Strict convexity and equivalent conditions












3














Let $f colon mathbb R^n to [0,+infty)$ be a convex, positively 1-homogeneous function, i.e. it holds
$$tag{1}
f(lambda x + (1-lambda)y) le lambda f(x) + (1-lambda) f(y), qquad forall lambda in [0,1], , forall x,y in mathbb R^n
$$

and
$$tag{2}
f(lambda x) = lambda f(x), qquad forall lambda >0, , x in mathbb R^n.
$$



Let me denote by $E_c := { f le c}$ the sub-level set at height $c$. I have been asked to show that Assumption (2) implies that the sub-level sets are homothetic. Indeed I have proved that
$E_c = cE_1$ for every $c>0$.




Now, assuming that $f$ is also of class $C^2(mathbb R^n)$, I have to investigate the validity of the following equivalence:



(A) The set $E_1$ is strictly convex;



(B) There exists $s>0$ such that
$$
nabla^2 f[x] (z,z) ge s vert z - (zcdot x)x vert^2
$$

for every $x,z in mathbb R^n$, being $nabla^2 f[x](z,z) = langle (nabla^2 f)(x) cdot z, z rangle$ the quadratic form associated to the Hessian matrix of $f$ (evaluated at $x$).



Q. Is it true that (A) iff (B)?




I have no idea on how to face the question, and I am looking for some intuition behind condition (B). What is it actually saying? How could it be related to sub-level sets?





ADDENDUM: I think I got some intuition behind condition (B). If I am not wrong that should be a uniform bound (from below) on the Gaussian curvature of the level set ${f=1}$ (assuming that all points are regular, i.e. $vert nabla f(x) vert ne 0$ for every $x in {f=1}$: is this assumption necessary?). This is an easy consequence of the formula contained in this page. Do you agree on this consideration? Now the question becomes: how is it possible to relate a (uniform) bound on the Gaussian curvature of the level set ${f=1}$ with the (strict) convexity of the set ${f le 1}$?



To me this makes sense, because the strict convexity of ${f le 1}$ roughly means that its boundary has no flat parts, and its boundary should be related to the level set - which has curvature bounded from below, i.e. it is well-round...










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This question has an open bounty worth +200
reputation from Romeo ending in 2 days.


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  • 1




    Can you explain the notation $ nabla^2 f[x] (z,z)$?
    – zhw.
    Jan 1 at 18:44






  • 1




    @zhw. It is simply the Hessian matrix of $f$ (computed at $x$) evaluated (as a quadratic form) on the vector $z$. I added clarification in the OP. Thanks for your comment.
    – Romeo
    Jan 1 at 19:51
















3














Let $f colon mathbb R^n to [0,+infty)$ be a convex, positively 1-homogeneous function, i.e. it holds
$$tag{1}
f(lambda x + (1-lambda)y) le lambda f(x) + (1-lambda) f(y), qquad forall lambda in [0,1], , forall x,y in mathbb R^n
$$

and
$$tag{2}
f(lambda x) = lambda f(x), qquad forall lambda >0, , x in mathbb R^n.
$$



Let me denote by $E_c := { f le c}$ the sub-level set at height $c$. I have been asked to show that Assumption (2) implies that the sub-level sets are homothetic. Indeed I have proved that
$E_c = cE_1$ for every $c>0$.




Now, assuming that $f$ is also of class $C^2(mathbb R^n)$, I have to investigate the validity of the following equivalence:



(A) The set $E_1$ is strictly convex;



(B) There exists $s>0$ such that
$$
nabla^2 f[x] (z,z) ge s vert z - (zcdot x)x vert^2
$$

for every $x,z in mathbb R^n$, being $nabla^2 f[x](z,z) = langle (nabla^2 f)(x) cdot z, z rangle$ the quadratic form associated to the Hessian matrix of $f$ (evaluated at $x$).



Q. Is it true that (A) iff (B)?




I have no idea on how to face the question, and I am looking for some intuition behind condition (B). What is it actually saying? How could it be related to sub-level sets?





ADDENDUM: I think I got some intuition behind condition (B). If I am not wrong that should be a uniform bound (from below) on the Gaussian curvature of the level set ${f=1}$ (assuming that all points are regular, i.e. $vert nabla f(x) vert ne 0$ for every $x in {f=1}$: is this assumption necessary?). This is an easy consequence of the formula contained in this page. Do you agree on this consideration? Now the question becomes: how is it possible to relate a (uniform) bound on the Gaussian curvature of the level set ${f=1}$ with the (strict) convexity of the set ${f le 1}$?



To me this makes sense, because the strict convexity of ${f le 1}$ roughly means that its boundary has no flat parts, and its boundary should be related to the level set - which has curvature bounded from below, i.e. it is well-round...










share|cite|improve this question

















This question has an open bounty worth +200
reputation from Romeo ending in 2 days.


This question has not received enough attention.












  • 1




    Can you explain the notation $ nabla^2 f[x] (z,z)$?
    – zhw.
    Jan 1 at 18:44






  • 1




    @zhw. It is simply the Hessian matrix of $f$ (computed at $x$) evaluated (as a quadratic form) on the vector $z$. I added clarification in the OP. Thanks for your comment.
    – Romeo
    Jan 1 at 19:51














3












3








3


0





Let $f colon mathbb R^n to [0,+infty)$ be a convex, positively 1-homogeneous function, i.e. it holds
$$tag{1}
f(lambda x + (1-lambda)y) le lambda f(x) + (1-lambda) f(y), qquad forall lambda in [0,1], , forall x,y in mathbb R^n
$$

and
$$tag{2}
f(lambda x) = lambda f(x), qquad forall lambda >0, , x in mathbb R^n.
$$



Let me denote by $E_c := { f le c}$ the sub-level set at height $c$. I have been asked to show that Assumption (2) implies that the sub-level sets are homothetic. Indeed I have proved that
$E_c = cE_1$ for every $c>0$.




Now, assuming that $f$ is also of class $C^2(mathbb R^n)$, I have to investigate the validity of the following equivalence:



(A) The set $E_1$ is strictly convex;



(B) There exists $s>0$ such that
$$
nabla^2 f[x] (z,z) ge s vert z - (zcdot x)x vert^2
$$

for every $x,z in mathbb R^n$, being $nabla^2 f[x](z,z) = langle (nabla^2 f)(x) cdot z, z rangle$ the quadratic form associated to the Hessian matrix of $f$ (evaluated at $x$).



Q. Is it true that (A) iff (B)?




I have no idea on how to face the question, and I am looking for some intuition behind condition (B). What is it actually saying? How could it be related to sub-level sets?





ADDENDUM: I think I got some intuition behind condition (B). If I am not wrong that should be a uniform bound (from below) on the Gaussian curvature of the level set ${f=1}$ (assuming that all points are regular, i.e. $vert nabla f(x) vert ne 0$ for every $x in {f=1}$: is this assumption necessary?). This is an easy consequence of the formula contained in this page. Do you agree on this consideration? Now the question becomes: how is it possible to relate a (uniform) bound on the Gaussian curvature of the level set ${f=1}$ with the (strict) convexity of the set ${f le 1}$?



To me this makes sense, because the strict convexity of ${f le 1}$ roughly means that its boundary has no flat parts, and its boundary should be related to the level set - which has curvature bounded from below, i.e. it is well-round...










share|cite|improve this question















Let $f colon mathbb R^n to [0,+infty)$ be a convex, positively 1-homogeneous function, i.e. it holds
$$tag{1}
f(lambda x + (1-lambda)y) le lambda f(x) + (1-lambda) f(y), qquad forall lambda in [0,1], , forall x,y in mathbb R^n
$$

and
$$tag{2}
f(lambda x) = lambda f(x), qquad forall lambda >0, , x in mathbb R^n.
$$



Let me denote by $E_c := { f le c}$ the sub-level set at height $c$. I have been asked to show that Assumption (2) implies that the sub-level sets are homothetic. Indeed I have proved that
$E_c = cE_1$ for every $c>0$.




Now, assuming that $f$ is also of class $C^2(mathbb R^n)$, I have to investigate the validity of the following equivalence:



(A) The set $E_1$ is strictly convex;



(B) There exists $s>0$ such that
$$
nabla^2 f[x] (z,z) ge s vert z - (zcdot x)x vert^2
$$

for every $x,z in mathbb R^n$, being $nabla^2 f[x](z,z) = langle (nabla^2 f)(x) cdot z, z rangle$ the quadratic form associated to the Hessian matrix of $f$ (evaluated at $x$).



Q. Is it true that (A) iff (B)?




I have no idea on how to face the question, and I am looking for some intuition behind condition (B). What is it actually saying? How could it be related to sub-level sets?





ADDENDUM: I think I got some intuition behind condition (B). If I am not wrong that should be a uniform bound (from below) on the Gaussian curvature of the level set ${f=1}$ (assuming that all points are regular, i.e. $vert nabla f(x) vert ne 0$ for every $x in {f=1}$: is this assumption necessary?). This is an easy consequence of the formula contained in this page. Do you agree on this consideration? Now the question becomes: how is it possible to relate a (uniform) bound on the Gaussian curvature of the level set ${f=1}$ with the (strict) convexity of the set ${f le 1}$?



To me this makes sense, because the strict convexity of ${f le 1}$ roughly means that its boundary has no flat parts, and its boundary should be related to the level set - which has curvature bounded from below, i.e. it is well-round...







real-analysis functions convex-analysis






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edited Jan 1 at 19:50

























asked Dec 30 '18 at 16:28









Romeo

2,99121048




2,99121048






This question has an open bounty worth +200
reputation from Romeo ending in 2 days.


This question has not received enough attention.








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reputation from Romeo ending in 2 days.


This question has not received enough attention.










  • 1




    Can you explain the notation $ nabla^2 f[x] (z,z)$?
    – zhw.
    Jan 1 at 18:44






  • 1




    @zhw. It is simply the Hessian matrix of $f$ (computed at $x$) evaluated (as a quadratic form) on the vector $z$. I added clarification in the OP. Thanks for your comment.
    – Romeo
    Jan 1 at 19:51














  • 1




    Can you explain the notation $ nabla^2 f[x] (z,z)$?
    – zhw.
    Jan 1 at 18:44






  • 1




    @zhw. It is simply the Hessian matrix of $f$ (computed at $x$) evaluated (as a quadratic form) on the vector $z$. I added clarification in the OP. Thanks for your comment.
    – Romeo
    Jan 1 at 19:51








1




1




Can you explain the notation $ nabla^2 f[x] (z,z)$?
– zhw.
Jan 1 at 18:44




Can you explain the notation $ nabla^2 f[x] (z,z)$?
– zhw.
Jan 1 at 18:44




1




1




@zhw. It is simply the Hessian matrix of $f$ (computed at $x$) evaluated (as a quadratic form) on the vector $z$. I added clarification in the OP. Thanks for your comment.
– Romeo
Jan 1 at 19:51




@zhw. It is simply the Hessian matrix of $f$ (computed at $x$) evaluated (as a quadratic form) on the vector $z$. I added clarification in the OP. Thanks for your comment.
– Romeo
Jan 1 at 19:51










1 Answer
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oldest

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The only function I can think of that satisfies all your conditions (convex, range $[0,infty)$, positively 1-homogeneous, $C^2$) is the function that always takes the value $0$.



You cannot have a positively 1-homogeneous function for which $E_1$ is strictly convex: the function is linear on the line segment ${ lambda x : f(lambda x) leq 1 } subseteq E_1$ (the line segment cannot be a single point or an empty set).



Now let's look at condition B. Since (2) holds for all $x$, the derivatives have to be equal as well: $lambdanabla f(lambda x) = lambda nabla f(x)$. It follows that $nabla f(lambda x)$ is the same for all $lambda$, so the second derivative at $0$ in the direction $z$ is $0$: $nabla^2f[0](z,z)=0$.



As neither condition (A) nor condition (B) can ever hold, they are equivalent.






share|cite|improve this answer





















  • First of all, thank you very much for your very interesting answer. May I ask some further questions? In the first line you wrote: convex, range $[0,+infty)$, pos 1-hom and $C^2$ imply identically vanishing. Can you provide a short proof of this elementary fact? I am not able to see it. Concerning assumption $A$, I see your point and I realized the question is ill-posed. What I actually have is that the boundary of the set ${fle 1}$ does not contain straight segments. Concerning assumption (B) I do not see your conclusion (the hessian vanishes hence...?). Thank you very much for your help.
    – Romeo
    yesterday










  • @Romeo First line: I do not have a proof but it's merely a conjecture ("the only function I can think of"). Part A: are you sure? Then $f(x)=0$ is a counterexample. Part B: the Hessian vanishes at 0 for all $z$, so the Hessian cannot be bounded below by $s|z|^2$.
    – LinAlg
    yesterday













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The only function I can think of that satisfies all your conditions (convex, range $[0,infty)$, positively 1-homogeneous, $C^2$) is the function that always takes the value $0$.



You cannot have a positively 1-homogeneous function for which $E_1$ is strictly convex: the function is linear on the line segment ${ lambda x : f(lambda x) leq 1 } subseteq E_1$ (the line segment cannot be a single point or an empty set).



Now let's look at condition B. Since (2) holds for all $x$, the derivatives have to be equal as well: $lambdanabla f(lambda x) = lambda nabla f(x)$. It follows that $nabla f(lambda x)$ is the same for all $lambda$, so the second derivative at $0$ in the direction $z$ is $0$: $nabla^2f[0](z,z)=0$.



As neither condition (A) nor condition (B) can ever hold, they are equivalent.






share|cite|improve this answer





















  • First of all, thank you very much for your very interesting answer. May I ask some further questions? In the first line you wrote: convex, range $[0,+infty)$, pos 1-hom and $C^2$ imply identically vanishing. Can you provide a short proof of this elementary fact? I am not able to see it. Concerning assumption $A$, I see your point and I realized the question is ill-posed. What I actually have is that the boundary of the set ${fle 1}$ does not contain straight segments. Concerning assumption (B) I do not see your conclusion (the hessian vanishes hence...?). Thank you very much for your help.
    – Romeo
    yesterday










  • @Romeo First line: I do not have a proof but it's merely a conjecture ("the only function I can think of"). Part A: are you sure? Then $f(x)=0$ is a counterexample. Part B: the Hessian vanishes at 0 for all $z$, so the Hessian cannot be bounded below by $s|z|^2$.
    – LinAlg
    yesterday


















0














The only function I can think of that satisfies all your conditions (convex, range $[0,infty)$, positively 1-homogeneous, $C^2$) is the function that always takes the value $0$.



You cannot have a positively 1-homogeneous function for which $E_1$ is strictly convex: the function is linear on the line segment ${ lambda x : f(lambda x) leq 1 } subseteq E_1$ (the line segment cannot be a single point or an empty set).



Now let's look at condition B. Since (2) holds for all $x$, the derivatives have to be equal as well: $lambdanabla f(lambda x) = lambda nabla f(x)$. It follows that $nabla f(lambda x)$ is the same for all $lambda$, so the second derivative at $0$ in the direction $z$ is $0$: $nabla^2f[0](z,z)=0$.



As neither condition (A) nor condition (B) can ever hold, they are equivalent.






share|cite|improve this answer





















  • First of all, thank you very much for your very interesting answer. May I ask some further questions? In the first line you wrote: convex, range $[0,+infty)$, pos 1-hom and $C^2$ imply identically vanishing. Can you provide a short proof of this elementary fact? I am not able to see it. Concerning assumption $A$, I see your point and I realized the question is ill-posed. What I actually have is that the boundary of the set ${fle 1}$ does not contain straight segments. Concerning assumption (B) I do not see your conclusion (the hessian vanishes hence...?). Thank you very much for your help.
    – Romeo
    yesterday










  • @Romeo First line: I do not have a proof but it's merely a conjecture ("the only function I can think of"). Part A: are you sure? Then $f(x)=0$ is a counterexample. Part B: the Hessian vanishes at 0 for all $z$, so the Hessian cannot be bounded below by $s|z|^2$.
    – LinAlg
    yesterday
















0












0








0






The only function I can think of that satisfies all your conditions (convex, range $[0,infty)$, positively 1-homogeneous, $C^2$) is the function that always takes the value $0$.



You cannot have a positively 1-homogeneous function for which $E_1$ is strictly convex: the function is linear on the line segment ${ lambda x : f(lambda x) leq 1 } subseteq E_1$ (the line segment cannot be a single point or an empty set).



Now let's look at condition B. Since (2) holds for all $x$, the derivatives have to be equal as well: $lambdanabla f(lambda x) = lambda nabla f(x)$. It follows that $nabla f(lambda x)$ is the same for all $lambda$, so the second derivative at $0$ in the direction $z$ is $0$: $nabla^2f[0](z,z)=0$.



As neither condition (A) nor condition (B) can ever hold, they are equivalent.






share|cite|improve this answer












The only function I can think of that satisfies all your conditions (convex, range $[0,infty)$, positively 1-homogeneous, $C^2$) is the function that always takes the value $0$.



You cannot have a positively 1-homogeneous function for which $E_1$ is strictly convex: the function is linear on the line segment ${ lambda x : f(lambda x) leq 1 } subseteq E_1$ (the line segment cannot be a single point or an empty set).



Now let's look at condition B. Since (2) holds for all $x$, the derivatives have to be equal as well: $lambdanabla f(lambda x) = lambda nabla f(x)$. It follows that $nabla f(lambda x)$ is the same for all $lambda$, so the second derivative at $0$ in the direction $z$ is $0$: $nabla^2f[0](z,z)=0$.



As neither condition (A) nor condition (B) can ever hold, they are equivalent.







share|cite|improve this answer












share|cite|improve this answer



share|cite|improve this answer










answered 2 days ago









LinAlg

8,4761521




8,4761521












  • First of all, thank you very much for your very interesting answer. May I ask some further questions? In the first line you wrote: convex, range $[0,+infty)$, pos 1-hom and $C^2$ imply identically vanishing. Can you provide a short proof of this elementary fact? I am not able to see it. Concerning assumption $A$, I see your point and I realized the question is ill-posed. What I actually have is that the boundary of the set ${fle 1}$ does not contain straight segments. Concerning assumption (B) I do not see your conclusion (the hessian vanishes hence...?). Thank you very much for your help.
    – Romeo
    yesterday










  • @Romeo First line: I do not have a proof but it's merely a conjecture ("the only function I can think of"). Part A: are you sure? Then $f(x)=0$ is a counterexample. Part B: the Hessian vanishes at 0 for all $z$, so the Hessian cannot be bounded below by $s|z|^2$.
    – LinAlg
    yesterday




















  • First of all, thank you very much for your very interesting answer. May I ask some further questions? In the first line you wrote: convex, range $[0,+infty)$, pos 1-hom and $C^2$ imply identically vanishing. Can you provide a short proof of this elementary fact? I am not able to see it. Concerning assumption $A$, I see your point and I realized the question is ill-posed. What I actually have is that the boundary of the set ${fle 1}$ does not contain straight segments. Concerning assumption (B) I do not see your conclusion (the hessian vanishes hence...?). Thank you very much for your help.
    – Romeo
    yesterday










  • @Romeo First line: I do not have a proof but it's merely a conjecture ("the only function I can think of"). Part A: are you sure? Then $f(x)=0$ is a counterexample. Part B: the Hessian vanishes at 0 for all $z$, so the Hessian cannot be bounded below by $s|z|^2$.
    – LinAlg
    yesterday


















First of all, thank you very much for your very interesting answer. May I ask some further questions? In the first line you wrote: convex, range $[0,+infty)$, pos 1-hom and $C^2$ imply identically vanishing. Can you provide a short proof of this elementary fact? I am not able to see it. Concerning assumption $A$, I see your point and I realized the question is ill-posed. What I actually have is that the boundary of the set ${fle 1}$ does not contain straight segments. Concerning assumption (B) I do not see your conclusion (the hessian vanishes hence...?). Thank you very much for your help.
– Romeo
yesterday




First of all, thank you very much for your very interesting answer. May I ask some further questions? In the first line you wrote: convex, range $[0,+infty)$, pos 1-hom and $C^2$ imply identically vanishing. Can you provide a short proof of this elementary fact? I am not able to see it. Concerning assumption $A$, I see your point and I realized the question is ill-posed. What I actually have is that the boundary of the set ${fle 1}$ does not contain straight segments. Concerning assumption (B) I do not see your conclusion (the hessian vanishes hence...?). Thank you very much for your help.
– Romeo
yesterday












@Romeo First line: I do not have a proof but it's merely a conjecture ("the only function I can think of"). Part A: are you sure? Then $f(x)=0$ is a counterexample. Part B: the Hessian vanishes at 0 for all $z$, so the Hessian cannot be bounded below by $s|z|^2$.
– LinAlg
yesterday






@Romeo First line: I do not have a proof but it's merely a conjecture ("the only function I can think of"). Part A: are you sure? Then $f(x)=0$ is a counterexample. Part B: the Hessian vanishes at 0 for all $z$, so the Hessian cannot be bounded below by $s|z|^2$.
– LinAlg
yesterday




















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