Using approximate secant equations in limited memory methods for multilevel unconstrained optimization

The properties of multilevel optimization problems defined on a hierarchy of discretization grids can be used to define approximate secant equations, which describe the second-order behavior of the objective function. Following earlier work by Gratton and Toint (2009) we introduce a quasi-Newton method (with a linesearch) and a nonlinear conjugate gradient method that both take advantage of this new second-order information. We then present numerical experiments with these methods and formulate recommendations for their practical use. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011.