Hot new directions for quasi-Monte Carlo research in step with applications

This article provides an overview of some interfaces between the theory of quasi-Monte Carlo (QMC) methods and applications. We summarize three QMC theoretical settings: first order QMC methods in the unit cube $[0,1]^s$ and in $\mathbb{R}^s$, and higher order QMC methods in the unit cube. One important feature is that their error bounds can be independent of the dimension $s$ under appropriate conditions on the function spaces. Another important feature is that good parameters for these QMC methods can be obtained by fast efficient algorithms even when $s$ is large. We outline three different applications and explain how they can tap into the different QMC theory. We also discuss three cost saving strategies that can be combined with QMC in these applications. Many of these recent QMC theory and methods are developed not in isolation, but in close connection with applications

Construction of quasi-Monte Carlo rules for multivariate integration in spaces of permutation-invariant functions

We study multivariate integration of functions that are invariant under the permutation (of a subset) of their arguments. Recently, in Nuyens, Suryanarayana, and Weimar (Adv. Comput. Math. (2016), 42(1):55--84), the authors derived an upper estimate for the $n$th minimal worst case error for such problems, and showed that under certain conditions this upper bound only weakly depends on the dimension. We extend these results by proposing two (semi-) explicit construction schemes. We develop a component-by-component algorithm to find the generating vector for a shifted rank-$1$ lattice rule that obtains a rate of convergence arbitrarily close to $\mathcal{O}(n^{-\alpha})$, where $\alpha>1/2$ denotes the smoothness of our function space and $n$ is the number of cubature nodes. Further, we develop a semi-constructive algorithm that builds on point sets which can be used to approximate the integrands of interest with a small error; the cubature error is then bounded by the error of approximation. Here the same rate of convergence is achieved while the dependence of the error bounds on the dimension $d$ is significantly improved

The construction of good lattice rules and polynomial lattice rules

A comprehensive overview of lattice rules and polynomial lattice rules is given for function spaces based on $\ell_p$ semi-norms. Good lattice rules and polynomial lattice rules are defined as those obtaining worst-case errors bounded by the optimal rate of convergence for the function space. The focus is on algebraic rates of convergence $O(N^{-\alpha+\epsilon})$ for $\alpha \ge 1$ and any $\epsilon > 0$, where $\alpha$ is the decay of a series representation of the integrand function. The dependence of the implied constant on the dimension can be controlled by weights which determine the influence of the different dimensions. Different types of weights are discussed. The construction of good lattice rules, and polynomial lattice rules, can be done using the same method for all $1 < p \le \infty$; but the case $p=1$ is special from the construction point of view. For $1 < p \le \infty$ the component-by-component construction and its fast algorithm for different weighted function spaces is then discussed

Error analysis of truncated expansion solutions to high-dimensional parabolic PDEs

We study an expansion method for high-dimensional parabolic PDEs which constructs accurate approximate solutions by decomposition into solutions to lower-dimensional PDEs, and which is particularly effective if there are a low number of dominant principal components. The focus of the present article is the derivation of sharp error bounds for the constant coefficient case and a first and second order approximation. We give a precise characterisation when these bounds hold for (non-smooth) option pricing applications and provide numerical results demonstrating that the practically observed convergence speed is in agreement with the theoretical predictions

On the quasi-Monte Carlo quadrature with Halton points for elliptic PDEs with log-normal diffusion

This article is dedicated to the computation of the moments of the solution to elliptic partial differential equations with random, log-normally distributed diffusion coefficients by the quasi-Monte Carlo method. Our main result is that the convergence rate of the quasi-Monte Carlo method based on the Halton sequence for the moment computation depends only linearly on the dimensionality of the stochastic input parameters. Especially, we attain this rather mild dependence on the stochastic dimensionality without any randomization of the quasi-Monte Carlo method under consideration. For the proof of the main result, we require related regularity estimates for the solution and its powers. These estimates are also provided here. Numerical experiments are given to validate the theoretical findings. This article is dedicated to the computation of the moments of the solution to elliptic partial differential equations with random, log-normally distributed diffusion coefficients by the quasi-Monte Carlo method. Our main result is that the convergence rate of the quasi-Monte Carlo method based on the Halton sequence for the moment computation depends only linearly on the dimensionality of the stochastic input parameters. Especially, we attain this rather mild dependence on the stochastic dimensionality without any randomization of the quasi-Monte Carlo method under consideration. For the proof of the main result, we require related regularity estimates for the solution and its powers. These estimates are also provided here. Numerical experiments are given to validate the theoretical findings