We consider stochastic approximations of sampling algorithms, such as
Stochastic Gradient Langevin Dynamics (SGLD) and the Random Batch Method (RBM)
for Interacting Particle Dynamcs (IPD). We observe that the noise introduced by
the stochastic approximation is nearly Gaussian due to the Central Limit
Theorem (CLT) while the driving Brownian motion is exactly Gaussian. We harness
this structure to absorb the stochastic approximation error inside the
diffusion process, and obtain improved convergence guarantees for these
algorithms. For SGLD, we prove the first stable convergence rate in KL
divergence without requiring uniform warm start, assuming the target density
satisfies a Log-Sobolev Inequality. Our result implies superior first-order
oracle complexity compared to prior works, under significantly milder
assumptions. We also prove the first guarantees for SGLD under even weaker
conditions such as H\"{o}lder smoothness and Poincare Inequality, thus bridging
the gap between the state-of-the-art guarantees for LMC and SGLD. Our analysis
motivates a new algorithm called covariance correction, which corrects for the
additional noise introduced by the stochastic approximation by rescaling the
strength of the diffusion. Finally, we apply our techniques to analyze RBM, and
significantly improve upon the guarantees in prior works (such as removing
exponential dependence on horizon), under minimal assumptions.Comment: Version 2 considers more results, including those for stochastic
gradient lagevin dynamics and the random batch method for interacting
particle dynamics, along with the results in the previous version. This also
contains 2 additional author