Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 August 2002
In this paper we study the well definedness of the central path associated to agiven nonlinear (convex) semidefinite programming problem. Under standard assumptions,we establish that the existence of the central path is equivalent to the nonemptiness andboundedness of the optimal set. Other equivalent conditions are given, such as the existenceof a strictly dual feasible point or the existence of a single central point.The monotonicbehavior of the logarithmic barrier and the objective function along the trajectory is alsodiscussed. Finally, the existence and optimality of cluster points are established.