Exercise · ZW-PROXIMAL-OPERATOR-006 · ★★☆ Intermediate

For \( f(u)=\lambda|u| \) with \( \lambda=2 \), what is \( \operatorname{prox}_{f}(-5) \)?

Choose one option.

Show answer
  • C. \( -3 \)

Explanation

Applying soft-thresholding, \( \operatorname{sign}(-5)\max(5-2,0)=-3 \). The option \( 3 \) forgets the sign of the argument.

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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 \( f(u)+\frac{1}{2}\|u-x\|^2 \).

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

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