LAUSR

Various image datasets appear naturally in the form of multi-dimensional arrays (hypermatrices), called tensors. Image with incomplete entries, which often can be formulated as the low-rank tensor completion problem, is practically important in order to process large size 3D array images both efficiently and effectively. To make the low-rank approximation being tractable, most current approaches make use of the lower convex envelope of tensor multi-rank function for the approximation. Due to the gap between the rank function and its lower convex envelope, the adoption of tensor nuclear norm may lead to the approximation of the corresponding tensor tubal-rank being insufficient. In this paper, we introduce a new nonconvex regularization approach, which can better capture the low-rank characteristics than the convex approach. By transforming the original problem to the Fourier domain, we formulate an equivalent optimization problem with more transparent tensor rank characteristics, whose explicit solution can be obtained under our framework. A minimization algorithm, associated with the augmented Lagrangian multipliers and the nonconvex regularizer, is established and is shown to be feasible. The constructed sequence converges to the desirable Karush-Kuhn-Tucker point, which is mathematically validated in detail. Extensive experimental results demonstrate that our proposed approach outperforms the existing state-of-the-art convex approaches consistently.