Exercise · ZW-PROXIMAL-OPERATOR-002 · ★☆☆ Basic

For \( f(u)=\frac{1}{2}u^2 \), what is the proximal operator at \( x \)?

Choose one option.

Show answer
  • C. \( \frac{x}{2} \)

Explanation

Differentiating \( \frac{1}{2}u^2+\frac{1}{2}(u-x)^2 \) and setting it to zero gives \( u=\frac{x}{2} \). The option \( 2x \) results from a sign error in the quadratic derivative.

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Review the concept: Proximal operator

The proximal operator of a convex function \( f \) maps each point \( x \) to the unique minimizer of \( f(u)+\frac{1}{2}\|u-x\|^2 \).

\[\operatorname{prox}_{f}(x)=\arg\min_{u}\left\{f(u)+\tfrac{1}{2}\|u-x\|^2\right\}\]

More practice problems: proximal operator

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