15,065 research outputs found
Symmetric confidence regions and confidence intervals for normal map formulations of stochastic variational inequalities
Stochastic variational inequalities (SVI) model a large class of equilibrium
problems subject to data uncertainty, and are closely related to stochastic
optimization problems. The SVI solution is usually estimated by a solution to a
sample average approximation (SAA) problem. This paper considers the normal map
formulation of an SVI, and proposes a method to build asymptotically exact
confidence regions and confidence intervals for the solution of the normal map
formulation, based on the asymptotic distribution of SAA solutions. The
confidence regions are single ellipsoids with high probability. We also discuss
the computation of simultaneous and individual confidence intervals
Validating Sample Average Approximation Solutions with Negatively Dependent Batches
Sample-average approximations (SAA) are a practical means of finding
approximate solutions of stochastic programming problems involving an extremely
large (or infinite) number of scenarios. SAA can also be used to find estimates
of a lower bound on the optimal objective value of the true problem which, when
coupled with an upper bound, provides confidence intervals for the true optimal
objective value and valuable information about the quality of the approximate
solutions. Specifically, the lower bound can be estimated by solving multiple
SAA problems (each obtained using a particular sampling method) and averaging
the obtained objective values. State-of-the-art methods for lower-bound
estimation generate batches of scenarios for the SAA problems independently. In
this paper, we describe sampling methods that produce negatively dependent
batches, thus reducing the variance of the sample-averaged lower bound
estimator and increasing its usefulness in defining a confidence interval for
the optimal objective value. We provide conditions under which the new sampling
methods can reduce the variance of the lower bound estimator, and present
computational results to verify that our scheme can reduce the variance
significantly, by comparison with the traditional Latin hypercube approach
A STOCHASTIC SIMULATION-BASED HYBRID INTERVAL FUZZY PROGRAMMING APPROACH FOR OPTIMIZING THE TREATMENT OF RECOVERED OILY WATER
In this paper, a stochastic simulation-based hybrid interval fuzzy programming (SHIFP) approach
is developed to aid the decision-making process by solving fuzzy linear optimization problems.
Fuzzy set theory, probability theory, and interval analysis are integrated to take into account the
effect of imprecise information, subjective judgment, and variable environmental conditions. A
case study related to oily water treatment during offshore oil spill clean-up operations is conducted
to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed approach. The results suggest that producing a
random sequence of triangular fuzzy numbers in a given interval is equivalent to a normal
distribution when using the centroid defuzzification method. It also shows that the defuzzified
optimal solutions follow the normal distribution and range from 3,000-3,700 tons, given the
budget constraint (CAD 110,000-150,000). The normality seems to be able to propagate
throughout the optimization process, yet this interesting finding deserves more in-depth study
and needs more rigorous mathematical proof to validate its applicability and feasibility. In
addition, the optimal decision variables can be categorized into several groups with different
probability such that decision makers can wisely allocate limited resources with higher
confidence in a short period of time. This study is expected to advise the industries and
authorities on how to distribute resources and maximize the treatment efficiency of oily
water in a short period of time, particularly in the context of harsh environments
A Learning Theoretic Approach to Energy Harvesting Communication System Optimization
A point-to-point wireless communication system in which the transmitter is
equipped with an energy harvesting device and a rechargeable battery, is
studied. Both the energy and the data arrivals at the transmitter are modeled
as Markov processes. Delay-limited communication is considered assuming that
the underlying channel is block fading with memory, and the instantaneous
channel state information is available at both the transmitter and the
receiver. The expected total transmitted data during the transmitter's
activation time is maximized under three different sets of assumptions
regarding the information available at the transmitter about the underlying
stochastic processes. A learning theoretic approach is introduced, which does
not assume any a priori information on the Markov processes governing the
communication system. In addition, online and offline optimization problems are
studied for the same setting. Full statistical knowledge and causal information
on the realizations of the underlying stochastic processes are assumed in the
online optimization problem, while the offline optimization problem assumes
non-causal knowledge of the realizations in advance. Comparing the optimal
solutions in all three frameworks, the performance loss due to the lack of the
transmitter's information regarding the behaviors of the underlying Markov
processes is quantified
Bounding Optimality Gap in Stochastic Optimization via Bagging: Statistical Efficiency and Stability
We study a statistical method to estimate the optimal value, and the
optimality gap of a given solution for stochastic optimization as an assessment
of the solution quality. Our approach is based on bootstrap aggregating, or
bagging, resampled sample average approximation (SAA). We show how this
approach leads to valid statistical confidence bounds for non-smooth
optimization. We also demonstrate its statistical efficiency and stability that
are especially desirable in limited-data situations, and compare these
properties with some existing methods. We present our theory that views SAA as
a kernel in an infinite-order symmetric statistic, which can be approximated
via bagging. We substantiate our theoretical findings with numerical results
- …