Regularly abstract convex functions with respect to the set of Lipschitz continuous concave functions

Abstract

The goal of the paper is to study the particular class of regularly ${\mathcal{H}}$-convex functions, when ${\mathcal{H}}$ is the set ${\mathcal{L}\widehat{C}}(X,{\mathbb{R}})$ of real-valued Lipschitz continuous classically concave functions defined on a real normed space $X$. For an extended-real-valued function $f:X \mapsto \overline{\mathbb{R}}$ to be ${\mathcal{L}\widehat{C}}$-convex it is necessary and sufficient that $f$ be lower semicontinuous and bounded from below by a Lipschitz continuous function; moreover, each ${\mathcal{L}\widehat{C}}$-convex function is regularly ${\mathcal{L}\widehat{C}}$-convex as well. We focus on ${\mathcal{L}\widehat{C}}$-subdifferentiability of functions at a given point. We prove that the set of points at which an ${\mathcal{L}\widehat{C}}$-convex function is ${\mathcal{L}\widehat{C}}$-subdifferentiable is dense in its effective domain. Using the subset ${\mathcal{L}\widehat{C}}_\theta$ of the set ${\mathcal{L}\widehat{C}}$ consisting of such Lipschitz continuous concave functions that vanish at the origin we introduce the notions of ${\mathcal{L}\widehat{C}}_\theta$-subgradient and ${\mathcal{L}\widehat{C}}_\theta$-subdifferential of a function at a point which generalize the corresponding notions of the classical convex analysis. Symmetric notions of abstract ${\mathcal{L}\widecheck{C}}$-concavity and ${\mathcal{L}\widecheck{C}}$-superdifferentiability of functions where ${\mathcal{L}\widecheck{C}}:= {\mathcal{L}\widecheck{C}}(X,{\mathbb{R}})$ is the set of Lipschitz continuous convex functions are also considered. Some properties and simple calculus rules for ${\mathcal{L}\widehat{C}}_\theta$-subdifferentials as well as ${\mathcal{L}\widehat{C}}_\theta$-subdifferential conditions for global extremum points are established.