# SPGL1: A solver for sparse least squares

version 2.1 released June 2020

This latest release of SPGL1 implements a dual root-finding mode that allows for increased accuracy for basis pusuit denoising problems. See Theory.

SPGL1 is an open-source Matlab solver for sparse least-squares. It is designed to solve any one of these three problem formulations:

Lasso problem

Basis pursuit denoise

Basis pursuit

## Features

• Linear operator A. SPGL1 relies on matrix-vector operations A*x and A'*y, and accepts both explicit matrices (dense or sparse) and functions that evaluate these products.

• Sparsity regularizer. Any sparsity-inducing norm $\Vert\cdot\Vert_p$ can be used if the user provides functions evaluating the primal norm, the corresponding dual norm, and a procedure for projecting onto a level-set of the primal norm. The default is the 1-norm. Several other norms included in SPGL1 are the group (1,2)-norm and the special multiple-measurement vector (MMV) case.

• Real and complex domains. SPGL1 is suitable for problems that live in either the real or complex domains. In the complex domain, the correct corresponding 1-norm (sum of magnitudes) is used.

## Feedback

We are glad to hear from you if you find SPGL1 useful, or if you have any suggestions, contributions, or bug reports. Please send these to the SPGL1 authors

• Ewout van den Berg (Email <vandenberg.ewout@gmail.com>)
• Michael P. Friedlander (Email: <mpf@cs.ubc.ca>)

## Credits

This research is supported in part by an NSERC Discovery Grant and by a grant for the Office of Naval Research (N00014-17-1-2009).