The Douglas-Rachford Algorithm for Weakly Convex Penalties

Abstract: The Douglas-Rachford algorithm is widely used in sparse signal processing for minimizing a sum of two convex functions. In this paper, we consider the case where one of the functions is weakly convex but the other is strongly convex so that the sum is convex. We provide a condition that ensures the convergence of the same Douglas-Rachford iterations, provided that the strongly convex function is smooth. We also present a modified Douglas-Rachford algorithm that does not impose a smoothness condition for the convex function. We then provide a discussion on the convergence speed of the two types of algorithms and demonstrate the discussion with numerical experiments.