Seminar Details
2026-02-24 (14:00) : A passivity-based perspective on distributed optimization and its acceleration
At Euler building (room A.002)
Organized by Mathematical Engineering
Speaker :
Ivano Notarnicola (University of Bologna)
Abstract :
This talk revisits the classical gradient method for unconstrained optimization through the lens of control theory. By explicitly interpreting the gradient method as a feedback interconnection between a linear dynamical system and a static nonlinearity associated to the cost function gradient, we uncover an underlying control-theoretic structure. Within this framework, linear convergence is established using arguments from passivity theory. This system-theoretic viewpoint further reveals that the gradient method can also be interpreted as a feedback-controlled static nonlinearity, opening the door to an unconventional interpretation of accelerated schemes. Finally, the same passivity-based tools are also applied to consensus optimization problems, yielding a unified framework for the design and analysis of distributed gradient methods and their acceleration.