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First page of A Domain-Specific Harness for End-to-End Automation of Optimization Research

A Domain-Specific Harness for End-to-End Automation of Optimization Research

Heechang Kim, Ernest K. Ryu, Shuvomoy Das Gupta

math.OC Aug 7, 2026 · v1
Convergence theorems of two newly discovered first-order optimization methods are formalized and machine-checked in Lean 4 as part of an automated research pipeline.
We present AutoOPT, a domain-specific harness for end-to-end automation of optimization research. AutoOPT organizes the discovery of optimal first-order methods into four stages: numerical design through the BnB-PEP methodology; symbolic discovery of the analytic description and a convergence proof through frontier large language models (LLMs); formal verification in the Lean 4 proof assistant; and human interpretation and write-up. We demonstrate the framework on two case studies, each of independent interest. The first, lemniscate acceleration, is a new accelerated gradient method for minimizing the gradient norm of a smooth convex function: after $N$ gradient steps it reduces the squared gradient norm at the optimal $O(1/N^{4})$ rate, with a constant governed by the lemniscate constant $\varpi$, a classical elliptic-integral constant. The second is the analytic description of ITEM-f, a method previously known only numerically: for $L$-smooth, $μ$-strongly convex minimization it contracts the function-value gap at an accelerated linear rate with a per-step factor $(1-\sqrt{μ/L})^{2}$. The convergence theorems of both case studies are formalized and machine-checked in Lean 4.

Designing and analyzing optimal first-order optimization methods via performance estimation programming is labor-intensive, requiring expert effort at numerical design, analytic derivation, and proof of convergence.

AutoOPT is a domain-specific agentic harness with four stages: numerical design via BnB-PEP, symbolic discovery of analytic descriptions and convergence proofs using frontier LLMs, formal verification in the Lean 4 proof assistant, and human interpretation. A persistent research workspace stores goals, claims, and artifacts across sessions. Two case studies demonstrate the framework.

Two new accelerated methods were discovered: lemniscate acceleration, which reduces squared gradient norm at the optimal O(1/N^4) rate with a lemniscate-constant factor, and analytic ITEM-f, which contracts the function-value gap at rate (1-sqrt(mu/L))^2. Both convergence theorems were formalized and machine-checked in Lean 4.