On the Use of Direct Search Methods for Stochastic Optimization

We examine the conventional wisdom that commends the use of directe search methods in the presence of random noise. To do so, we introduce new formulations of stochastic optimization and direct search. These formulations suggest a natural strategy for constructing globally convergent direct search algorithms for stochastic optimization by controlling the error rates of the ordering decisions on which direct search depends. This strategy is successfully applied to the class of generalized pattern search methods. However, a great deal of sampling is required to guarantee convergence with probability one