0

I want to know how can i solve the following minimization problem with matlab:

A is a semi-positive definite matrix. (All eigenvalues are greater or iqual than 0) F=F(x_1,...,x_n,y_1,y_2) = (F_1,...,F_2n) is a linear function.

i want to find (x_1,...,x_n,y_1,y_2) so that:

F*A*F' is minimum. There are no restriction in the variables, but notice that there are substantially less than the vector length.

I am trying to minicime a statistical distance. I can't find on the web what functions to use.

Thanks in advance.

Manuel
  • 125
  • 1
  • 6

1 Answers1

1

for unconstrained optimization in MATLAB you can use fminunc. To do so, you can define your cost function:

function z = costfun(x)
f = F*A*F';    % where F is a function of x=[x_1,...y_n]

then call fminunc to find the minimum. Vector x0 is provided as a starting point for searching.

[x,zval] = fminunc(@costfun,x0);
ramino
  • 488
  • 4
  • 12
  • 1
    Thanks @ramino. It's an interesting function i wasn't aware of. Anyway I found a specific function for my problem. x = quadprog(H,f,A,b,Aeq,beq). The problem it can actually be formulated as a quadratic programming. – Manuel Aug 28 '13 at 00:51