Michael Bartholomew-Biggs - Böcker

This book, like its companion volume Nonlinear Optimization with Financial Applications, is an outgrowth of undergraduate and po- graduate courses given at the University of Hertfordshire and the University of Bergamo. It deals with the theory behind numerical methods for nonlinear optimization and their application to a range of problems in science and engineering. The book is intended for ?nal year undergraduate students in mathematics (or other subjects with a high mathematical or computational content) and exercises are provided at the end of most sections. The material should also be useful for postg- duate students and other researchers and practitioners who may be c- cerned with the development or use of optimization algorithms. It is assumed that readers have an understanding of the algebra of matrices and vectors and of the Taylor and mean value theorems in several va- ables. Prior experience of using computational techniques for solving systems of linear equations is also desirable, as is familiarity with the behaviour of iterative algorithms such as Newton’s methodfor nonlinear equations in one variable. Most of the currently popular methods for continuous nonlinear optimization are described and given (at least) an intuitive justi?cation. Relevant convergence results are also outlined and we provide proofs of these when it seems instructive to do so. This theoretical material is complemented by numerical illustrations which give a ?avour of how the methods perform in practice.

The book introduces the key ideas behind practical nonlinear optimization. Computational finance – an increasingly popular area of mathematics degree programs – is combined here with the study of an important class of numerical techniques. The financial content of the book is designed to be relevant and interesting to specialists. However, this material – which occupies about one-third of the text – is also sufficiently accessible to allow the book to be used on optimization courses of a more general nature. The essentials of most currently popular algorithms are described, and their performance is demonstrated on a range of optimization problems arising in financial mathematics. Theoretical convergence properties of methods are stated, and formal proofs are provided in enough cases to be instructive rather than overwhelming. Practical behavior of methods is illustrated by computational examples and discussions of efficiency, accuracy and computational costs. Supporting software for the examples and exercises is available (but the text does not require the reader to use or understand these particular codes). The author has been active in optimization for over thirty years in algorithm development and application and in teaching and research supervision.

This book, like its companion volume Nonlinear Optimization with Financial Applications, is an outgrowth of undergraduate and po- graduate courses given at the University of Hertfordshire and the University of Bergamo. It deals with the theory behind numerical methods for nonlinear optimization and their application to a range of problems in science and engineering. The book is intended for ?nal year undergraduate students in mathematics (or other subjects with a high mathematical or computational content) and exercises are provided at the end of most sections. The material should also be useful for postg- duate students and other researchers and practitioners who may be c- cerned with the development or use of optimization algorithms. It is assumed that readers have an understanding of the algebra of matrices and vectors and of the Taylor and mean value theorems in several va- ables. Prior experience of using computational techniques for solving systems of linear equations is also desirable, as is familiarity with the behaviour of iterative algorithms such as Newton’s methodfor nonlinear equations in one variable. Most of the currently popular methods for continuous nonlinear optimization are described and given (at least) an intuitive justi?cation. Relevant convergence results are also outlined and we provide proofs of these when it seems instructive to do so. This theoretical material is complemented by numerical illustrations which give a ?avour of how the methods perform in practice.

The book introduces the key ideas behind practical nonlinear optimization. Computational finance – an increasingly popular area of mathematics degree programs – is combined here with the study of an important class of numerical techniques. The financial content of the book is designed to be relevant and interesting to specialists. However, this material – which occupies about one-third of the text – is also sufficiently accessible to allow the book to be used on optimization courses of a more general nature. The essentials of most currently popular algorithms are described, and their performance is demonstrated on a range of optimization problems arising in financial mathematics. Theoretical convergence properties of methods are stated, and formal proofs are provided in enough cases to be instructive rather than overwhelming. Practical behavior of methods is illustrated by computational examples and discussions of efficiency, accuracy and computational costs. Supporting software for the examples and exercises is available (but the text does not require the reader to use or understand these particular codes). The author has been active in optimization for over thirty years in algorithm development and application and in teaching and research supervision.