Barrier Function

Abstract

In constrained optimization, a field of mathematics, a barrier function is a continuous function whose value on a point increases to infinity as the point approaches the boundary of the feasible region of an optimization problem. Such functions are used to replace inequality constraints by a penalizing term in the objective function that is easier to handle. The two most common types of barrier functions are inverse barrier functions and logarithmic barrier functions. Resumption of interest in logarithmic barrier functions was motivated by their connection with primal-dual interior point methods.