On directional local minimality and directional optimality conditions in nonsmooth optimization

This paper considers the unconstrained minimization of a lower semicontinuous function.

Exploiting first and second subderivatives, directional limiting subdifferentials, and directional proximal subdifferentials, necessary and sufficient first- and second-order optimality conditions are derived that build upon the recently introduced notion of directional local minimality.

These results then also yield optimality conditions for conventional nondirectional local minimality which are stated in terms of so-called critical directions and variational objects depending on them.

Illustrative examples show that the derived conditions allow for a finer analysis than classical nondirectional optimality conditions.