Abstract: In economical and sustainable operation of cyber-physical systems, a number of entities need to often cooperate over a communication network to solve optimization problems. A challenging aspect in the design of robust distributed solution algorithms to these optimization problems is that as technology advances and the networks grow larger, the communication bandwidth used to coordinate the solution is limited. Moreover, even though most research has focused distributed convex optimization, in cyberphysical systems nonconvex problems are often encountered, e.g., localization in wireless sensor networks and optimal power flow in smart grids, the solution of which poses major technical difficulties. Motivated by these challenges this thesis investigates distributed optimization with emphasis on limited communication for both convex and nonconvex structured problems. In particular, the thesis consists of four articles as summarized below.The first two papers investigate the convergence of distributed gradient solution methods for the resource allocation optimization problem, where gradient information is communicated at every iteration, using limited communication. In particular, the first paper investigates how distributed dual descent methods can perform demand-response in power networks by using one-way communication. To achieve the one-way communication, the power supplier first broadcasts a coordination signal to the users and then updates the coordination signal by using physical measurements related to the aggregated power usage. Since the users do not communicate back to the supplier, but instead they only take a measurable action, it is essential that the algorithm remains primal feasible at every iteration to avoid blackouts. The paper demonstrates how such blackouts can be avoided by appropriately choosing the algorithm parameters. Moreover, the convergence rate of the algorithm is investigated. The second paper builds on the work of the first paper and considers more general resource allocation problem with multiple resources. In particular, a general class of quantized gradient methods are studied where the gradient direction is approximated by a finite quantization set. Necessary and sufficient conditions on the quantization set are provided to guarantee the ability of these methods to solve a large class of dual problems. A lower bound on the cardinality of the quantization set is provided, along with specific examples of minimal quantizations. Furthermore, convergence rate results are established that connect the fineness of the quantization and number of iterations needed to reach a predefined solution accuracy. The results provide a bound on the number of bits needed to achieve the desired accuracy of the optimal solution.The third paper investigates a particular nonconvex resource allocation problem, the Optimal Power Flow (OPF) problem, which is of central importance in the operation of power networks. An efficient novel method to address the general nonconvex OPF problem is investigated, which is based on the Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM) combined with sequential convex approximations. The global OPF problem is decomposed into smaller problems associated to each bus of the network, the solutions of which are coordinated via a light communication protocol. Therefore, the proposed method is highly scalable. The convergence properties of the proposed algorithm are mathematically and numerically substantiated. The fourth paper builds on the third paper and investigates the convergence of distributed algorithms as in the third paper but for more general nonconvex optimization problems. In particular, two distributed solution methods, including ADMM, that combine the fast convergence properties of augmented Lagrangian-based methods with the separability properties of alternating optimization are investigated. The convergence properties of these methods are investigated and sufficient conditions under which the algorithms asymptotically reache the first order necessary conditions for optimality are established. Finally, the results are numerically illustrated on a nonconvex localization problem in wireless sensor networks.The results of this thesis advocate the promising convergence behaviour of some distributed optimization algorithms on nonconvex problems. Moreover, the results demonstrate the potential of solving convex distributed resource allocation problems using very limited communication bandwidth. Future work will consider how even more general convex and nonconvex problems can be solved using limited communication bandwidth and also study lower bounds on the bandwidth needed to solve general resource allocation optimization problems.