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A function f is concave over a convex set if and only if the function −f is a convex function over the set. The sum of two concave functions is itself concave and so is the pointwise minimum of two concave functions, i.e. the set of concave functions on a given domain form a semifield.
The term convex is often referred to as convex down or concave upward, and the term concave is often referred as concave down or convex upward. [3] [4] [5] If the term "convex" is used without an "up" or "down" keyword, then it refers strictly to a cup shaped graph .
Convex optimization is a subfield of mathematical optimization that studies the problem of minimizing convex functions over convex sets (or, equivalently, maximizing concave functions over convex sets). Many classes of convex optimization problems admit polynomial-time algorithms, [1] whereas mathematical optimization is in general NP-hard. [2 ...
The second derivative of a function f can be used to determine the concavity of the graph of f. [2] A function whose second derivative is positive is said to be concave up (also referred to as convex), meaning that the tangent line near the point where it touches the function will lie below the graph of the function.
In mathematics, concavification is the process of converting a non-concave function to a concave function. A related concept is convexification – converting a non-convex function to a convex function. It is especially important in economics and mathematical optimization. [1]
The following are among the properties of log-concave distributions: If a density is log-concave, so is its cumulative distribution function (CDF). If a multivariate density is log-concave, so is the marginal density over any subset of variables. The sum of two independent log-concave random variables is log-concave. This follows from the fact ...
The convex-hull operation is needed for the set of convex sets to form a lattice, in which the "join" operation is the convex hull of the union of two convex sets = = ( ()). The intersection of any collection of convex sets is itself convex, so the convex subsets of a (real or complex) vector space form a complete lattice .
Convex analysis includes not only the study of convex subsets of Euclidean spaces but also the study of convex functions on abstract spaces. Convex analysis is the branch of mathematics devoted to the study of properties of convex functions and convex sets , often with applications in convex minimization , a subdomain of optimization theory .