  We propose NAMA (Newton-type Alternating Minimization Algorithm) for solving
structured nonsmooth convex optimization problems where the sum of two
functions is to be minimized, one being strongly convex and the other composed
with a linear mapping. The proposed algorithm is a line-search method over a
continuous, real-valued, exact penalty function for the corresponding dual
problem, which is computed by evaluating the augmented Lagrangian at the primal
points obtained by alternating minimizations. As a consequence, NAMA relies on
exactly the same computations as the classical alternating minimization
algorithm (AMA), also known as the dual proximal gradient method. Under
standard assumptions the proposed algorithm possesses strong convergence
properties, while under mild additional assumptions the asymptotic convergence
is superlinear, provided that the search directions are chosen according to
quasi-Newton formulas. Due to its simplicity, the proposed method is well
suited for embedded applications and large-scale problems. Experiments show
that using limited-memory directions in NAMA greatly improves the convergence
speed over AMA and its accelerated variant.
