10,212 research outputs found
Cooperative learning in multi-agent systems from intermittent measurements
Motivated by the problem of tracking a direction in a decentralized way, we
consider the general problem of cooperative learning in multi-agent systems
with time-varying connectivity and intermittent measurements. We propose a
distributed learning protocol capable of learning an unknown vector from
noisy measurements made independently by autonomous nodes. Our protocol is
completely distributed and able to cope with the time-varying, unpredictable,
and noisy nature of inter-agent communication, and intermittent noisy
measurements of . Our main result bounds the learning speed of our
protocol in terms of the size and combinatorial features of the (time-varying)
networks connecting the nodes
Robustness of large-scale stochastic matrices to localized perturbations
Upper bounds are derived on the total variation distance between the
invariant distributions of two stochastic matrices differing on a subset W of
rows. Such bounds depend on three parameters: the mixing time and the minimal
expected hitting time on W for the Markov chain associated to one of the
matrices; and the escape time from W for the Markov chain associated to the
other matrix. These results, obtained through coupling techniques, prove
particularly useful in scenarios where W is a small subset of the state space,
even if the difference between the two matrices is not small in any norm.
Several applications to large-scale network problems are discussed, including
robustness of Google's PageRank algorithm, distributed averaging and consensus
algorithms, and interacting particle systems.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure
New insights on stochastic reachability
In this paper, we give new characterizations of the stochastic reachability problem for stochastic hybrid systems in the language of different theories that can be employed in studying stochastic processes (Markov processes, potential theory, optimal control). These characterizations are further used to obtain the probabilities involved in the context of stochastic reachability as viscosity solutions of some variational inequalities
A Markovian event-based framework for stochastic spiking neural networks
In spiking neural networks, the information is conveyed by the spike times,
that depend on the intrinsic dynamics of each neuron, the input they receive
and on the connections between neurons. In this article we study the Markovian
nature of the sequence of spike times in stochastic neural networks, and in
particular the ability to deduce from a spike train the next spike time, and
therefore produce a description of the network activity only based on the spike
times regardless of the membrane potential process.
To study this question in a rigorous manner, we introduce and study an
event-based description of networks of noisy integrate-and-fire neurons, i.e.
that is based on the computation of the spike times. We show that the firing
times of the neurons in the networks constitute a Markov chain, whose
transition probability is related to the probability distribution of the
interspike interval of the neurons in the network. In the cases where the
Markovian model can be developed, the transition probability is explicitly
derived in such classical cases of neural networks as the linear
integrate-and-fire neuron models with excitatory and inhibitory interactions,
for different types of synapses, possibly featuring noisy synaptic integration,
transmission delays and absolute and relative refractory period. This covers
most of the cases that have been investigated in the event-based description of
spiking deterministic neural networks
Normal Inverse Gaussian Approximation for Arrival Time Difference in Flow-Induced Molecular Communications
In this paper, we consider molecular communications in one-dimensional
flow-induced diffusion channels with a perfectly absorbing receiver. In such
channels, the random propagation delay until the molecules are absorbed follows
an inverse Gaussian (IG) distribution and is referred to as first hitting time.
Knowing the distribution for the difference of the first hitting times of two
molecules is very important if the information is encoded by a limited set of
molecules and the receiver exploits their arrival time and/or order. Hence, we
propose a moment matching approximation by a normal inverse Gaussian (NIG)
distribution and we derive an expression for the asymptotic tail probability.
Numerical evaluations showed that the NIG approximation matches very well with
the exact solution obtained by numerical convolution of the IG density
functions. Moreover, the asymptotic tail probability outperforms
state-of-the-art tail approximations.Comment: This paper has been submitted to IEEE Transactions on Molecular,
Biological and Multi-Scale Communication
Erratum: Signal propagation in proteins and relation to equilibrium fluctuations (PLoS Computational Biology (2007) 3, 9, (e172) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.0030172))
Elastic network (EN) models have been widely used in recent years for describing protein dynamics, based on the premise that the motions naturally accessible to native structures are relevant to biological function. We posit that equilibrium motions also determine communication mechanisms inherent to the network architecture. To this end, we explore the stochastics of a discrete-time, discrete-state Markov process of information transfer across the network of residues. We measure the communication abilities of residue pairs in terms of hit and commute times, i.e., the number of steps it takes on an average to send and receive signals. Functionally active residues are found to possess enhanced communication propensities, evidenced by their short hit times. Furthermore, secondary structural elements emerge as efficient mediators of communication. The present findings provide us with insights on the topological basis of communication in proteins and design principles for efficient signal transduction. While hit/commute times are information-theoretic concepts, a central contribution of this work is to rigorously show that they have physical origins directly relevant to the equilibrium fluctuations of residues predicted by EN models
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