Corollary 8.6.2. A convex function f is constant on any affine set M where it is
finite and bounded above.
Definiton 8.7.0. Let f be a proper convex function on ℝ^n and let f0^+ be its
recession function. The constancy space of f is the set { y ∈ ℝ^n | (f0^+)(y) ≤ 0 and (f0^+)(-y) ≤ 0 }.
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If all rays are antitone, then any sublevel set recedes in direction y.
If the recession cone is given by f0_plus y ≤ 0, its lineality space is the constancy
space of f0_plus.
If x is in a sublevel set and y in its recession cone, the ray liminf is finite.
Membership in a sublevel recession cone forces all rays to be antitone.
Nonempty sublevel sets share recession cone {y | f0_plus y ≤ 0}.
Theorem 8.7. Let f be a closed proper convex function. Then all non-empty level sets
{x | f(x) ≤ λ} have the same recession cone and the same lineality space, namely
{y | (f0^+)(y) ≤ 0} and the constancy space of f, respectively.
Sublevel sets of a closed convex function are closed and convex.
Corollary 8.7.1. Let f be a closed proper convex function. If the level set
{x | f(x) ≤ λ} is non-empty and bounded for one λ, it is bounded for every λ.
Two-sided ray inequalities force affine behavior along the direction.
Negation commutes with the embedded epigraph map.
Membership in the embedded epigraph recession cone is equivalent to ray inequalities.
An affine ray determines the recession function value.
Theorem 8.8. For a proper convex function f, the following conditions on a vector y
and a real number v are equivalent: (a) f (x + λ • y) = f x + λ v for all x and
λ ∈ ℝ; (b) (y, v) belongs to the lineality space of epi f; (c)
-(f0^+)(-y) = (f0^+)(y) = v. When f is closed, y satisfies these conditions with
v = (f0^+)(y) if there is some x ∈ dom f such that λ ↦ f (x + λ • y) is affine.
Definition 8.9.0. Let f be a proper convex function on ℝ^n with recession function
f0^+. The set of vectors y such that (f0^+)(-y) = -(f0^+)(y) is called the lineality
space of the proper convex function f.