Related papers: Bottleneck potentials in Markov Random Fields

Probabilistic inference in pairwise Markov Random Fields (MRFs), i.e. computing the partition function or computing a MAP estimate of the variables, is a foundational problem in probabilistic graphical models. Semidefinite programming…

Making the gradients small is a fundamental optimization problem that has eluded unifying and simple convergence arguments in first-order optimization, so far primarily reserved for other convergence criteria, such as reducing the…

We propose a framework for modeling and solving low-rank optimization problems to certifiable optimality. We introduce symmetric projection matrices that satisfy $Y^2=Y$, the matrix analog of binary variables that satisfy $z^2=z$, to model…

We introduce a general framework for Markov decision problems under model uncertainty in a discrete-time infinite horizon setting. By providing a dynamic programming principle we obtain a local-to-global paradigm, namely solving a local,…

This position paper summarizes a recently developed research program focused on inference in the context of data centric science and engineering applications, and forecasts its trajectory forward over the next decade. Often one endeavours…

Goal-conditioned reinforcement learning (RL) is a promising direction for training agents that are capable of solving multiple tasks and reach a diverse set of objectives. How to \textit{specify} and \textit{ground} these goals in such a…

Markov reward processes (MRPs) are used to model stochastic phenomena arising in operations research, control engineering, robotics, and artificial intelligence, as well as communication and transportation networks. In many of these cases,…

We derive a Maximum Principle for optimal control problems with constraints given by the coupling of a system of ODEs and a PDE of Vlasov-type. Such problems arise naturally as ${\Gamma}$-limits of optimal control problems subject to ODE…

This paper proposes an analytical framework for modelling resource contention in multi-robot systems, where the travel times and task durations are uncertain. It uses several approximation methods to quickly and accurately calculate the…

Equalizer parameter optimization is critical for signal integrity in high-speed memory systems operating at multi-gigabit data rates. However, existing methods suffer from computationally expensive eye diagram evaluation, optimization of…

This paper addresses the Kidnapped Robot Problem (KRP), a core localization challenge of relocalizing a robot in a known map without prior pose estimate upon localization loss or at SLAM initialization. For this purpose, a passive 2-D…

Advancements in foundation models (FMs) have led to a paradigm shift in machine learning. The rich, expressive feature representations from these pre-trained, large-scale FMs are leveraged for multiple downstream tasks, usually via…

Bayesian modelling and computational inference by Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) is a principled framework for large-scale uncertainty quantification, though is limited in practice by computational cost when implemented in the simplest…

The problem of reinforcement learning in an unknown and discrete Markov Decision Process (MDP) under the average-reward criterion is considered, when the learner interacts with the system in a single stream of observations, starting from an…

Maximal inequalities refer to bounds on expected values of the supremum of averages of random variables over a collection. They play a crucial role in the study of non-parametric and high-dimensional estimators, and especially in the study…

This paper studies the optimization of Markov decision processes (MDPs) from a risk-seeking perspective, where the risk is measured by conditional value-at-risk (CVaR). The objective is to find a policy that maximizes the long-run CVaR of…

Control barrier functions (CBFs) offer an efficient framework for designing real-time safe controllers. However, CBF-based controllers can be short-sighted, resulting in poor performance, a behaviour which is aggravated in uncertain…

We study the performance of an automated hybrid Monte Carlo (HMC) approach for conditional simulation of a recently proposed, single-parameter Gibbs Markov random field (Gibbs MRF). The MRF is based on a modified version of the planar…

In this paper, we introduce a framework for solving finite-horizon multistage optimization problems under uncertainty in the presence of auxiliary data. We assume the joint distribution of the uncertain quantities is unknown, but noisy…

This work addresses the classic machine learning problem of online prediction with expert advice. A new potential-based framework for the fixed horizon version of this problem has been recently developed using verification arguments from…