6,354 research outputs found
Scanning and Sequential Decision Making for Multi-Dimensional Data - Part I: the Noiseless Case
We investigate the problem of scanning and prediction ("scandiction", for
short) of multidimensional data arrays. This problem arises in several aspects
of image and video processing, such as predictive coding, for example, where an
image is compressed by coding the error sequence resulting from scandicting it.
Thus, it is natural to ask what is the optimal method to scan and predict a
given image, what is the resulting minimum prediction loss, and whether there
exist specific scandiction schemes which are universal in some sense.
Specifically, we investigate the following problems: First, modeling the data
array as a random field, we wish to examine whether there exists a scandiction
scheme which is independent of the field's distribution, yet asymptotically
achieves the same performance as if this distribution was known. This question
is answered in the affirmative for the set of all spatially stationary random
fields and under mild conditions on the loss function. We then discuss the
scenario where a non-optimal scanning order is used, yet accompanied by an
optimal predictor, and derive bounds on the excess loss compared to optimal
scanning and prediction.
This paper is the first part of a two-part paper on sequential decision
making for multi-dimensional data. It deals with clean, noiseless data arrays.
The second part deals with noisy data arrays, namely, with the case where the
decision maker observes only a noisy version of the data, yet it is judged with
respect to the original, clean data.Comment: 46 pages, 2 figures. Revised version: title changed, section 1
revised, section 3.1 added, a few minor/technical corrections mad
Interest Rates and Information Geometry
The space of probability distributions on a given sample space possesses
natural geometric properties. For example, in the case of a smooth parametric
family of probability distributions on the real line, the parameter space has a
Riemannian structure induced by the embedding of the family into the Hilbert
space of square-integrable functions, and is characterised by the Fisher-Rao
metric. In the nonparametric case the relevant geometry is determined by the
spherical distance function of Bhattacharyya. In the context of term structure
modelling, we show that minus the derivative of the discount function with
respect to the maturity date gives rise to a probability density. This follows
as a consequence of the positivity of interest rates. Therefore, by mapping the
density functions associated with a given family of term structures to Hilbert
space, the resulting metrical geometry can be used to analyse the relationship
of yield curves to one another. We show that the general arbitrage-free yield
curve dynamics can be represented as a process taking values in the convex
space of smooth density functions on the positive real line. It follows that
the theory of interest rate dynamics can be represented by a class of processes
in Hilbert space. We also derive the dynamics for the central moments
associated with the distribution determined by the yield curve.Comment: 20 pages, 3 figure
Sixteen space-filling curves and traversals for d-dimensional cubes and simplices
This article describes sixteen different ways to traverse d-dimensional space
recursively in a way that is well-defined for any number of dimensions. Each of
these traversals has distinct properties that may be beneficial for certain
applications. Some of the traversals are novel, some have been known in
principle but had not been described adequately for any number of dimensions,
some of the traversals have been known. This article is the first to present
them all in a consistent notation system. Furthermore, with this article, tools
are provided to enumerate points in a regular grid in the order in which they
are visited by each traversal. In particular, we cover: five discontinuous
traversals based on subdividing cubes into 2^d subcubes: Z-traversal (Morton
indexing), U-traversal, Gray-code traversal, Double-Gray-code traversal, and
Inside-out traversal; two discontinuous traversals based on subdividing
simplices into 2^d subsimplices: the Hill-Z traversal and the Maehara-reflected
traversal; five continuous traversals based on subdividing cubes into 2^d
subcubes: the Base-camp Hilbert curve, the Harmonious Hilbert curve, the Alfa
Hilbert curve, the Beta Hilbert curve, and the Butz-Hilbert curve; four
continuous traversals based on subdividing cubes into 3^d subcubes: the Peano
curve, the Coil curve, the Half-coil curve, and the Meurthe curve. All of these
traversals are self-similar in the sense that the traversal in each of the
subcubes or subsimplices of a cube or simplex, on any level of recursive
subdivision, can be obtained by scaling, translating, rotating, reflecting
and/or reversing the traversal of the complete unit cube or simplex.Comment: 28 pages, 12 figures. v2: fixed a confusing typo on page 12, line
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