Volume: 20 • Number: 5 • Pages: 2327-2351

We propose an algorithm for solving optimization problems defined on a subset of the cone of symmetric positive semidefinite matrices. This algorithm relies on the factorization X = YYT, where the number of columns of Y fixes an upper bound on the rank of the positive semidefinite matrix X. It is thus very effective for solving problems that have a low-rank solution. The factorization X = YYT leads to a reformulation of the original problem as an optimization on a particular quotient manifold. The present paper discusses the geometry of that manifold and derives a second-order optimization method with guaranteed quadratic convergence. It furthermore provides some conditions on the rank of the factorization to ensure equivalence with the original problem. In contrast to existing methods, the proposed algorithm converges monotonically to the sought solution. Its numerical efficiency is evaluated on two applications: the maximal cut of a graph and the problem of sparse principal component analysis.