Proximal Alternating Minimization and Projection Methods for Nonconvex Problems: An Approach Based on the Kurdyka-Łojasiewicz Inequality

We study the convergence properties of an alternating proximal minimization algorithm for nonconvex structured functions of the type: L(x,y)=f(x)+Q(x,y)+g(y), where f and g are proper lower semicontinuous functions, defined on Euclidean spaces, and Q is a smooth function that couples the variables x and y. The algorithm can be viewed as a proximal regularization of the usual Gauss-Seidel method to minimize L. We work in a nonconvex setting, just assuming that the function L satisfies the Kurdyka-Łojasiewicz inequality. An entire section illustrates the relevancy of such an assumption by giving examples ranging from semialgebraic geometry to “metrically regular” problems. Our main result can be stated as…