REVIEW 1 major objections 7 minor 27 references
FISTA's iterates still converge weakly in infinite-dimensional Hilbert spaces when the gradient and proximity operator are computed inexactly, including with stochastic gradient oracles.
Reviewed by Pith at T0; open to challenge. T0 means a machine referee read the full paper against a public rubric. the ladder, T0–T4 →
T0 review · deepseek-v4-flash
2026-08-03 22:00 UTC pith:NLQXZK7Q
load-bearing objection The deterministic inexact-FISTA result is real and essentially correct; the stochastic theorem as printed has a missing monotone-stepsize assumption, but it is a cheap fix. the 1 major comments →
The iterates of FISTA converge even under inexact computations and stochastic gradients
The pith
A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.
Core claim
The paper's central claim is that the two standard forms of numerical inexactness—deterministic perturbations of the gradient and the proximal computation, and an unbiased stochastic gradient oracle—do not destroy the just-established weak convergence of FISTA iterates in the critical regime. Theorem 3.6 shows that if t_k → ∞ and the sequences t_k δ_k and t_k ‖b_k‖ are summable, then F(x_k)-F* = O(1/t²_{k-1}) and x_k and y_k converge weakly to a common minimizer. Theorem 3.10 shows that under an unbiased gradient oracle with variance bounded by σ², conditions γ_k t²_{k-1} → ∞, (γ_k t_k) ∈ ℓ², and (δ_k t_k) ∈ ℓ¹ imply x_k and y_k converge weakly almost surely to an S*-valued random vector, wi
What carries the argument
The proof is carried by an energy function E_k(x*) = 2γ t²_{k-1}(F(x_k)-F*) + ‖v_k - x*‖², which satisfies a perturbed descent inequality E_{k+1} ≤ E_k + λ_k √E_{k+1} + ξ_k where λ_k and ξ_k encode the weighted errors. A discrete Bihari-La Salle lemma bounds E_k and forces its convergence despite the lack of monotonicity. The weak-convergence conclusion then follows from an Opial-type lemma, adapted to accelerated schemes and generalized to random sequences, combined with a representation of the iterates as convex combinations x_{k+1} = (1 - 1/t_k) x_k + (1/t_k) v_{k+1} and a Cesàro-like fact (Fact 2.6) that turns convergence of the auxiliary sequence (v_k) into convergence of the iterates.
Load-bearing premise
The stochastic theorem's proof assumes the step sizes γ_k are non-increasing (γ_{k+1} ≤ γ_k), an assumption that is never stated in Algorithm 1.4 or Theorem 3.10; if that monotonicity fails, the inequality that drives the almost-sure convergence may reverse.
What would settle it
Read the proof of Theorem 3.10 and locate the line 'using the fact that γ_{k+1} ≤ γ_k'. Neither the algorithm nor the theorem states this monotonicity, and when γ_{k+1} > γ_k the inequality 2γ_{k+1}(F(x_{k+1})-F*) ≤ 2γ_k(F(x_{k+1})-F*) is violated. Construct any admissible parameter sequence (γ_k) with 0<γ_k≤1/L and γ_{k+1} > γ_k frequently, e.g., alternating 1/L and (1/L)e^{-k}, obeying the stated summability conditions, and check whether the energy recursion still forces almost-sure convergence; the proof's chain breaks at that step.
If this is right
- Inexact computation of prox and gradient, provided errors decay fast enough relative to the acceleration, preserves the optimal O(1/k²) objective rate and weak convergence of iterates.
- Stochastic gradients with bounded variance can be used inside FISTA without losing almost-sure weak convergence, as long as the step sizes decay suitably (e.g., γ_k ≍ 1/k^q with specific exponents).
- The trade-off between acceleration strength and allowed error level: full acceleration requires the strongest error decay, while slower acceleration tolerates larger errors, covering the classical proximal gradient algorithm as a border case.
- The results extend the recent exact-case convergence to a larger algorithmic class, supporting practical use of FISTA in infinite-dimensional inverse problems where exact proximity/gradient evaluations are unattainable.
Where Pith is reading between the lines
- The same proof scheme may be portable to other accelerated first-order methods that admit a similar convex-combination representation, such as heavy-ball-type schemes, by reusing the perturbed energy recursion.
- The proof of Theorem 3.10 silently requires γ_{k+1} ≤ γ_k; if monotone step sizes are not enforced, the stochastic claim is not fully established, though the deterministic theorem stands. A published corollary with that assumption added would resolve the gap.
- A natural testable extension is to replace the fixed uniform variance bound on the stochastic oracle with a growing Lipschitz-like condition, or to allow correlated noise, and check whether the same summability conditions still yield a.s. convergence.
- The rates in expectation (e.g., O((1+log k)/√k) for a particular step-size choice) suggest that the stochastic version behaves like the non-accelerated stochastic proximal gradient in the regime where acceleration is weakened; this could guide adaptive step-size rules.
Editorial analysis
A structured set of objections, weighed in public.
Referee Report
Summary. The paper proves convergence results for an inexact version of FISTA in infinite-dimensional Hilbert spaces. Algorithm 1.3 allows deterministic additive errors in the gradient and inexact proximity evaluations in the sense of Salzo–Villa; Theorem 3.6 shows that if the acceleration parameters satisfy t_k → ∞ and the weighted error sequences (t_k δ_k) and (t_k ∥b_k∥) are summable, then F(x_k) − F* = O(1/t_{k−1}^2) and the sequences (x_k), (y_k) converge weakly to a common minimizer. Algorithm 1.4 incorporates an unbiased stochastic gradient oracle with uniformly bounded variance; Theorem 3.10 claims an analogous almost-sure weak convergence under γ_k t_{k−1}^2 → ∞, (γ_k t_k) ∈ ℓ², and (δ_k t_k) ∈ ℓ¹. The proofs use a Lyapunov function E_k, a Bihari–La Salle type inequality (Lemma 3.4 / Fact 2.3), Opial's lemma and a stochastic version thereof, and a Cesàro-type lemma (Fact 2.6). The deterministic analysis appears sound; the stochastic theorem as stated is not proved, because the proof silently uses a monotonicity condition γ_{k+1} ≤ γ_k that is not part of Algorithm 1.4 or Theorem 3.10.
Significance. If repaired, the paper would be a valuable extension of the recent point-convergence results of Jang–Ryu and Boţ–Fadili–Nguyen to inexact and stochastic settings. The deterministic theorem is clean, with transparent Lyapunov arguments and explicit summability conditions that interpolate between the nonaccelerated and fully accelerated regimes. The stochastic result is plausible and of independent interest, but as it stands its proof contains a load-bearing gap. The paper also usefully highlights the trade-off between acceleration strength and admissible error decay. The deterministic part appears correct, and the stochastic part is likely correct after adding the missing monotonicity assumption.
major comments (1)
- [Theorem 3.10, proof between (3.17) and (3.19)] The proof uses the statement 'using the fact that γ_{k+1} ≤ γ_k' to replace 2γ_k r_{k+1} by 2γ_{k+1} r_{k+1} on the left-hand side of the Lyapunov recursion. Neither Algorithm 1.4 nor Theorem 3.10 assumes this monotonicity; only 0 < γ_k ≤ 1/L is stated. If γ_{k+1} > γ_k, the inequality 2γ_{k+1} r_{k+1} ≤ ... need not follow, and the subsequent definition of E_{k+1}, the conditional expectation bound (3.19), the Robbins–Siegmund step, and the a.s. Opial argument all rely on this step. This is a genuine gap in Theorem 3.10 as stated. The repair is local: add γ_{k+1} ≤ γ_k to Algorithm 1.4 and Theorem 3.10 — Remark 3.11's examples already satisfy it — or modify the Lyapunov function so that the monotonicity is not needed.
minor comments (7)
- [Theorems 3.6 and 3.10] The displayed bounds involve δ_{1,i} and δ_{2,i}, but these quantities are not defined in the theorem statements. They are introduced only inside the proofs via Lemma 3.3 / Proposition 1.2. Please state explicitly that δ_{1,i}, δ_{2,i} are the components with δ_{1,i}^2 + δ_{2,i}^2 ≤ δ_i^2.
- [Lemma 3.4] The statement says 'if (λ_k) and (μ_k) are summable', but μ_k is not defined in the lemma. It should be 'if (λ_k) and (ξ_k) are summable'.
- [Appendix A, proof of Fact 2.3] The proof contains the inequality ∑λ_i√γ_i ≤ γ_k ∑√λ_i, which is not valid as written. The correct bound is ∑λ_i√γ_i ≤ (∑λ_i)√γ_k, from which the claimed quadratic inequality follows. Please correct this intermediate line.
- [Theorem 3.10 proof, application of Lemma 3.4] In the displayed definition of ξ_k, the term t_k^2 δ_{1,k}^2 σ^2 has an extra σ^2 factor; it should be t_k^2 δ_{1,k}^2 as in (3.19).
- [Theorem 3.10 proof, Robbins–Siegmund step] When applying Fact 2.7, the deterministic summable terms 2γ_k t_k^2 δ_k σ + 2γ_k^2 t_k^2 σ^2 + t_k^2 δ_{1,k}^2 from (3.19) are not explicitly included in the defined ε_k. They are summable under the theorem's hypotheses, but the application should state that these terms are absorbed into the ε_k sequence.
- [Title and abstract] 'The iterates of FISTA convergence ...' should read 'The iterates of FISTA converge ...'.
- [Appendix A, proof of Fact 2.3] Minor typo: 'positive solution solution' should be 'positive solution'.
Circularity Check
No significant circularity: the deterministic and stochastic convergence proofs build on external tools (Opial, Robbins–Siegmund, Fact 2.6 from [11]) plus a standard inexact-prox model; the known gamma-monotonicity gap is a correctness issue, not a circular reduction.
full rationale
The paper's derivation chain is not circular. Theorem 3.6 is obtained from Lemma 3.3, which uses the inexact-prox characterization Proposition 1.2 (quoted from the authors' earlier work [24]) together with Lipschitz smoothness and convexity, and then forms the Lyapunov function E_k(x*) = 2γt_{k-1}^2(F(x_k)-F*) + ||v_k - x*||^2. No quantity is fitted to data, no conclusion is assumed, and the cited self-work [24] supplies only a modeling definition and a standard subdifferential inequality, not iterate convergence or the theorem's conclusion. Fact 2.6 is cited from the non-self reference [11] and is re-proved in Appendix A; Opial's Lemma and Robbins--Siegmund are classical external facts. Theorem 3.10 does contain a genuine gap as printed: its proof passes from 2γ_k(F(x_{k+1})-F*) to 2γ_{k+1}r_{k+1} 'using the fact that γ_{k+1} ≤ γ_k', while Algorithm 1.4 and Theorem 3.10 only assume 0 < γ_k ≤ 1/L. But this is a missing/unstated hypothesis, not a self-referential reduction: the claimed conclusion is not equivalent to an input of the proof, and the gap is repairable by adding the monotonicity condition. There are no fitted-inputs-called-predictions, no imported uniqueness theorems, no ansatz smuggled in by self-citation, and no renaming of a known empirical pattern. Therefore the circularity score is 0.
Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger
axioms (6)
- domain assumption Assumption 1: f convex with L-Lipschitz gradient, g proper convex and lower semicontinuous, argmin of F nonempty, H a real Hilbert space.
- domain assumption Inexact proximity model z ≃_δ prox_{γg}(y) from Salzo–Villa [24], with the error characterization of Proposition 1.2 (‖e‖ ≤ δ_2, δ_1² + δ_2² ≤ δ²).
- domain assumption Assumption 2: unbiased gradient oracle û with E‖û(x,ζ) − ∇f(x)‖² ≤ σ²; ζ_k independent copies in Algorithm 1.4; H separable.
- domain assumption Admissible FISTA parameter sequences: t_0 = 1, 1 ≤ t_k, t²_k − t_k ≤ t²_{k−1}; plus t_k → +∞ for the convergence claims.
- ad hoc to paper Stepsize monotonicity γ_{k+1} ≤ γ_k in the stochastic theorem (implicit, unstated).
- standard math Standard convex-analysis toolkit: prox nonexpansiveness, ε-subdifferential calculus, weak lower semicontinuity of convex lsc functions, Opial's lemma, Robbins–Siegmund, Fact 2.6 from [11].
read the original abstract
Very recently, the papers "Point Convergence of Nesterov's Accelerated Gradient Method: An AI-Assisted Proof" by Jang and Ryu, and "The Iterates of Nesterov's Accelerated Algorithm Converge in the Critical Regimes" by Bot, Fadili, and Nguyen have simultaneously resolved a long-standing open problem concerning Nesterov's accelerated gradient method. These works show that the iterates of the algorithm (known in its composite form as FISTA) indeed converge to an optimal solution. In this work, we extend these results and prove that, in infinite dimensional Hilbert spaces, the iterates of such an algorithm still converge (in the weak sense) even when the proximity operator and the gradient are computed inexactly, with the latter possibly stochastic.
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discussion (0)
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