Best-fit quasi-equilibrium ensembles: a general approach to statistical closure of underresolved Hamiltonian dynamics

A new method of deriving reduced models of Hamiltonian dynamical systems is developed using techniques from optimization and statistical estimation. Given a set of resolved variables that define a model reduction, the quasi-equilibrium ensembles associated with the resolved variables are employed as a family of trial probability densities on phase space. The residual that results from submitting these trial densities to the Liouville equation is quantified by an ensemble-averaged cost function related to the information loss rate of the reduction. From an initial nonequilibrium state, the statistical state of the system at any later time is estimated by minimizing the time integral of the cost function over paths of trial densities. Statistical closure of the underresolved dynamics is obtained at the level of the value function, which equals the optimal cost of reduction with respect to the resolved variables, and the evolution of the estimated statistical state is deduced from the Hamilton-Jacobi equation satisfied by the value function. In the near-equilibrium regime, or under a local quadratic approximation in the far-from-equilibrium regime, this best-fit closure is governed by a differential equation for the estimated state vector coupled to a Riccati differential equation for the Hessian matrix of the value function. Since memory effects are not explicitly included in the trial densities, a single adjustable parameter is introduced into the cost function to capture a time-scale ratio between resolved and unresolved motions. Apart from this parameter, the closed equations for the resolved variables are completely determined by the underlying deterministic dynamics

The Hitchhiker's Guide to Nonlinear Filtering

Nonlinear filtering is the problem of online estimation of a dynamic hidden variable from incoming data and has vast applications in different fields, ranging from engineering, machine learning, economic science and natural sciences. We start our review of the theory on nonlinear filtering from the simplest `filtering' task we can think of, namely static Bayesian inference. From there we continue our journey through discrete-time models, which is usually encountered in machine learning, and generalize to and further emphasize continuous-time filtering theory. The idea of changing the probability measure connects and elucidates several aspects of the theory, such as the parallels between the discrete- and continuous-time problems and between different observation models. Furthermore, it gives insight into the construction of particle filtering algorithms. This tutorial is targeted at scientists and engineers and should serve as an introduction to the main ideas of nonlinear filtering, and as a segway to more advanced and specialized literature.Comment: 64 page

Combinatorial Continuous Maximal Flows

Maximum flow (and minimum cut) algorithms have had a strong impact on computer vision. In particular, graph cuts algorithms provide a mechanism for the discrete optimization of an energy functional which has been used in a variety of applications such as image segmentation, stereo, image stitching and texture synthesis. Algorithms based on the classical formulation of max-flow defined on a graph are known to exhibit metrication artefacts in the solution. Therefore, a recent trend has been to instead employ a spatially continuous maximum flow (or the dual min-cut problem) in these same applications to produce solutions with no metrication errors. However, known fast continuous max-flow algorithms have no stopping criteria or have not been proved to converge. In this work, we revisit the continuous max-flow problem and show that the analogous discrete formulation is different from the classical max-flow problem. We then apply an appropriate combinatorial optimization technique to this combinatorial continuous max-flow CCMF problem to find a null-divergence solution that exhibits no metrication artefacts and may be solved exactly by a fast, efficient algorithm with provable convergence. Finally, by exhibiting the dual problem of our CCMF formulation, we clarify the fact, already proved by Nozawa in the continuous setting, that the max-flow and the total variation problems are not always equivalent.Comment: 26 page

Adaptive filtering algorithms for quaternion-valued signals

Advances in sensor technology have made possible the recoding of three and four-dimensional signals which afford a better representation of our actual three-dimensional world than the ``flat view'' one and two-dimensional approaches. Although it is straightforward to model such signals as real-valued vectors, many applications require unambiguous modeling of orientation and rotation, where the division algebra of quaternions provides crucial advantages over real-valued vector approaches. The focus of this thesis is on the use of recent advances in quaternion-valued signal processing, such as the quaternion augmented statistics, widely-linear modeling, and the HR-calculus, in order to develop practical adaptive signal processing algorithms in the quaternion domain which deal with the notion of phase and frequency in a compact and physically meaningful way. To this end, first a real-time tracker of quaternion impropriety is developed, which allows for choosing between strictly linear and widely-linear quaternion-valued signal processing algorithms in real-time, in order to reduce computational complexity where appropriate. This is followed by the strictly linear and widely-linear quaternion least mean phase algorithms that are developed for phase-only estimation in the quaternion domain, which is accompanied by both quantitative performance assessment and physical interpretation of operations. Next, the practical application of state space modeling of three-phase power signals in smart grid management and control systems is considered, and a robust complex-valued state space model for frequency estimation in three-phase systems is presented. Its advantages over other available estimators are demonstrated both in an analytical sense and through simulations. The concept is then expanded to the quaternion setting in order to make possible the simultaneous estimation of the system frequency and its voltage phasors. Furthermore, a distributed quaternion Kalman filtering algorithm is developed for frequency estimation over power distribution networks and collaborative target tracking. Finally, statistics of stable quaternion-valued random variables, that include quaternion-valued Gaussian random variables as a special case, is investigated in order to develop a framework for the modeling and processing of heavy-tailed quaternion-valued signals.Open Acces

Identification and filtering--optimal recursive maximum likelihood approach

Bibliography: p. 21-23.Army Research Office contract DAAG-29-84-K-005José M.F. Moura and Sanjoy K. Mitter

Adaptive signal processing algorithms for noncircular complex data

The complex domain provides a natural processing framework for a large class of signals encountered in communications, radar, biomedical engineering and renewable energy. Statistical signal processing in C has traditionally been viewed as a straightforward extension of the corresponding algorithms in the real domain R, however, recent developments in augmented complex statistics show that, in general, this leads to under-modelling. This direct treatment of complex-valued signals has led to advances in so called widely linear modelling and the introduction of a generalised framework for the differentiability of both analytic and non-analytic complex and quaternion functions. In this thesis, supervised and blind complex adaptive algorithms capable of processing the generality of complex and quaternion signals (both circular and noncircular) in both noise-free and noisy environments are developed; their usefulness in real-world applications is demonstrated through case studies. The focus of this thesis is on the use of augmented statistics and widely linear modelling. The standard complex least mean square (CLMS) algorithm is extended to perform optimally for the generality of complex-valued signals, and is shown to outperform the CLMS algorithm. Next, extraction of latent complex-valued signals from large mixtures is addressed. This is achieved by developing several classes of complex blind source extraction algorithms based on fundamental signal properties such as smoothness, predictability and degree of Gaussianity, with the analysis of the existence and uniqueness of the solutions also provided. These algorithms are shown to facilitate real-time applications, such as those in brain computer interfacing (BCI). Due to their modified cost functions and the widely linear mixing model, this class of algorithms perform well in both noise-free and noisy environments. Next, based on a widely linear quaternion model, the FastICA algorithm is extended to the quaternion domain to provide separation of the generality of quaternion signals. The enhanced performances of the widely linear algorithms are illustrated in renewable energy and biomedical applications, in particular, for the prediction of wind profiles and extraction of artifacts from EEG recordings

The instanton method and its numerical implementation in fluid mechanics

A precise characterization of structures occurring in turbulent fluid flows at high Reynolds numbers is one of the last open problems of classical physics. In this review we discuss recent developments related to the application of instanton methods to turbulence. Instantons are saddle point configurations of the underlying path integrals. They are equivalent to minimizers of the related Freidlin-Wentzell action and known to be able to characterize rare events in such systems. While there is an impressive body of work concerning their analytical description, this review focuses on the question on how to compute these minimizers numerically. In a short introduction we present the relevant mathematical and physical background before we discuss the stochastic Burgers equation in detail. We present algorithms to compute instantons numerically by an efficient solution of the corresponding Euler-Lagrange equations. A second focus is the discussion of a recently developed numerical filtering technique that allows to extract instantons from direct numerical simulations. In the following we present modifications of the algorithms to make them efficient when applied to two- or three-dimensional fluid dynamical problems. We illustrate these ideas using the two-dimensional Burgers equation and the three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations

The representation of non-linear stochastic systems with applications to filtering

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