# 4.6: CONVEX FUNCTIONS AND DERIVATIVES (2023)

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We discuss in this section a class of functions that plays an important role in optimization problems.

Figure $$4.6$$: A Convex Function.

## Definition $$\PageIndex{1}$$

Let $$I$$ be an interval of $$\mathbb{R}$$ and let $$f: I \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$$. We say that $$f$$ is convex on $$I$$ if $f(\lambda u+(1-\lambda) v) \leq \lambda f(u)+(1-\lambda) f(v)$ for all $$u, v \in I$$ and for all $$\lambda \in (0, 1)$$.

## Example $$\PageIndex{1}$$

The following functions are convex.

1. $$f: \mathbb{R} \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$$, $$f(x)=x$$.
2. $$f: \mathbb{R} \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$$, $$f(x)=x^{2}$$.
3. $$f: \mathbb{R} \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$$, $$f(x)=|x|$$.

Solution

1. This is straightforward.
2. Here not first that $$2 x y \leq x^{2}+y^{2}$$ for all real numbers $$x$$, $$y$$. Then, if $$0<\lambda<1$$ and $$x, y \in \mathbb{R}$$, we get \begin{aligned} f(\lambda x+(1-\lambda) y) &=(\lambda x+(1-\lambda) y)^{2} \\ &=\lambda^{2} x^{2}+2 \lambda(1-\lambda) x y+(1-\lambda)^{2} y^{2} \\ & \leq \lambda^{2} x^{2}+\lambda(1-\lambda)\left(x^{2}+y^{2}\right)+(1-\lambda)^{2} y^{2} \\ &=\lambda\left(\lambda x^{2}+(1-\lambda) x^{2}\right)+(1-\lambda)\left(\lambda y^{2}+(1-\lambda) y^{2}\right) \\ &=\lambda x^{2}+(1-\lambda) y^{2} \\ &=\lambda f(x)+(1-\lambda) f(y) \text {.} \end{aligned}
3. This follows from the triangle inequality and other basic properties of absolute value.

## Theorem $$\PageIndex{1}$$

Let $$I$$ be an interval of $$\mathbb{R}$$. A function $$f: I \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$$ is convex if and only if for every $$\lambda_{i} \geq 0, i=1, \ldots, n$$, with $$\sum_{i=1}^{n} \lambda_{i}=1$$ $$(n \geq 2)$$ and for every $$x_{i} \in I$$, $$\i=1, \dots, n$$, $f\left(\sum_{i=1}^{n} \lambda_{i} x_{i}\right) \leq \sum_{i=1}^{n} \lambda_{i} f\left(x_{i}\right) .$

Proof

Since the converse holds trivially, we only need to prove that implication by induction. The conclusions holds for $$n = 2$$ by the definition of convexity. Let $$k$$ be such that the conclusion holds for any $$n$$ with $$2 \leq n \leq k$$. We will show that it also holds for $$n = k + 1$$. Fix $$\lambda_{i} \geq 0, i=1, \ldots, k+1$$, with $$\sum_{i=1}^{k+1} \lambda_{i}=1$$ and fix every $$x_{i} \in I, i=1, \ldots, k+1$$. Then $\sum_{i=1}^{k} \lambda_{i}=1-\lambda_{k+1} .$ If $$\lambda_{k+1}=1$$, then $$\lambda_{i}=0$$ for all $$i=1, \ldots, k$$, and (4.6.2) holds. Suppose $$0 \leq \lambda_{k+1}<1$$. Then, for each $$i=1, \ldots, k$$, $$\lambda_{i} /\left(1-\lambda_{k+1}\right) \geq 0$$ and $\sum_{i=1}^{k} \frac{\lambda_{i}}{1-\lambda_{k+1}}=1 .$ It follows that \begin{aligned} f\left(\sum_{i=1}^{k+1} \lambda_{i} x_{i}\right) &=f\left[\left(1-\lambda_{k+1}\right) \frac{\sum_{i=1}^{k} \lambda_{i} x_{i}}{1-\lambda_{k+1}}+\lambda_{k+1} x_{k+1}\right] \\ & \leq\left(1-\lambda_{k+1}\right) f\left(\frac{\sum_{i=1}^{k} \lambda_{i} x_{i}}{1-\lambda_{k+1}}\right)+\lambda_{k+1} f\left(x_{k+1}\right) \\ &=\left(1-\lambda_{k+1}\right) f\left(\sum_{i=1}^{k} \frac{\lambda_{i}}{1-\lambda_{k+1}} x_{i}\right)+\lambda_{k+1} f\left(x_{k+1}\right) \\ & \leq\left(1-\lambda_{k+1}\right) \sum_{i=1}^{k} \frac{\lambda_{i}}{1-\lambda_{k+1}} f\left(x_{i}\right)+\lambda_{k+1} f\left(x_{k+1}\right) \\ &=\sum_{i=1}^{k+1} \lambda_{i} f\left(x_{i}\right) , \end{aligned} where the first inequality follows from the definition of convexity (or is trivial if $$\lambda_{k+1}=0$$) and the last inequality follows from the inductive assumption. The proof is now complete. $$\square$$

(Video) 17 - Convex functions

## Theorem $$\PageIndex{2}$$

Let $$I$$ be an interval and let $$f: I \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$$ be a convex function. Then $$f$$ has a local minimum at $$\bar{x}$$ if and only if $$f$$ has an absolute minimum at $$\bar{x}$$.

Proof

Clearly if $$f$$ has a global minimum at $$\bar{x}$$, then it also has a local minimum at $$\bar{x}$$.

Conversely, suppose that $$f$$ has a local minimum at $$\bar{x}$$. Then there exists $$\delta > 0$$ such that $f(u) \geq f(\bar{x}) \text { for all } u \in B(\bar{x} ; \delta) \cap I .$ For any $$x \in I$$, we have $$x_{n}=\left(1-\frac{1}{n}\right) \bar{x}+\frac{1}{n} x \rightarrow \bar{x}$$. Thus, $$x_{n} \in B(\bar{x} ; \delta) \cap I$$ when $$n$$ is sufficiently large. Thus, for such $$n$$, $f(\bar{x}) \leq f\left(x_{n}\right) \leq\left(1-\frac{1}{n}\right) f(\bar{x})+\frac{1}{n} f(x) .$ This implies that for a sufficient large $$n$$, we have $\frac{1}{n} f(\bar{x}) \leq \frac{1}{n} f(x)$ and, hence, $$f(\bar{x}) \leq f(x)$$. Since $$x$$ was arbitrary, this shows $$f$$ has an absolute minimum at $$\bar{x}$$. $$square$$

## Theorem $$\PageIndex{3}$$

Let $$I$$ be an open interval and let $$f: I \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$$ be a convex function. Suppose $$f$$ is differentiable at $$\bar{x}$$. Then $f^{\prime}(\bar{x})(x-\bar{x}) \leq f(x)-f(\bar{x}) \text { for all } x \in I .$

Proof

For any $$x \in I$$ and $$t \in (0, 1)$$, we have \begin{aligned} \frac{f(\bar{x}+t(x-\bar{x}))-f(\bar{x})}{t} &=\frac{f(t x+(1-t) \bar{x})-f(\bar{x})}{t} \\ & \leq \frac{t f(x)+(1-t) f(\bar{x})-f(\bar{x})}{t} \\ &=f(x)-f(\bar{x}) \text {.} \end{aligned} Since $$f$$ is differentiable at $$\bar{x}$$, $f^{\prime}(\bar{x})(x-\bar{x})=\lim _{t \rightarrow 0^{+}} \frac{f(\bar{x}+t(x-\bar{x}))-f(\bar{x})}{t} \leq f(x)-f(\bar{x}) ,$ which completes the proof. $$\square$$

## Corollary $$\PageIndex{4}$$

Let $$I$$ be open interval and let $$f: I \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$$ be a convex function. Suppose $$f$$ is differentiable at $$\bar{x}$$. Then $$f$$ has an absolute minimum at $$\bar{x}$$ if and only if $$f^{\prime}(\bar{x})=0$$.

Proof

Suppose $$f$$ has an absolute minimum at $$\bar{x}$$. By Theorem 4.2.1, $$f^{\prime}(\bar{x})=0$$. Let us prove the converse. Suppose $$f^{\prime}(\bar{x})=0$$. It follows from Theorem 4.6.3 that $0=f^{\prime}(\bar{x})(x-\bar{x}) \leq f(x)-f(\bar{x}) \text { for all } x \in I .$ This implies $f(x) \geq f(\bar{x}) \text { for all } x \in I .$ Thus, $$f$$ has an absolute minimum at $$\bar{x}$$. $$\square$$

(Video) Understanding Concave and Convex Functions

## Lemma $$\PageIndex{5}$$

Let $$I$$ be an open interval and suppose $$f: I \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$$ is a convex function. Fix $$a, b, x \in I$$ with $$a < x < b$$. Then $\frac{f(x)-f(a)}{x-a} \leq \frac{f(b)-f(a)}{b-a} \leq \frac{f(b)-f(x)}{b-x} .$

Proof

Let $t=\frac{x-a}{b-a} .$ Then $$t \in (0, 1)$$ and $f(x)=f(a+(x-a))=f\left(a+\frac{x-a}{b-a}(b-a)\right)=f(a+t(b-a))=f(t b+(1-t) a) .$ By convexity of $$f$$, we obtain $f(x) \leq t f(b)+(1-t) f(a) .$ Thus, $f(x)-f(a) \leq t f(b)+(1-t) f(a)-f(a)=t[f(b)-f(a)]=\frac{x-a}{b-a}(f(b)-f(a)) .$ Equivalently, $\frac{f(x)-f(a)}{x-a} \leq \frac{f(b)-f(a)}{b-a} .$ Similarly, $f(x)-f(b) \leq t f(b)+(1-t) f(a)-f(b)=(1-t)[f(a)-f(b)]=\frac{x-b}{b-a}[f(b)-f(a)] .$ It follows that $\frac{f(b)-f(a)}{b-a} \leq \frac{f(b)-f(x)}{b-x} .$ The proof is now complete. $$\square$$

## Theorem $$\PageIndex{6}$$

Let $$I$$ be an open interval and let $$f: I \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$$ be a differentiable function. Then $$f$$ is convex if and only if $$f^{\prime}$$ is increasing on $$I$$.

Proof

Suppose $$f$$ is convex. Fix $$a < b$$ with $$a, b \in I$$. By Lemma 4.6.5, for any $$x \in (a, b)$$, we have $\frac{f(x)-f(a)}{x-a} \leq \frac{f(b)-f(a)}{b-a} .$ This implies, taking limits, that $f^{\prime}(a) \leq \frac{f(b)-f(a)}{b-a} .$ Similarly, $\frac{f(b)-f(a)}{b-a} \leq f^{\prime}(b) .$ Therefore, $$f^{\prime}(a) \leq f^{\prime}(b)$$, and $$f^{\prime}$$ is an increasing function.

Let us prove the converse. Suppose $$f^{\prime}$$ is increasig. Fix $$x_{1}<x_{2}$$ and $$t \in (0, 1)$$. Then $x_{1}<x_{t}<x_{2} ,$ where $$x_{t}=t x_{1}+(1-t) x_{2}$$. By the Mean Value Theorem (Theorem 4.2.3), there exists $$c_{1}$$ and $$c_{2}$$ such that $x_{1}<c_{1}<x_{t}<c_{2}<x_{2}$ with $\begin{array}{l} f\left(x_{t}\right)-f\left(x_{1}\right)=f^{\prime}\left(c_{1}\right)\left(x_{t}-x_{1}\right)=f^{\prime}\left(c_{1}\right)(1-t)\left(x_{2}-x_{1}\right) \text {;} \\ f\left(x_{t}\right)-f\left(x_{2}\right)=f^{\prime}\left(c_{2}\right)\left(x_{t}-x_{2}\right)=f^{\prime}\left(c_{2}\right) t\left(x_{1}-x_{2}\right) \text {.} \end{array}$l This implies $\begin{array}{l} t f\left(x_{t}\right)-t f\left(x_{1}\right)=f^{\prime}\left(c_{1}\right) t(1-t)\left(x_{2}-x_{1}\right) \text {;} \\ (1-t) f\left(x_{t}\right)-(1-t) f\left(x_{2}\right)=f^{\prime}\left(c_{2}\right) t(1-t)\left(x_{1}-x_{2}\right) \text {.} \end{array}$ Since $$f^{\prime}\left(c_{1}\right) \leq f^{\prime}\left(c_{2}\right)$$, we have $t f\left(x_{t}\right)-t f\left(x_{1}\right)=f^{\prime}\left(c_{1}\right) t(1-t)\left(x_{2}-x_{1}\right) \leq f^{\prime}\left(c_{2}\right) t(1-t)\left(x_{2}-x_{1}\right)=(1-t) f\left(x_{2}\right)-(1-t) f\left(x_{t}\right) .$ Rearranging terms, we get $f\left(x_{t}\right) \leq t f\left(x_{1}\right)+(1-t) f\left(x_{2}\right) .$ Therefore, $$f$$ is convex. The proof is now complete. $$\square$$

## Corollary $$\PageIndex{7}$$

Let $$I$$ be an open interval and let $$f: I \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$$ be a function. Suppose $$f$$ is twice differentiable on $$I$$. Then $$f$$ is convex if and only if $$f^{\prime \prime}(x) \geq 0$$ for all $$x \in I$$.

Proof

It follows from Proposition 4.3.2 that $$f^{\prime \prime}(x) \geq 0$$ for all $$x \in I$$ if and only if the derivative function $$f^{\prime}$$ is increasing on $$I$$. The conclusion then follows directlye from Theorem 4.6.6. $$\square$$

(Video) First-order optimality conditions for unconstrained optimization

## Example $$\PageIndex{2}$$

Consider the function $$f: \mathbb{R} \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$$ given by $$f(x)=\sqrt{x^{2}+1}$$.

Solution

Now, $$f^{\prime}(x)=x / \sqrt{x^{2}+1}$$ and $$f^{\prime \prime}(x)=1 /\left(x^{2}+1\right)^{3 / 2}$$. Since $$f^{\prime \prime}(x) \geq 0$$ for all $$x$$, it follows from the corollary that $$f$$ is convex.

## Theorem $$\PageIndex{8}$$

Let $$I$$ be an open interval and let $$f: I \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$$ be a convex function. Then it is locally Lipschitz continuous in the sense that for any $$\bar{x} \in I$$, there exists $$\ell \geq 0$$ and $$\delta > 0$$ such that $|f(u)-f(v)| \leq \ell|u-v| \text { for all } u, v \in B(\bar{x} ; \delta) .$ In particular, $$f$$ is continuous.

Proof

Fix any $$\bar{x} \in I$$. Choose four numbers $$a, b, c, d$$ satisfying $a<b<\bar{x}<c<d \text { with } a, d \in I .$ Choose $$\delta > 0$$ such that $$B(\bar{x} ; \delta) \subset(b, c)$$. Let $$u, v \in B(\bar{x} ; \delta)$$ with $$v < u$$. Then by Lemma 4.6.5, we see that $\frac{f(b)-f(a)}{b-a} \leq \frac{f(u)-f(a)}{u-a} \leq \frac{f(u)-f(v)}{u-v} \leq \frac{f(d)-f(v)}{d-v} \leq \frac{f(d)-f(c)}{d-c} .$ Using a similar approach for the case $$u < v$$, we get $\frac{f(b)-f(a)}{b-a} \leq \frac{f(u)-f(v)}{u-v} \leq \frac{f(d)-f(c)}{d-c} \text { for all } u, v \in B(\bar{x} ; \delta) .$ Choose $$\ell \geq 0$$ sufficiently large so that $-\ell \leq \frac{f(b)-f(a)}{b-a} \leq \frac{f(u)-f(v)}{u-v} \leq \frac{f(d)-f(c)}{d-c} \leq \ell \text { for all } u, v \in B(\bar{x} ; \delta) .$ Then (4.6.29 holds. The proof is now complete. $$\square$$

Exercise $$\PageIndex{1}$$

1. Let $$I$$ be an interval and let $$f, g: I \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$$ be convex functions. Prove that $$cf$$, $$f + g$$, and $$\max \{f, g\}$$ are convex functions on $$I$$, where $$c \geq 0$$ is a constant.
2. Find two convex functions $$f$$ and $$g$$ on an interval $$I$$ such that $$f \cdot g$$ is not convex.

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(Video) Lecture 3 | Convex Functions | Convex Optimization by Dr. Ahmad Bazzi

Exercise $$\PageIndex{2}$$

Let $$f: \mathbb{R} \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$$ be a convex function. Given $$a, b \in \mathbb{R}$$, prove that the function defined by $g(x)=f(a x+b), \text { for } x \in \mathbb{R}$ is also a convex function on $$\mathbb{R}$$.

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Exercise $$\PageIndex{3}$$

Let $$I$$ be an interval and let $$f: I \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$$ be a convex function. Suppose that $$\phi$$ is a convex, increasing function on an interval $$J$$ that contains $$f(I)$$. Prove that $$\phi \circ f$$ is convex on $$I$$.

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Exercise $$\PageIndex{4}$$

Prove that each of the following functions is convex on the given domain:

1. $$f(x)=e^{b x}$$, $$x \in \mathbb{R}$$, where $$b$$ is a constant.
2. $$f(x)=x^{k}$$, $$x \in[0, \infty)$$ and $$k \geq 1$$ is a constant.
3. $$f(x)=-\ln (1-x)$$, $$x \in(-\infty, 1)$$.
4. $$f(x)=-\ln \left(\frac{e^{x}}{1+e^{x}}\right)$$, $$x \in \mathbb{R}$$.
5. $$f(x)=x \sin x$$, $$x \in\left(-\frac{\pi}{4}, \frac{\pi}{4}\right)$$.

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Exercise $$\PageIndex{5}$$

Prove the following:

1. If $$a, b$$ are nonnegative real numbers, then $\frac{a+b}{2} \geq \sqrt{a b} .$
2. If $$a_{1}, a_{2}, \ldots, a_{n}$$, where $$n \geq 2$$, are nonnegative real numbers, then $\frac{a_{1}+a_{2}+\cdots+a_{n}}{n} \geq\left(a_{1} \cdot a_{2} \cdots a_{n}\right)^{1 / n} .$

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