Convex conjugate


In mathematics and mathematical optimization, the convex conjugate of a function is a generalization of the Legendre transformation which applies to non-convex functions. It is also known as Legendre–Fenchel transformation, Fenchel transformation, or Fenchel conjugate. It allows in particular for a far reaching generalization of Lagrangian duality.

Definition

Let be a real topological vector space, and let be the dual space to. Denote the dual pairing by
For a function
taking values on the extended real number line, the convex conjugate
is defined in terms of the supremum by
or, equivalently, in terms of the infimum by
This definition can be interpreted as an encoding of the convex hull of the function's epigraph in terms of its supporting hyperplanes.

Examples

The convex conjugate of an affine function
is
The convex conjugate of a power function
is
where
The convex conjugate of the absolute value function
is
The convex conjugate of the exponential function is
The convex conjugate and Legendre transform of the exponential function agree except that the domain of the convex conjugate is strictly larger as the Legendre transform is only defined for positive real numbers.

Connection with expected shortfall (average value at risk)

Let F denote a cumulative distribution function of a random variable X. Then,
has the convex conjugate

Ordering

A particular interpretation has the transform
as this is a nondecreasing rearrangement of the initial function f; in particular, for ƒ nondecreasing.

Properties

The convex conjugate of a closed convex function is again a closed convex function. The convex conjugate of a polyhedral convex function is again a polyhedral convex function.

Order reversing

Convex-conjugation is order-reversing: if then. Here
For a family of functions it follows from the fact that supremums may be interchanged that
and from the max–min inequality that

Biconjugate

The convex conjugate of a function is always lower semi-continuous. The biconjugate is also the closed convex hull, i.e. the largest lower semi-continuous convex function with.
For proper functions f,

Fenchel's inequality

For any function and its convex conjugate, Fenchel's inequality holds for every and :
The proof follows immediately from the definition of convex conjugate:.

Convexity

For two functions and and a number the convexity relation
holds. The operation is a convex mapping itself.

Infimal convolution

The infimal convolution of two functions f and g is defined as
Let f1, …, fm be proper, convex and lower semicontinuous functions on Rn. Then the infimal convolution is convex and lower semicontinuous, and satisfies
The infimal convolution of two functions has a geometric interpretation: The epigraph of the infimal convolution of two functions is the Minkowski sum of the epigraphs of those functions.

Maximizing argument

If the function is differentiable, then its derivative is the maximizing argument in the computation of the convex conjugate:
whence
and moreover

Scaling properties

If, for some, , then
In case of an additional parameter moreover
where is chosen to be the maximizing argument.

Behavior under linear transformations

Let A be a bounded linear operator from X to Y. For any convex function f on X, one has
where
is the preimage of f w.r.t. A and A* is the adjoint operator of A.
A closed convex function f is symmetric with respect to a given set G of orthogonal linear transformations,
if and only if its convex conjugate f* is symmetric with respect to G.

Table of selected convex conjugates

The following table provides Legendre transforms for many common functions as well as a few useful properties.