12 research outputs found
Consensus-Based Optimization on Hypersurfaces: Well-Posedness and Mean-Field Limit
We introduce a new stochastic differential model for global optimization of
nonconvex functions on compact hypersurfaces. The model is inspired by the
stochastic Kuramoto-Vicsek system and belongs to the class of Consensus-Based
Optimization methods. In fact, particles move on the hypersurface driven by a
drift towards an instantaneous consensus point, computed as a convex
combination of the particle locations weighted by the cost function according
to Laplace's principle. The consensus point represents an approximation to a
global minimizer. The dynamics is further perturbed by a random vector field to
favor exploration, whose variance is a function of the distance of the
particles to the consensus point. In particular, as soon as the consensus is
reached, then the stochastic component vanishes. In this paper, we study the
well-posedness of the model and we derive rigorously its mean-field
approximation for large particle limit
A blob method for diffusion
As a counterpoint to classical stochastic particle methods for diffusion, we
develop a deterministic particle method for linear and nonlinear diffusion. At
first glance, deterministic particle methods are incompatible with diffusive
partial differential equations since initial data given by sums of Dirac masses
would be smoothed instantaneously: particles do not remain particles. Inspired
by classical vortex blob methods, we introduce a nonlocal regularization of our
velocity field that ensures particles do remain particles, and we apply this to
develop a numerical blob method for a range of diffusive partial differential
equations of Wasserstein gradient flow type, including the heat equation, the
porous medium equation, the Fokker-Planck equation, the Keller-Segel equation,
and its variants. Our choice of regularization is guided by the Wasserstein
gradient flow structure, and the corresponding energy has a novel form,
combining aspects of the well-known interaction and potential energies. In the
presence of a confining drift or interaction potential, we prove that
minimizers of the regularized energy exist and, as the regularization is
removed, converge to the minimizers of the unregularized energy. We then
restrict our attention to nonlinear diffusion of porous medium type with at
least quadratic exponent. Under sufficient regularity assumptions, we prove
that gradient flows of the regularized energies converge to solutions of the
porous medium equation. As a corollary, we obtain convergence of our numerical
blob method, again under sufficient regularity assumptions. We conclude by
considering a range of numerical examples to demonstrate our method's rate of
convergence to exact solutions and to illustrate key qualitative properties
preserved by the method, including asymptotic behavior of the Fokker-Planck
equation and critical mass of the two-dimensional Keller-Segel equation
Aggregation-diffusion equations: dynamics, asymptotics, and singular limits
Given a large ensemble of interacting particles, driven by nonlocal
interactions and localized repulsion, the mean-field limit leads to a class of
nonlocal, nonlinear partial differential equations known as
aggregation-diffusion equations. Over the past fifteen years,
aggregation-diffusion equations have become widespread in biological
applications and have also attracted significant mathematical interest, due to
their competing forces at different length scales. These competing forces lead
to rich dynamics, including symmetrization, stabilization, and metastability,
as well as sharp dichotomies separating well-posedness from finite time blowup.
In the present work, we review known analytical results for
aggregation-diffusion equations and consider singular limits of these
equations, including the slow diffusion limit, which leads to the constrained
aggregation equation, as well as localized aggregation and vanishing diffusion
limits, which lead to metastability behavior. We also review the range of
numerical methods available for simulating solutions, with special attention
devoted to recent advances in deterministic particle methods. We close by
applying such a method -- the blob method for diffusion -- to showcase key
properties of the dynamics of aggregation-diffusion equations and related
singular limits