Related papers: Estimating the Effective Support Size in Constant …
We study the problem of testing \emph{conditional independence} for discrete distributions. Specifically, given samples from a discrete random variable $(X, Y, Z)$ on domain $[\ell_1]\times[\ell_2] \times [n]$, we want to distinguish, with…
The effective sample size (ESS) is widely used in sample-based simulation methods for assessing the quality of a Monte Carlo approximation of a given distribution and of related integrals. In this paper, we revisit the approximation of the…
Clustering is considered a non-supervised learning setting, in which the goal is to partition a collection of data points into disjoint clusters. Often a bound $k$ on the number of clusters is given or assumed by the practitioner. Many…
A Poisson Binomial distribution over $n$ variables is the distribution of the sum of $n$ independent Bernoullis. We provide a sample near-optimal algorithm for testing whether a distribution $P$ supported on $\{0,...,n\}$ to which we have…
We present a general technique for approximating bicriteria minimization problems with positive-valued, polynomially computable objective functions. Given $0<\epsilon\leq1$ and a polynomial-time $\alpha$-approximation algorithm for the…
Stochastic convex optimization is one of the most well-studied models for learning in modern machine learning. Nevertheless, a central fundamental question in this setup remained unresolved: "How many data points must be observed so that…
This paper introduces a new way to compact a continuous probability distribution $F$ into a set of representative points called support points. These points are obtained by minimizing the energy distance, a statistical potential measure…
We study the problem of testing identity against a given distribution with a focus on the high confidence regime. More precisely, given samples from an unknown distribution $p$ over $n$ elements, an explicitly given distribution $q$, and…
We present a novel approach to estimating discrete distributions with (potentially) infinite support in the total variation metric. In a departure from the established paradigm, we make no structural assumptions whatsoever on the sampling…
The estimation of information measures of continuous distributions based on samples is a fundamental problem in statistics and machine learning. In this paper, we analyze estimates of differential entropy in $K$-dimensional Euclidean space,…
We consider the problem of learning a target probability distribution over a set of $N$ binary variables from the knowledge of the expectation values (with this target distribution) of $M$ observables, drawn uniformly at random. The space…
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…
The effective sample size (ESS) measures the informational value of a probability distribution in terms of an equivalent number of study participants. The ESS plays a crucial role in estimating the Expected Value of Sample Information…
Le Cam's two-point testing method yields perhaps the simplest lower bound for estimating the mean of a distribution: roughly, if it is impossible to well-distinguish a distribution centered at $\mu$ from the same distribution centered at…
Determining an appropriate sample size is a critical element of study design, and the method used to determine it should be consistent with the planned analysis. When the planned analysis involves Bayes factor hypothesis testing, the sample…
In data-driven learning and inference tasks, the high cost of acquiring samples from the target distribution often limits performance. A common strategy to mitigate this challenge is to augment the limited target samples with data from a…
The MaxClique problem, finding the largest complete subgraph in an Erd{\"o}s-R{\'e}nyi $G(N,p)$ random graph in the large $N$ limit, is a well-known example of a simple problem for which finding any approximate solution within a factor of…
We study the problem of supporting queries on a string $S$ of length $n$ within a space bounded by the size $\gamma$ of a string attractor for $S$. Recent works showed that random access on $S$ can be supported in optimal…
We consider a two-stage stochastic decision problem where the decision-maker has the opportunity to obtain information about the distribution of the random variables $\xi$ that appear in the problem through a set of discrete actions that we…
Estimation of finite mixture models when the mixing distribution support is unknown is an important problem. This paper gives a new approach based on a marginal likelihood for the unknown support. Motivated by a Bayesian Dirichlet prior…