Related papers: Normal approximation for functions of hidden Marko…

Discrete Markov random fields form a natural class of models to represent images and spatial data sets. The use of such models is, however, hampered by a computationally intractable normalising constant. This makes parameter estimation and…

Sampling from Gaussian Markov random fields (GMRFs), that is multivariate Gaussian ran- dom vectors that are parameterised by the inverse of their covariance matrix, is a fundamental problem in computational statistics. In this paper, we…

We develop an advanced mean field method for approximating averages in probabilistic data models that is based on the TAP approach of disorder physics. In contrast to conventional TAP, where the knowledge of the distribution of couplings…

Developing satisfactory methodology for the analysis of Markov random field is a very challenging task. Indeed, due to the Markovian dependence structure, the normalizing constant of the fields cannot be computed using standard analytical…

In this paper we establish a multivariate exchangeable pairs approach within the framework of Stein's method to assess distributional distances to potentially singular multivariate normal distributions. By extending the statistics into a…

Gradient information on the sampling distribution can be used to reduce the variance of Monte Carlo estimators via Stein's method. An important application is that of estimating an expectation of a test function along the sample path of a…

In this article we propose a general framework for normal approximation using Stein's method. We introduce the new concept of Stein couplings and we show that it lies at the heart of popular approaches such as the local approach,…

A generalization of Gy's theory for the variance of the fundamental sampling error is reviewed. Practical situations where the generalized model potentially leads to more accurate variance estimates are identified as: clustering of…

We introduce a multivariate hidden Markov model to jointly cluster time-series observations with different support, i.e. circular and linear. Relying on the general projected normal distribution, our approach allows for bimodal and/or…

For integer valued random variables, the translated Poisson distributions form a flexible family for approximation in total variation, in much the same way that the normal family is used for approximation in Kolmogorov distance. Using the…

We show how the infinitesimal exchangeable pairs approach to Stein's method combines naturally with the theory of Markov semigroups. We present a multivariate normal approximation theorem for functions of a random variable invariant with…

We use Stein's method to obtain explicit bounds on the rate of convergence for the Laplace approximation of two different sums of independent random variables; one being a random sum of mean zero random variables and the other being a…

The Laplace approximation is sometimes not sufficiently accurate for smoothing parameter estimation in generalized additive mixed models. A novel estimation strategy is proposed that solves this problem and leads to estimates exhibiting the…

We consider the problem of minimizing the sum of two convex functions: one is the average of a large number of smooth component functions, and the other is a general convex function that admits a simple proximal mapping. We assume the whole…

Stochastic gradient methods are the workhorse (algorithms) of large-scale optimization problems in machine learning, signal processing, and other computational sciences and engineering. This paper studies Markov chain gradient descent, a…

We establish a quantitative normal approximation result for sums of random variables with multilevel local dependencies. As a corollary, we obtain a quantitative normal approximation result for linear functionals of random fields which may…

Normalizing flows, diffusion normalizing flows and variational autoencoders are powerful generative models. This chapter provides a unified framework to handle these approaches via Markov chains. We consider stochastic normalizing flows as…

Recent research has indicated a substantial rise in interest in understanding Nesterov's accelerated gradient methods via their continuous-time models. However, most existing studies focus on specific classes of Nesterov's methods, which…

The paper is concerned with the equilibrium distributions of continuous-time density dependent Markov processes on the integers. These distributions are known typically to be approximately normal, and the approximation error, as measured in…

The aim of this paper is to approximate a finite-state Markov process by another process with fewer states, called herein the approximating process. The approximation problem is formulated using two different methods. The first method,…