Related papers: Approximate Variational Estimation for a Model of …
We describe a variational approximation method for efficient inference in large-scale probabilistic models. Variational methods are deterministic procedures that provide approximations to marginal and conditional probabilities of interest.…
This article considers the sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) approximation of ratios of normalizing constants associated to posterior distributions which in principle rely on continuum models. Therefore, the Monte Carlo estimation error and the…
The study of probabilistic models for the analysis of complex networks represents a flourishing research field. Among the former, Exponential Random Graphs (ERGs) have gained increasing attention over the years. So far, only linear ERGs…
Random graphs, where the connections between nodes are considered random variables, have wide applicability in the social sciences. Exponential-family Random Graph Models (ERGM) have shown themselves to be a useful class of models for…
Exponential-family random graph models (ERGMs) provide a principled way to model and simulate features common in human social networks, such as propensities for homophily and friend-of-a-friend triad closure. We show that, without…
Graphical Gaussian models have proven to be useful tools for exploring network structures based on multivariate data. Applications to studies of gene expression have generated substantial interest in these models, and resulting recent…
We study the expected adjacency matrix of a uniformly random multigraph with fixed degree sequence $\mathbf{d} \in \mathbb{Z}_+^n$. This matrix arises in a variety of analyses of networked data sets, including modularity-maximization and…
Exponential Random Graph Models (ERGM) behave peculiar in large networks with thousand(s) of actors (nodes). Standard models containing two-star or triangle counts as statistics are often unstable leading to completely full or empty…
Randomized neural networks (NNs) are an interesting alternative to conventional NNs that are more used for data modeling. The random vector functional-link (RVFL) network is an established and theoretically well-grounded randomized learning…
We propose a perturbative method to estimate the normalization constant in exponential random graph models as the weighting parameters approach infinity. As an application, we give evidence of discontinuity in natural parametrization along…
We show that a large class of Estimation of Distribution Algorithms, including, but not limited to, Covariance Matrix Adaption, can be written as a Monte Carlo Expectation-Maximization algorithm, and as exact EM in the limit of infinite…
An important question in statistical network analysis is how to estimate models of discrete and dependent network data with intractable likelihood functions, without sacrificing computational scalability and statistical guarantees. We…
Exponential random graph models (ERGMs) are flexible probabilistic frameworks to model statistical networks through a variety of network summary statistics. Conventional Bayesian estimation for ERGMs involves iteratively exchanging with an…
We explore past and recent developments in rare-event probability estimation with a particular focus on a novel Monte Carlo technique Empirical Likelihood Maximization (ELM). This is a versatile method that involves sampling from a sequence…
We derive normal approximation bounds in the Wasserstein distance for sums of weighted U-statistics, based on a general distance bound for functionals of independent random variables of arbitrary distributions. Those bounds are applied to…
Exponential-family random graph models (ERGMs) provide a principled and flexible way to model and simulate features common in social networks, such as propensities for homophily, mutuality, and friend-of-a-friend triad closure, through…
We introduce a method for the theoretical analysis of exponential random graph models. The method is based on a large-deviations approximation to the normalizing constant shown to be consistent using theory developed by Chatterjee and…
We propose and analyse a novel nonparametric goodness of fit testing procedure for exchangeable exponential random graph models (ERGMs) when a single network realisation is observed. The test determines how likely it is that the observation…
Monte Carlo methods are widely used importance sampling techniques for studying complex physical systems. Integrating these methods with deep learning has significantly improved efficiency and accuracy in high-dimensional problems and…
We study a version of the proximal gradient algorithm for which the gradient is intractable and is approximated by Monte Carlo methods (and in particular Markov Chain Monte Carlo). We derive conditions on the step size and the Monte Carlo…