8,348 research outputs found
Adaptive Stratified Sampling for Monte-Carlo integration of Differentiable functions
We consider the problem of adaptive stratified sampling for Monte Carlo
integration of a differentiable function given a finite number of evaluations
to the function. We construct a sampling scheme that samples more often in
regions where the function oscillates more, while allocating the samples such
that they are well spread on the domain (this notion shares similitude with low
discrepancy). We prove that the estimate returned by the algorithm is almost
similarly accurate as the estimate that an optimal oracle strategy (that would
know the variations of the function everywhere) would return, and provide a
finite-sample analysis.Comment: 23 pages, 3 figures, to appear in NIPS 2012 conference proceeding
Efficient posterior sampling for high-dimensional imbalanced logistic regression
High-dimensional data are routinely collected in many areas. We are
particularly interested in Bayesian classification models in which one or more
variables are imbalanced. Current Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms for
posterior computation are inefficient as and/or increase due to
worsening time per step and mixing rates. One strategy is to use a
gradient-based sampler to improve mixing while using data sub-samples to reduce
per-step computational complexity. However, usual sub-sampling breaks down when
applied to imbalanced data. Instead, we generalize piece-wise deterministic
Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms to include importance-weighted and
mini-batch sub-sampling. These approaches maintain the correct stationary
distribution with arbitrarily small sub-samples, and substantially outperform
current competitors. We provide theoretical support and illustrate gains in
simulated and real data applications.Comment: 4 figure
Multidimensional integration in a heterogeneous network environment
We consider several issues related to the multidimensional integration using
a network of heterogeneous computers. Based on these considerations, we develop
a new general purpose scheme which can significantly reduce the time needed for
evaluation of integrals with CPU intensive integrands. This scheme is a
parallel version of the well-known adaptive Monte Carlo method (the VEGAS
algorithm), and is incorporated into a new integration package which uses the
standard set of message-passing routines in the PVM software system.Comment: 19 pages, latex, 5 postscript figures include
Uniformisation techniques for stochastic simulation of chemical reaction networks
This work considers the method of uniformisation for continuous-time Markov
chains in the context of chemical reaction networks. Previous work in the
literature has shown that uniformisation can be beneficial in the context of
time-inhomogeneous models, such as chemical reaction networks incorporating
extrinsic noise. This paper lays focus on the understanding of uniformisation
from the viewpoint of sample paths of chemical reaction networks. In
particular, an efficient pathwise stochastic simulation algorithm for
time-homogeneous models is presented which is complexity-wise equal to
Gillespie's direct method. This new approach therefore enlarges the class of
problems for which the uniformisation approach forms a computationally
attractive choice. Furthermore, as a new application of the uniformisation
method, we provide a novel variance reduction method for (raw) moment
estimators of chemical reaction networks based upon the combination of
stratification and uniformisation
Convenient Multiple Directions of Stratification
This paper investigates the use of multiple directions of stratification as a
variance reduction technique for Monte Carlo simulations of path-dependent
options driven by Gaussian vectors. The precision of the method depends on the
choice of the directions of stratification and the allocation rule within each
strata. Several choices have been proposed but, even if they provide variance
reduction, their implementation is computationally intensive and not applicable
to realistic payoffs, in particular not to Asian options with barrier.
Moreover, all these previously published methods employ orthogonal directions
for multiple stratification. In this work we investigate the use of algorithms
producing convenient directions, generally non-orthogonal, combining a lower
computational cost with a comparable variance reduction. In addition, we study
the accuracy of optimal allocation in terms of variance reduction compared to
the Latin Hypercube Sampling. We consider the directions obtained by the Linear
Transformation and the Principal Component Analysis. We introduce a new
procedure based on the Linear Approximation of the explained variance of the
payoff using the law of total variance. In addition, we exhibit a novel
algorithm that permits to correctly generate normal vectors stratified along
non-orthogonal directions. Finally, we illustrate the efficiency of these
algorithms in the computation of the price of different path-dependent options
with and without barriers in the Black-Scholes and in the Cox-Ingersoll-Ross
markets.Comment: 21 pages, 11 table
Using parallel computation to improve Independent Metropolis--Hastings based estimation
In this paper, we consider the implications of the fact that parallel
raw-power can be exploited by a generic Metropolis--Hastings algorithm if the
proposed values are independent. In particular, we present improvements to the
independent Metropolis--Hastings algorithm that significantly decrease the
variance of any estimator derived from the MCMC output, for a null computing
cost since those improvements are based on a fixed number of target density
evaluations. Furthermore, the techniques developed in this paper do not
jeopardize the Markovian convergence properties of the algorithm, since they
are based on the Rao--Blackwell principles of Gelfand and Smith (1990), already
exploited in Casella and Robert (1996), Atchade and Perron (2005) and Douc and
Robert (2010). We illustrate those improvements both on a toy normal example
and on a classical probit regression model, but stress the fact that they are
applicable in any case where the independent Metropolis-Hastings is applicable.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures, to appear in Journal of Computational and
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