Journal of Applied Mathematics

Volume 2012 (2012), Article ID 804538, 16 pages

doi:10.1155/2012/804538

Research Article

Convergence Theorems for Maximal Monotone Operators, Weak Relatively Nonexpansive Mappings and Equilibrium Problems

Kamonrat Nammanee,¹ Suthep Suantai,2,3 and Prasit Cholamjiak1,3

¹School of Science, University of Phayao, Phayao 56000, Thailand

²Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand

³Centre of Excellence in Mathematics, CHE, Si Ayutthaya Road, Bangkok 10400, Thailand

Received 13 February 2012; Accepted 9 March 2012

Academic Editor: Rudong Chen

Copyright © 2012 Kamonrat Nammanee et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract.

We introduce hybrid-iterative schemes for solving a system of the zero-finding problems of maximal monotone operators, the equilibrium problem, and the fixed point problem of weak relatively nonexpansive mappings. We then prove, in a uniformly smooth and uniformly convex Banach space, strong convergence theorems by using a shrinking projection method. We finally apply the obtained results to a system of convex minimization problems.

1. Introduction

Let be a real Banach space and a nonempty subset of . Let be the dual space of . We denote the value of at by . Let be a nonlinear mapping. We denote by the fixed points set of , that is, . Let be a set-valued mapping. We denote by the domain of , that is, and also denote by the graph of , that is, . A set-valued mapping is said to be monotone if whenever . It is said to be maximal monotone if its graph is not contained in the graph of any other monotone operators on . It is known that if is maximal monotone, then the set is closed and convex.

The problem of finding a zero point of maximal monotone operators plays an important role in optimizations. This is because it can be reformulated to a convex minimization problem and a variational inequality problem. Many authors have studied the convergence of such problems in various spaces (see, e.g., [1–16]). Initiated by Martinet [17], in a real Hilbert space , Rockafellar [18] introduced the following iterative scheme: and

where , is the resolvent of defined by for all , and is a maximal monotone operator on . Such an algorithm is called the proximal point algorithm. It was proved that the sequence generated by (1.1) converges weakly to an element in provided that . Recently, Kamimura and Takahashi [19] introduced the following iteration in a real Hilbert space: and

where and . The weak convergence theorems are also established in a real Hilbert space under suitable conditions imposed on and .

In 2004, Kamimura et al. [20] extended the above iteration process to a much more general setting. In fact, they proposed the following algorithm: and

where , , and for all . They proved, in a uniformly smooth and uniformly convex Banach space, a weak convergence theorem.

Let , where is the set of real numbers, be a bifunction. The equilibrium problem is to find such that

The solutions set of (1.4) is denoted by .

For solving the equilibrium problem, we assume that

(A1) for all ,(A2) is monotone, that is for all ,(A3) for all , ,(A4) for all is convex and lower semi-continuous.

Recently, Takahashi and Zembayashi [21] introduced the following iterative scheme for a relatively nonexpansive mapping in a uniformly smooth and uniformly convex Banach space: and

where and . Such an algorithm is called the shrinking projection method which was introduced by Takahashi et al. [22]. They proved that the sequence converges strongly to an element in under appropriate conditions. The equilibrium problem has been intensively studied by many authors (see, e.g., [23–31]).

Motivated by the previous results, we introduce a hybrid-iterative scheme for finding a zero point of maximal monotone operators () which is also a common element in the solutions set of an equilibrium problem for and in the fixed points set of weak relatively nonexpansive mappings   (). Using the projection technique, we also prove that the sequence generated by a constructed algorithm converges strongly to an element in in a uniformly smooth and uniformly convex Banach space. Finally, we apply our results to a system of convex minimization problems.

2. Preliminaries and Lemmas

In this section, we give some useful preliminaries and lemmas which will be used in the sequel.

Let be a real Banach space and let be the unit sphere of . A Banach space is said to be strictly convex if for any ,

A Banach space is said to be uniformly convex if, for each , there exists such that for any ,

It is known that a uniformly convex Banach space is reflexive and strictly convex. The function which is called the modulus of convexity of is defined as follows:

Then is uniformly convex if and only if for all . A Banach space is said to be smooth if the limit

exists for all . It is also said to be uniformly smooth if the limit (2.4) is attained uniformly for . The duality mapping is defined by

for all . It is also known that if is uniformly smooth, then is uniformly norm-to-norm continuous on bounded subsets of (see [32] for more details).

Let be a smooth Banach space. The function is defined by

for all . From the definition of , we see that

for all .

Let be a closed and convex subset of , and let be a mapping from into itself. A point in is said to be an asymptotic fixed point of [33] if contains a sequence which converges weakly to such that . The set of asymptotic fixed points of will be denoted by . A mapping is said to be relatively nonexpansive [33, 34] if and for all and . A point in is said to be a strong asymptotic fixed point of if contains a sequence which converges strongly to such that . The set of strong asymptotic fixed points of will be denoted by . A mapping is said to be weak relatively nonexpansive [35] if and for all and . It is obvious by definition that the class of weak relatively nonexpansive mappings contains the class of relatively nonexpansive mappings. Indeed, for any mapping , we see that . Therefore, if is a relatively nonexpansive mapping, then .

Nontrivial examples of weak relatively nonexpansive mappings which are not relatively nonexpansive can be found in [36].

Let be a reflexive, strictly convex and smooth Banach space, and let be a nonempty, closed, and convex subset of . The generalized projection mapping, introduced by Alber [37], is a mapping , that assigns to an arbitrary point the minimum point of the function , that is, , where is the solution to the minimization problem

In a Hilbert space, is coincident with the metric projection denoted by .

Lemma 2.1 (see [38]). Let be a uniformly convex and smooth Banach space and let be two sequences in . If and either or is bounded, then .

Lemma 2.2 (see [37, 38]). Let be a nonempty, closed, and convex subset of a smooth, strictly convex and reflexive Banach space , let and let . Then if and only if for all .

Lemma 2.3 (see [37, 38]). Let be a nonempty, closed, and convex subset of a smooth, strictly convex, and reflexive Banach space . Then

Lemma 2.4 (see [39]). Let be a smooth and strictly convex Banach space, and let be a nonempty, closed, and convex subset of . Let be a mapping from into itself such that is nonempty and for all . Then is closed and convex.

Let be a reflexive, strictly convex, and smooth Banach space. It is known that is maximal monotone if and only if for all , where stands for the range of .

Define the resolvent of by for all . It is known that is a single-valued mapping from to and for all . For each , the Yosida approximation of is defined by

for all . We know that for all and .

Lemma 2.5 (see [5]). Let be a smooth, strictly convex, and reflexive Banach space, let be a maximal monotone operator with , and let for each . Then

for all , , and .

Lemma 2.6 (see[40]). Let be a closed and convex subset of a smooth, strictly convex, and reflexive Banach space , let be a bifunction from to satisfying (A1)–(A4), and let and . Then, there exists such that

Lemma 2.7 (see [41]). Let be a closed and convex subset of a uniformly smooth, strictly convex, and reflexive Banach space , and let be a bifunction from to satisfying (A1)–(A4). For all and , define the mapping as follows:

Then, the following holds:

(1) is single-valued;(2) is a firmly nonexpansive-type mapping [42], that is, for all ,

(3);(4) is closed and convex.

Lemma 2.8 (see [41]). Let be a closed and convex subset of a smooth, strictly, and reflexive Banach space , let be a bifunction from to satisfying (A1)–(A4), let . Then

for all and .

3. Strong Convergence Theorems

In this section, we are now ready to prove our main theorem.

Theorem 3.1. Let be a uniformly smooth and uniformly convex Banach space, and let be a nonempty, closed and convex subset of . Let () be maximal monotone operators, let be a bifunction, and let   () be weak relatively nonexpansive mappings such that . Let be the sequence such that . Define the sequence in as follows:

If for each and , then the sequence converges strongly to .

Proof. We split the proof into several steps as follows.

Step  1. for all .

From Lemma 2.4, we know that is closed and convex. From Lemma 2.7(4), we also know that is closed and convex. On the other hand, since () are maximal monotone, are closed and convex for each ; consequently, is closed and convex. Hence is a nonempty, closed, and convex subset of .

We next show that is closed and convex for all . Obviously, is closed and convex. Now suppose that is closed and convex for some . Then, for each and , we see that is equivalent to

By the construction of the set , we see that

Hence, is closed and convex. This shows, by induction, that is closed and convex for all . It is obvious that . Now, suppose that for some . For any , by Lemmas 2.5 and 2.8, we have

This shows that . By induction, we can conclude that for all .

Step  2. exists.

From and , we have

From Lemma 2.3, for any , we have

Combining (3.5) and (3.6), we conclude that exists.

Step  3. .

Since for , by Lemma 2.3, it follows that

Letting , we have . By Lemma 2.1, it follows that as . Therefore, is a Cauchy sequence. By the completeness of the space and the closedness of , we can assume that as . In particular, we obtain that

Since , we have

Since , for each ,

Since is uniformly smooth, is uniformly norm-to-norm continuous on bounded sets. It follows from (3.9) and by the boundedness of that

for all . So from Lemma 2.1, we have

and, since , therefore

for all . Since is uniformly norm-to-norm continuous on bounded subsets of ,

for all .

Step  4. for all .

Denote that for each and for each . We note that for each .

To this end, we will show that

for all .

For any , by (3.4), we see that

Since , by Lemma 2.5 and (3.16), it follows that

From (3.13) and (3.14), we get that . So we obtain that

Again, since ,

From (3.13) and (3.14), we get that

It also follows that

Continuing in this process, we can show that

So, we now conclude that

for each . By the uniform norm-to-norm continuity of , we also have

for each . Using (3.23), it is easily seen that

From , by Lemma 2.8, it follows that

This implies that and hence

Combining (3.13), (3.25), and (3.27), we obtain that

for all .

Step  5. .

Since and , . So from (3.25) and (3.27), we have . Note that () are weak relatively nonexpansive. Using (3.28), we can conclude that for all . Hence .

Step  6. .

Noting that for each , we obtain that

From (3.24) and , we have

We note that for each . If for each , then it follows from the monotonicity of that

We see that for each . Thus, from (3.30) and (3.31), we have

By the maximality of , it follows that for each . Therefore, .

Step  7. .

From , we have

By (A2), we have

Note that since . From (A4) and , we get for all . For and , define that . Then , which implies that . From (A1), we obtain that . Thus, . From (A3), we have for all . Hence, . From Steps 5, 6, and 7, we now can conclude that .

Step  8. .

From , we have

Since , we also have

Letting in (3.36), we obtain that

This shows that by Lemma 2.2. We thus complete the proof.

As a direct consequence of Theorem 3.1, we can also apply to a system of convex minimization problems.

Theorem 3.2. Let be a uniformly smooth and uniformly convex Banach space, and let be a nonempty, closed, and convex subset of . Let () be proper lower semicontinuous convex functions, let be a bifunction, and let () be weak relatively nonexpansive mappings such that . Let be the sequence such that . Define the sequence in as follows:

If for each and , then the sequence converges strongly to .

Proof. By Rockafellar's theorem [43, 44], are maximal monotone operators for each . Let for each . Then, if and only if

which is equivalent to

Using Theorem 3.1, we thus complete the proof.

If is a real Hilbert space, we then obtain the following results.

Corollary 3.3. Let be a nonempty, closed and convex subset of a real Hilbert space . Let () be maximal monotone operators, let be a bifunction, and let () be weak relatively nonexpansive mappings such that . Let be the sequence such that . Define the sequence in as follows:

If for each and , then the sequence converges strongly to .

Corollary 3.4. Let be a nonempty, closed, and convex subset of a real Hilbert space . Let () be proper lower semi-continuous convex functions, let be a bifunction, and let () be weak relatively nonexpansive mappings such that . Let be the sequence such that . Define the sequence in as follows:

If for each and , then the sequence converges strongly to .

Remark 3.5. Using the shrinking projection method, we can construct a hybrid-proximal point algorithm for solving a system of the zero-finding problems, the equilibrium problems, and the fixed point problems of weak relatively nonexpansive mappings.

Remark 3.6. Since every relatively nonexpansive mapping is weak relatively nonexpansive, our results also hold if () are relatively nonexpansive mappings.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the editor and the referee(s) for valuable suggestions. The first author was supported by the Thailand Research Fund, the Commission on Higher Education, and the University of Phayao under Grant MRG5380202. The second and the third authors wish to thank the Thailand Research Fund and the Centre of Excellence in Mathematics, Thailand.

References

P. Cholamjiak, Y. J. Cho, and S. Suantai, “Composite iterative schemes for maximal monotone operators in reflexive Banach spaces,” Fixed Point Theory and Applications, vol. 2011, article 7, 10 pages, 2011.

Y. J. Cho, S. M. Kang, and H. Zhou, “Approximate proximal point algorithms for finding zeroes of maximal monotone operators in Hilbert spaces,” Journal of Inequalities and Applications, vol. 2008, Article ID 598191, 10 pages, 2008.

L.-C. Ceng, Y.-C. Liou, and E. Naraghirad, “Iterative approaches to find zeros of maximal monotone operators by hybrid approximate proximal point methods,” Fixed Point Theory and Applications, vol. 2011, Article ID 282171, 18 pages, 2011.

O. Güler, “On the convergence of the proximal point algorithm for convex minimization,” SIAM Journal on Control and Optimization, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 403–419, 1991.

F. Kohsaka and W. Takahashi, “Strong convergence of an iterative sequence for maximal monotone operators in a Banach space,” Abstract and Applied Analysis, no. 3, pp. 239–249, 2004.

G. Marino and H.-K. Xu, “Convergence of generalized proximal point algorithms,” Communications on Pure and Applied Analysis, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 791–808, 2004.

N. Onjai-uea and P. Kumam, “A new iterative scheme for equilibrium problems, fixed point problems for nonexpansive mappings and maximal monotone operators,” Fixed Point Theory and Applications. In press

X. Qin, S. M. Kang, and Y. J. Cho, “Approximating zeros of monotone operators by proximal point algorithms,” Journal of Global Optimization, vol. 46, no. 1, pp. 75–87, 2010.

S. Saewan and P. Kumam, “A hybrid iterative scheme for a maximal monotone operator and two countable families of relatively quasi-nonexpansive mappings for generalized mixed equilibrium and variational inequality problems,” Abstract and Applied Analysis, vol. 2010, Article ID 123027, 31 pages, 2010.

P. Sunthrayuth and P. Kumam, “A system of generalized mixed equilibrium problems, maximal monotone operators, and fixed point problems with application to optimization problems,” Abstract and Applied Analysis, vol. 2012, Article ID 316276, 39 pages, 2012.

K. Wattanawitoon and P. Kumam, “Hybrid proximal-point methods for zeros of maximal monotone operators, variational inequalities and mixed equilibrium problems,” International Journal of Mathematics and Mathematical Sciences, vol. 2011, Article ID 174796, 31 pages, 2011.

K. Wattanawitoon and P. Kumam, “Generalized mixed equilibrium problems for maximal monotone operators and two relatively quasi-nonexpansive mappings,” Thai Journal of Mathematics, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 171–195, 2011.

K. Wattanawitoon and P. Kumam, “A new iterative scheme for generalized mixed equilibrium, variational inequality problems and a zero point of maximal monotone operators,” Journal of Applied Mathematics, vol. 2012, Article ID 692829, 27 pages, 2012.

U. Witthayarat, Y. J. Cho, and P. Kumam, “Convergence of an iterative algorithm for common solutions for zeros of maximal accretive operator with applications,” Journal of Applied Mathematics, vol. 2012, Article ID 185104, 17 pages, 2012.

Y. Yao and M. A. Noor, “On convergence criteria of generalized proximal point algorithms,” Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics, vol. 217, no. 1, pp. 46–55, 2008.

Y. Yao and N. Shahzad, “Strong convergence of a proximal point algorithm with general errors,” Optimization Letters, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 621–628, 2012.

B. Martinet, “Régularisation d'inéquations variationnelles par approximations successives,” vol. 4, no. R-3, pp. 154–158, 1970.

R. T. Rockafellar, “Monotone operators and the proximal point algorithm,” SIAM Journal on Control and Optimization, vol. 14, no. 5, pp. 877–898, 1976.

S. Kamimura and W. Takahashi, “Approximating solutions of maximal monotone operators in Hilbert spaces,” Journal of Approximation Theory, vol. 106, no. 2, pp. 226–240, 2000.

S. Kamimura, F. Kohsaka, and W. Takahashi, “Weak and strong convergence theorems for maximal monotone operators in a Banach space,” Set-Valued Analysis, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 417–429, 2004.

W. Takahashi and K. Zembayashi, “Strong convergence theorem by a new hybrid method for equilibrium problems and relatively nonexpansive mappings,” Fixed Point Theory and Applications, vol. 2008, Article ID 528476, 11 pages, 2008.

W. Takahashi, Y. Takeuchi, and R. Kubota, “Strong convergence theorems by hybrid methods for families of nonexpansive mappings in Hilbert spaces,” Journal of Mathematical Analysis and Applications, vol. 341, no. 1, pp. 276–286, 2008.

P. Cholamjiak, “A hybrid iterative scheme for equilibrium problems, variational inequality problems, and fixed point problems in Banach spaces,” Fixed Point Theory and Applications, vol. 2009, Article ID 719360, 18 pages, 2009.

P. Cholamjiak and S. Suantai, “Convergence analysis for a system of equilibrium problems and a countable family of relatively quasi-nonexpansive mappings in Banach spaces,” Abstract and Applied Analysis, vol. 2010, Article ID 141376, 17 pages, 2010.

W. Cholamjiak and S. Suantai, “A hybrid method for a countable family of multivalued maps, equilibrium problems, and variational inequality problems,” Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society, vol. 2010, Article ID 349158, 14 pages, 2010.

W. Cholamjiak and S. Suantai, “A new hybrid algorithm for a countable family of quasi-nonexpansive mappings and equilibrium problems,” Journal of Nonlinear and Convex Analysis, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 381–398, 2011.

P. Kumam, “A hybrid approximation method for equilibrium and fixed point problems for a monotone mapping and a nonexpansive mapping,” Nonlinear Analysis. Hybrid Systems, vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 1245–1255, 2008.

P. Kumam, “A new hybrid iterative method for solution of equilibrium problems and fixed point problems for an inverse strongly monotone operator and a nonexpansive mapping,” Journal of Applied Mathematics and Computing, vol. 29, no. 1-2, pp. 263–280, 2009.

X. Qin, Y. J. Cho, and S. M. Kang, “Convergence theorems of common elements for equilibrium problems and fixed point problems in Banach spaces,” Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics, vol. 225, no. 1, pp. 20–30, 2009.

Y. Shehu, “Iterative approximation method for finite family of relatively quasi nonexpansive mappings and systems of equilibrium problems,” Journal of Global Optimization, vol. 51, no. 1, pp. 69–78, 2011.

Y. Shehu, “A new hybrid iterative scheme for countable families of relatively quasi-nonexpansive mappings and system of equilibrium problems,” International Journal of Mathematics and Mathematical Sciences, vol. 2011, Article ID 131890, 23 pages, 2011.

W. Takahashi, Nonlinear Functional Analysis, Fixed Point Theory and Its Application, Yokohama Publishers, Yokohama, Japan, 2000.

D. Butnariu, S. Reich, and A. J. Zaslavski, “Asymptotic behavior of relatively nonexpansive operators in Banach spaces,” Journal of Applied Analysis, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 151–174, 2001.

D. Butnariu, S. Reich, and A. J. Zaslavski, “Weak convergence of orbits of nonlinear operators in reflexive Banach spaces,” Numerical Functional Analysis and Optimization. An International Journal, vol. 24, no. 5-6, pp. 489–508, 2003.

H. Zegeye and N. Shahzad, “Strong convergence theorems for monotone mappings and relatively weak nonexpansive mappings,” Nonlinear Analysis. Theory, Methods & Applications, vol. 70, no. 7, pp. 2707–2716, 2009.

Y. Su, H.-K. Xu, and X. Zhang, “Strong convergence theorems for two countable families of weak relatively nonexpansive mappings and applications,” Nonlinear Analysis. Theory, Methods & Applications, vol. 73, no. 12, pp. 3890–3906, 2010.

Y. I. Alber, “Metric and generalized projection operators in Banach spaces: properties and applications,” in Theory and Applications of Nonlinear Operators of Accretive and Monotone Type, A. G. Kartsatos, Ed., vol. 178, pp. 15–50, Marcel Dekker, New York, NY, USA, 1996.

S. Kamimura and W. Takahashi, “Strong convergence of a proximal-type algorithm in a Banach space,” SIAM Journal on Optimization, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 938–945, 2002.

S.-Y. Matsushita and W. Takahashi, “A strong convergence theorem for relatively nonexpansive mappings in a Banach space,” Journal of Approximation Theory, vol. 134, no. 2, pp. 257–266, 2005.

E. Blum and W. Oettli, “From optimization and variational inequalities to equilibrium problems,” The Mathematics Student, vol. 63, no. 1–4, pp. 123–145, 1994.

W. Takahashi and K. Zembayashi, “Strong and weak convergence theorems for equilibrium problems and relatively nonexpansive mappings in Banach spaces,” Nonlinear Analysis. Theory, Methods & Applications, vol. 70, no. 1, pp. 45–57, 2009.

F. Kohsaka and W. Takahashi, “Existence and approximation of fixed points of firmly nonexpansive-type mappings in Banach spaces,” SIAM Journal on Optimization, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 824–835, 2008.

R. T. Rockafellar, “Characterization of the subdifferentials of convex functions,” Pacific Journal of Mathematics, vol. 17, pp. 497–510, 1966.

R. T. Rockafellar, “On the maximal monotonicity of subdifferential mappings,” Pacific Journal of Mathematics, vol. 33, pp. 209–216, 1970.