Message-Passing Algorithms for Quadratic Minimization

Gaussian belief propagation (GaBP) is an iterative algorithm for computing the mean of a multivariate Gaussian distribution, or equivalently, the minimum of a multivariate positive definite quadratic function. Sufficient conditions, such as walk-summability, that guarantee the convergence and correctness of GaBP are known, but GaBP may fail to converge to the correct solution given an arbitrary positive definite quadratic function. As was observed in previous work, the GaBP algorithm fails to converge if the computation trees produced by the algorithm are not positive definite. In this work, we will show that the failure modes of the GaBP algorithm can be understood via graph covers, and we prove that a parameterized generalization of the min-sum algorithm can be used to ensure that the computation trees remain positive definite whenever the input matrix is positive definite. We demonstrate that the resulting algorithm is closely related to other iterative schemes for quadratic minimization such as the Gauss-Seidel and Jacobi algorithms. Finally, we observe, empirically, that there always exists a choice of parameters such that the above generalization of the GaBP algorithm converges

Inference and Optimization of Real Edges on Sparse Graphs - A Statistical Physics Perspective

Inference and optimization of real-value edge variables in sparse graphs are studied using the Bethe approximation and replica method of statistical physics. Equilibrium states of general energy functions involving a large set of real edge-variables that interact at the network nodes are obtained in various cases. When applied to the representative problem of network resource allocation, efficient distributed algorithms are also devised. Scaling properties with respect to the network connectivity and the resource availability are found, and links to probabilistic Bayesian approximation methods are established. Different cost measures are considered and algorithmic solutions in the various cases are devised and examined numerically. Simulation results are in full agreement with the theory.Comment: 21 pages, 10 figures, major changes: Sections IV to VII updated, Figs. 1 to 3 replace

Inference for Generalized Linear Models via Alternating Directions and Bethe Free Energy Minimization

Generalized Linear Models (GLMs), where a random vector $\mathbf{x}$ is observed through a noisy, possibly nonlinear, function of a linear transform $\mathbf{z}=\mathbf{Ax}$ arise in a range of applications in nonlinear filtering and regression. Approximate Message Passing (AMP) methods, based on loopy belief propagation, are a promising class of approaches for approximate inference in these models. AMP methods are computationally simple, general, and admit precise analyses with testable conditions for optimality for large i.i.d. transforms $\mathbf{A}$. However, the algorithms can easily diverge for general $\mathbf{A}$. This paper presents a convergent approach to the generalized AMP (GAMP) algorithm based on direct minimization of a large-system limit approximation of the Bethe Free Energy (LSL-BFE). The proposed method uses a double-loop procedure, where the outer loop successively linearizes the LSL-BFE and the inner loop minimizes the linearized LSL-BFE using the Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM). The proposed method, called ADMM-GAMP, is similar in structure to the original GAMP method, but with an additional least-squares minimization. It is shown that for strictly convex, smooth penalties, ADMM-GAMP is guaranteed to converge to a local minima of the LSL-BFE, thus providing a convergent alternative to GAMP that is stable under arbitrary transforms. Simulations are also presented that demonstrate the robustness of the method for non-convex penalties as well