Related papers: A simple method to optimize HMC performance
Within the HMC algorithm, we discuss how, by using the shadow Hamiltonian and the Poisson brackets, one can achieve a simple factorization in the dependence of the Hamiltonian violations upon either the algorithmic parameters or the…
We discuss how the integrators used for the Hybrid Monte Carlo (HMC) algorithm not only approximately conserve some Hamiltonian $H$ but exactly conserve a nearby shadow Hamiltonian (\tilde H), and how the difference $\Delta H \equiv \tilde…
Modified Hamiltonian Monte Carlo (MHMC) methods combine the ideas behind two popular sampling approaches: Hamiltonian Monte Carlo (HMC) and importance sampling. As in the HMC case, the bulk of the computational cost of MHMC algorithms lies…
The Hybrid Monte Carlo (HMC) algorithm currently is the favorite scheme to simulate quantum chromodynamics including dynamical fermions. In this talk-which is intended for a non-expert audience--I want to bring together methodical and…
We show how the integrators used for the molecular dynamics step of the Hybrid Monte Carlo algorithm can be further improved. These integrators not only approximately conserve some Hamiltonian $H$ but conserve exactly a nearby shadow…
By leveraging the natural geometry of a smooth probabilistic system, Hamiltonian Monte Carlo yields computationally efficient Markov Chain Monte Carlo estimation. At least provided that the algorithm is sufficiently well-tuned. In this…
The use of mass preconditioning or Hasenbusch filtering in modern Hybrid Monte Carlo simulations is common. At light quark masses, multiple filters (three or more) are typically used to reduce the cost of generating dynamical gauge fields;…
Multimodality of the likelihood in Gaussian mixtures is a well-known problem. The choice of the initial parameter vector for the numerical optimizer may affect whether the optimizer finds the global maximum, or gets trapped in a local…
The Hamiltonian Monte Carlo (HMC) method allows sampling from continuous densities. Favorable scaling with dimension has led to wide adoption of HMC by the statistics community. Modern auto-differentiating software should allow more…
Variational inference lies at the core of many state-of-the-art algorithms. To improve the approximation of the posterior beyond parametric families, it was proposed to include MCMC steps into the variational lower bound. In this work we…
The performance of Hamiltonian Monte Carlo (HMC) sampler depends critically on some algorithm parameters such as the total integration time and the numerical integration stepsize. The parameter tuning is particularly challenging when the…
We construct an effective Hamiltonian via Monte Carlo from a given action. This Hamiltonian describes physics in the low energy regime. We test it by computing spectrum, wave functions and thermodynamical observables (average energy and…
Preconditioning is at the core of modern many-fermion Monte Carlo algorithms, such as Hybrid Monte Carlo, where the repeated solution of a linear problem involving an ill-conditioned matrix is needed. We report on a performance comparison…
We show how to improve the molecular dynamics step of Hybrid Monte Carlo, both by tuning the integrator using Poisson brackets measurements and by the use of force gradient integrators. We present results for moderate lattice sizes.
We study efficiency of higher order integrator schemes for the hybrid Monte Carlo (HMC) algorithm. Numerical tests are performed for Quantum Chromo Dynamics (QCD) with two flavors of Wilson fermions. We compare 2nd, 4th and 6th order…
Hamiltonian Monte Carlo (HMC) improves the computational efficiency of the Metropolis algorithm by reducing its random walk behavior. Riemannian Manifold HMC (RMHMC) further improves HMC's performance by exploiting the geometric properties…
Conditional Monte Carlo or pre-integration is a powerful tool for reducing variance and improving the regularity of integrands when using Monte Carlo and quasi-Monte Carlo (QMC) methods. To select the variable to pre-integrate, one must…
Numerical lattice gauge theory computations to generate gauge field configurations including the effects of dynamical fermions are usually carried out using algorithms that require the molecular dynamics evolution of gauge fields using…
We study Hamiltonian Monte Carlo (HMC) samplers based on splitting the Hamiltonian $H$ as $H_0(\theta,p)+U_1(\theta)$, where $H_0$ is quadratic and $U_1$ small. We show that, in general, such samplers suffer from stepsize stability…
Hamiltonian Monte Carlo is a popular sampling technique for smooth target densities. The scale lengths of the target have long been known to influence integration error and sampling efficiency. However, quantitative measures intrinsic to…