Improving ultimate convergence of an augmented Lagrangian method

Optimization methods that employ the classical Powell-Hestenes-Rockafellar Augmented Lagrangian are useful tools for solving Nonlinear Programming problems. Their reputation decreased in the last ten years due to the comparative success of Interior-Point Newtonian algorithms, which are asymptotically faster. In the present research a combination of both approaches is evaluated. The idea is to produce a competitive method, being more robust and efficient than its “pure” counterparts for critical problems. Moreover, an additional hybrid algorithm is defined, in which the Interior Point method is replaced by the Newtonian resolution of a KKT system identified by the Augmented Lagrangian algorithm. The software used in this work is freely available through the Tango Project web page: http://www.ime.usp.br/∼egbirgin/tango/.