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We consider the stochastic linear contextual bandit problem with high-dimensional features. We analyze the Thompson sampling algorithm using special classes of sparsity-inducing priors (e.g., spike-and-slab) to model the unknown parameter…

Machine Learning · Statistics 2023-01-31 Sunrit Chakraborty , Saptarshi Roy , Ambuj Tewari

We design and analyse variations of the classical Thompson sampling (TS) procedure for Bayesian optimisation (BO) in settings where function evaluations are expensive, but can be performed in parallel. Our theoretical analysis shows that a…

Machine Learning · Statistics 2017-05-26 Kirthevasan Kandasamy , Akshay Krishnamurthy , Jeff Schneider , Barnabas Poczos

We consider a finite-horizon multi-armed bandit (MAB) problem in a Bayesian setting, for which we propose an information relaxation sampling framework. With this framework, we define an intuitive family of control policies that include…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2021-06-17 Seungki Min , Costis Maglaras , Ciamac C. Moallemi

Preference feedback, in the form of pairwise comparisons rather than scalar scores, has seen increasing use in applications such as human-, laboratory-, and expert-in-the-loop design, as well as scientific discovery. We propose a Thompson…

Machine Learning · Statistics 2026-04-29 Joseph Lazzaro , Davide Buffelli , Da-shan Shiu , Sattar Vakili

The long runtime associated with simulating multidisciplinary systems challenges the use of Bayesian optimization for multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO). This is particularly the case if the coupled system is modeled in a…

Computational Engineering, Finance, and Science · Computer Science 2024-08-19 Susanna Baars , Jigar Parekh , Ihar Antonau , Philipp Bekemeyer , Ulrich Römer

We consider the problem of the best arm identification in the presence of stochastic constraints, where there is a finite number of arms associated with multiple performance measures. The goal is to identify the arm that optimizes the…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2025-01-08 Le Yang , Siyang Gao , Cheng Li , Yi Wang

We study contextual stochastic optimization problems, where we leverage rich auxiliary observations (e.g., product characteristics) to improve decision making with uncertain variables (e.g., demand). We show how to train forest decision…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2022-03-17 Nathan Kallus , Xiaojie Mao

Data collection costs can vary widely across variables in data science tasks. Two-phase designs can be employed to save data collection costs. This paper considers the two-phase studies where inexpensive variables are collected for all…

Methodology · Statistics 2025-12-04 Ruoyu Wang , Qihua Wang , Wang Miao

In linear contextual bandits, the objective is to select actions that maximize cumulative rewards, modeled as a linear function with unknown parameters. Although Thompson Sampling performs well empirically, it does not achieve optimal…

Machine Learning · Statistics 2025-06-18 Wonyoung Kim

Bayesian optimization through Gaussian process regression is an effective method of optimizing an unknown function for which every measurement is expensive. It approximates the objective function and then recommends a new measurement point…

Machine Learning · Statistics 2017-05-17 Hildo Bijl , Thomas B. Schön , Jan-Willem van Wingerden , Michel Verhaegen

This research considers the ranking and selection with input uncertainty. The objective is to maximize the posterior probability of correctly selecting the best alternative under a fixed simulation budget, where each alternative is measured…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2023-05-15 Hui Xiao , Zhihong Wei

Thompson sampling (TS) is a simple, effective stochastic policy in Bayesian decision making. It samples the posterior belief about the reward profile and optimizes the sample to obtain a candidate decision. In continuous optimization, the…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2024-10-11 Taiwo A. Adebiyi , Bach Do , Ruda Zhang

We study the $(\varepsilon, \delta)$-PAC policy identification problem in finite-horizon episodic Markov Decision Processes. Existing approaches provide finite-time guarantees for approximate settings ($\varepsilon>0$) but suffer from high…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2026-05-06 Cyrille Kone , Kevin Jamieson

Pandemic influenza has the epidemic potential to kill millions of people. While various preventive measures exist (i.a., vaccination and school closures), deciding on strategies that lead to their most effective and efficient use remains…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2018-06-18 Pieter Libin , Timothy Verstraeten , Diederik M. Roijers , Jelena Grujic , Kristof Theys , Philippe Lemey , Ann Nowé

We propose an extension of Thompson sampling to optimization problems over function spaces where the objective is a known functional of an unknown operator's output. We assume that queries to the operator (such as running a high-fidelity…

Machine Learning · Statistics 2026-01-21 Rafael Oliveira , Xuesong Wang , Kian Ming A. Chai , Edwin V. Bonilla

This paper studies the fixed-confidence best arm identification (BAI) problem in the bandit framework in the canonical single-parameter exponential models. For this problem, many policies have been proposed, but most of them require solving…

Machine Learning · Statistics 2025-08-12 Jongyeong Lee , Junya Honda , Masashi Sugiyama

Top Two algorithms arose as an adaptation of Thompson sampling to best arm identification in multi-armed bandit models (Russo, 2016), for parametric families of arms. They select the next arm to sample from by randomizing among two…

Machine Learning · Statistics 2022-10-05 Marc Jourdan , Rémy Degenne , Dorian Baudry , Rianne de Heide , Emilie Kaufmann

Thompson sampling is an algorithm for online decision problems where actions are taken sequentially in a manner that must balance between exploiting what is known to maximize immediate performance and investing to accumulate new information…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2020-07-16 Daniel Russo , Benjamin Van Roy , Abbas Kazerouni , Ian Osband , Zheng Wen

In many biomedical, science, and engineering problems, one must sequentially decide which action to take next so as to maximize rewards. One general class of algorithms for optimizing interactions with the world, while simultaneously…

Machine Learning · Statistics 2021-05-05 Iñigo Urteaga , Chris H. Wiggins

Contextual multi-armed bandits are classical models in reinforcement learning for sequential decision-making associated with individual information. A widely-used policy for bandits is Thompson Sampling, where samples from a data-driven…

Machine Learning · Statistics 2021-11-30 Hongju Park , Mohamad Kazem Shirani Faradonbeh