Exercise · ZW-LINE-SEARCH-006 · ★★☆ Intermediate

With \(f(x)=x^2\), \(x_k=1\), \(p_k=-2\), \(c_1=0.5\) and \(\rho=0.5\), which step does backtracking accept if it starts at \(\alpha=1\)?

Choose one option.

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  • A. \(\alpha=\tfrac12\)

Explanation

With \(\alpha=1\) the point \(-1\) gives \(f=1\), above the bound \(-1\), so it fails. Halving it gives the point \(0\), which satisfies the condition, and backtracking stops there.

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Review the concept: Line search

Line search is a procedure that chooses the step size \(\alpha\) along a descent direction \(p_k\) to reduce the value of the objective function.

\[f(x_k+\alpha p_k)\le f(x_k)+c_1\alpha\nabla f(x_k)^\top p_k\]

More practice problems: line search

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