We study the problem of estimating multiple predictive functions from a dictionary of basis functions in the nonparametric regression setting. Our estimation scheme assumes that each predictive function can be estimated in the form of a linear combination of the basis functions. By assuming that the coefficient matrix admits a sparse low-rank structure, we formulate the function estimation problem as a convex program regularized by the trace norm and the <InlineEquation ID="IEq1"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">$$\ell _1$$</EquationSource> <EquationSource Format="MATHML"> <math xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <msub> <mi>ℓ</mi> <mn>1</mn> </msub> </math> </EquationSource> </InlineEquation>-norm simultaneously. We propose to solve the convex program using the accelerated gradient (AG) method; we also develop efficient algorithms to solve the key components in AG. In addition, we conduct theoretical analysis on the proposed function estimation scheme: we derive a key property of the optimal solution to the convex program; based on an assumption on the basis functions, we establish a performance bound of the proposed function estimation scheme (via the composite regularization). Simulation studies demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed algorithms. Copyright Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014
