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For a convex perturbation function, defineThe primal and dual values are $p(0)$ and $q(0)$; the signed dual marginal $q$ is concave. The identity $p^{\ast }(y)=f^{\ast }(0,y)$ gives $q(0)=p^{\ast \ast }(0)$. If $p$ is proper and finite near zero, subgradients at zero prove strong duality with dual attainment. In finite dimensions the relative-interior condition $0\in \mathrm{ri}(\mathrm{dom}p)$ also suffices, provided $p(0)$ is finite. This does not itself prove primal attainment.

For each fixed $z$, choose the convex perturbation functionIt is jointly convex and has marginalBecause $h$ and $k$ are nonnegative and finite everywhere,for every $w$. The inf-convolution is convex: for approximate decompositions of $w_1,w_2$, take their convex combination and use convexity of both costs; then let their approximation errors tend to zero. Thus $F$ is a finite convex function on all of ${\mathbb{R}}^n$, hence continuous everywhere. In particular $p_z$ is proper and finite near zero, so the qualification in the previous solution applies at every $z$:This is strong duality for a finite-valued infimal convolution.

No primal attainment was used. For example $k(x)=e^x$ and $h(x)=0$ meet all the stated assumptions, but $F(z)=0$ is approached only as $x\to -\infty$. This illustrates why a proof based on an assumed minimizing decomposition would be incomplete. The printed functions are real-valued everywhere, not merely extended-real; that distinction supplies continuity and the strong-duality qualification.

Let $r(u)=\Vert u-g{\Vert }_2^2$ and fix the reference noise budget $\sigma$. Define the convex perturbation functionPositive $z$ increases the allowed squared noise level. The feasible epigraph set $r(u)\le \sigma +z$ is convex and closed, so this is a proper lower semicontinuous jointly convex perturbation. Writing the inequality indicator as a supremum over its multiplier givesThe Lagrange dual function is $d(\lambda )={\inf }_{u}L(u,\lambda )$ for $\lambda \ge 0$. In the signed convex conjugate convention of part (a), $y=-\lambda$; positive $y$ gives dual objective $-\infty$ because the perturbation can be made arbitrarily large.

The feasible ball is nonempty and compact, so lower semicontinuity of total variation gives a primal minimizer. For $\sigma >0$, $u=g$ satisfies $r(g)=0<\sigma$, providing the Slater condition. Total variation is finite everywhere in the given discretization and hence continuous. Strong duality and dual attainment give a finite optimal ${\lambda }^{\ast }\ge 0$. The pair satisfies the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker conditionsEquivalently,Thus the set of saddle points is nonempty. Compactness handles primal attainment, while strict feasibility supplies a finite multiplier; these are distinct steps. An inactive constraint can yield ${\lambda }^{\ast }=0$. At $\sigma =0$, feasibility still forces $u=g$, but this strict-feasibility argument does not apply.