Related papers: Allocating Variance to Maximize Expectation
We give a polynomial time approximation scheme (PTAS) for computing the supremum of a Gaussian process. That is, given a finite set of vectors $V\subseteq\mathbb{R}^d$, we compute a $(1+\varepsilon)$-factor approximation to $\mathop…
We develop a framework for obtaining polynomial time approximation schemes (PTAS) for a class of stochastic dynamic programs. Using our framework, we obtain the first PTAS for the following stochastic combinatorial optimization problems:…
We consider {\em profit-maximization} problems for {\em combinatorial auctions} with {\em non-single minded valuation functions} and {\em limited supply}. We obtain fairly general results that relate the approximability of the…
Variational inference methods for latent variable statistical models have gained popularity because they are relatively fast, can handle large data sets, and have deterministic convergence guarantees. However, in practice it is unclear…
We study several questions related to diversifying search results. We give improved approximation algorithms in each of the following problems, together with some lower bounds. - We give a polynomial-time approximation scheme (PTAS) for a…
We consider the fundamental problem of selecting $k$ out of $n$ random variables in a way that the expected highest or second-highest value is maximized. This question captures several applications where we have uncertainty about the…
We consider the problem of computing the probability of maximality (PoM) of a Gaussian random vector, i.e., the probability for each dimension to be maximal. This is a key challenge in applications ranging from Bayesian optimization to…
Motivated by modern-day applications such as Attended Home Delivery and Preference-based Group Scheduling, where decision makers wish to steer a large number of customers toward choosing the exact same alternative, we introduce a novel…
The expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm is an iterative method for finding maximum likelihood estimates when data are incomplete or are treated as being incomplete. The EM algorithm and its variants are commonly used for parameter…
In this paper, we focus on the problem of stochastic optimization where the objective function can be written as an expectation function over a closed convex set. We also consider multiple expectation constraints which restrict the domain…
Given a set of $m$ agents and a set of $n$ items, where agent $A$ has utility $u_{A,i}$ for item $i$, our goal is to allocate items to agents to maximize fairness. Specifically, the utility of an agent is the sum of its utilities for items…
We study stochastic optimization problems with objective function given by the expectation of the maximum of two linear functions defined on the component random variables of a multivariate Gaussian distribution. We consider random…
Given $n$ independent random variables $X_1, X_2, ..., X_n$ and an integer $C$, we study the fundamental problem of computing the probability that the sum $X=X_1+X_2+...+X_n$ is at most $C$. We assume that each random variable $X_i$ is…
Given a $d$-dimensional continuous (resp. discrete) probability distribution $\mu$ and a discrete distribution $\nu$, the semi-discrete (resp. discrete) Optimal Transport (OT) problem asks for computing a minimum-cost plan to transport mass…
We study the problem of computing maximin share guarantees, a recently introduced fairness notion. Given a set of $n$ agents and a set of goods, the maximin share of a single agent is the best that she can guarantee to herself, if she would…
Many inference problems involving questions of optimality ask for the maximum or the minimum of a finite set of unknown quantities. This technical report derives the first two posterior moments of the maximum of two correlated Gaussian…
We derive a Gaussian approximation result for the maximum of a sum of high-dimensional random vectors. Specifically, we establish conditions under which the distribution of the maximum is approximated by that of the maximum of a sum of the…
We describe a method to computationally estimate the probability density function of a univariate random variable by applying the maximum entropy principle with some local conditions given by Gaussian functions. The estimation errors and…
We obtain an optimal bound for a Gaussian approximation of a large class of vector-valued random processes. Our results provide a substantial generalization of earlier results that assume independence and/or stationarity. Based on the decay…
Several numerical approximation strategies for the expectation-propagation algorithm are studied in the context of large-scale learning: the Laplace method, a faster variant of it, Gaussian quadrature, and a deterministic version of…