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Consider a regression problem where the learner is given a large collection of $d$-dimensional data points, but can only query a small subset of the real-valued labels. How many queries are needed to obtain a $1+\epsilon$ relative error…
This paper addresses the task of estimating a covariance matrix under a patternless sparsity assumption. In contrast to existing approaches based on thresholding or shrinkage penalties, we propose a likelihood-based method that regularizes…
We revisit the problem of tolerant distribution testing. That is, given samples from an unknown distribution $p$ over $\{1, \dots, n\}$, is it $\varepsilon_1$-close to or $\varepsilon_2$-far from a reference distribution $q$ (in total…
We provide a distribution-free test that can be used to determine whether any two joint distributions $p$ and $q$ are statistically different by inspection of a large enough set of samples. Following recent efforts from Long et al. [1], we…
Many randomized approximation algorithms operate by giving a procedure for simulating a random variable $X$ which has mean $\mu$ equal to the target answer, and a relative standard deviation bounded above by a known constant $c$. Examples…
Many statistical learning problems can be posed as minimization of a sum of two convex functions, one typically a composition of non-smooth and linear functions. Examples include regression under structured sparsity assumptions. Popular…
We study the fundamental problem of estimating an unknown discrete distribution $p$ over $d$ symbols, given $n$ i.i.d. samples from the distribution. We are interested in minimizing the KL divergence between the true distribution and the…
Nonuniform subsampling methods are effective to reduce computational burden and maintain estimation efficiency for massive data. Existing methods mostly focus on subsampling with replacement due to its high computational efficiency. If the…
Probabilistic circuits (PCs) are a powerful modeling framework for representing tractable probability distributions over combinatorial spaces. In machine learning and probabilistic programming, one is often interested in understanding…
In classical statistics and distribution testing, it is often assumed that elements can be sampled from some distribution $P$, and that when an element $x$ is sampled, the probability $P$ of sampling $x$ is also known. Recent work in…
In this paper we consider the problem of finding a maximum weight set subject to a $k$-extendible constraint in the data stream model. The only non-trivial algorithm known for this problem to date---to the best of our knowledge---is a…
This paper studies the problem of {\em learning} the probability distribution $P_X$ of a discrete random variable $X$ using indirect and sequential samples. At each time step, we choose one of the possible $K$ functions, $g_1, \ldots, g_K$…
We consider the problem of constructing optimal decision trees: given a collection of tests which can disambiguate between a set of $m$ possible diseases, each test having a cost, and the a-priori likelihood of the patient having any…
Given a point set S and an unknown metric d on S, we study the problem of efficiently partitioning S into k clusters while querying few distances between the points. In our model we assume that we have access to one versus all queries that…
We introduce a broadly applicable statistical procedure for testing which parametric distribution family generated a random sample of data. The method, termed the Difference in Differential Entropy (DDE) test, provides a unified framework…
Quantum state tomography (QST) is one of the fundamental problems in quantum information. Among various metrics, sample complexity is widely used to evaluate QST algorithms. While multi-copy measurements are known to achieve optimal sample…
Let $\mathfrak{C}$ be a class of probability distributions over the discrete domain $[n] = \{1,...,n\}.$ We show that if $\mathfrak{C}$ satisfies a rather general condition -- essentially, that each distribution in $\mathfrak{C}$ can be…
Tukey's $g$-and-$h$ distribution has been a powerful tool for data exploration and modeling since its introduction. However, two long standing challenges associated with this distribution family have remained unsolved until this day: how to…
This paper studies best finitely supported approximations of one-dimensional probability measures with respect to the $L^r$-Kantorovich (or transport) distance, where either the locations or the weights of the approximations' atoms are…
Distributional assumptions have been shown to be necessary for the robust learnability of concept classes when considering the exact-in-the-ball robust risk and access to random examples by Gourdeau et al. (2019). In this paper, we study…