19,892 research outputs found
Numerical algebraic geometry for model selection and its application to the life sciences
Researchers working with mathematical models are often confronted by the
related problems of parameter estimation, model validation, and model
selection. These are all optimization problems, well-known to be challenging
due to non-linearity, non-convexity and multiple local optima. Furthermore, the
challenges are compounded when only partial data is available. Here, we
consider polynomial models (e.g., mass-action chemical reaction networks at
steady state) and describe a framework for their analysis based on optimization
using numerical algebraic geometry. Specifically, we use probability-one
polynomial homotopy continuation methods to compute all critical points of the
objective function, then filter to recover the global optima. Our approach
exploits the geometric structures relating models and data, and we demonstrate
its utility on examples from cell signaling, synthetic biology, and
epidemiology.Comment: References added, additional clarification
Gordon's inequality and condition numbers in conic optimization
The probabilistic analysis of condition numbers has traditionally been
approached from different angles; one is based on Smale's program in complexity
theory and features integral geometry, while the other is motivated by
geometric functional analysis and makes use of the theory of Gaussian
processes. In this note we explore connections between the two approaches in
the context of the biconic homogeneous feasiblity problem and the condition
numbers motivated by conic optimization theory. Key tools in the analysis are
Slepian's and Gordon's comparision inequalities for Gaussian processes,
interpreted as monotonicity properties of moment functionals, and their
interplay with ideas from conic integral geometry
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