An optimization based algorithm for Bayesian inference

Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2015.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Wang, Zheng, S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Other Authors: Youssef M. Marzouk.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/98815
_version_ 1826216362195812352
author Wang, Zheng, S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
author2 Youssef M. Marzouk.
author_facet Youssef M. Marzouk.
Wang, Zheng, S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
author_sort Wang, Zheng, S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
collection MIT
description Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2015.
first_indexed 2024-09-23T16:46:26Z
format Thesis
id mit-1721.1/98815
institution Massachusetts Institute of Technology
language eng
last_indexed 2024-09-23T16:46:26Z
publishDate 2015
publisher Massachusetts Institute of Technology
record_format dspace
spelling mit-1721.1/988152019-04-10T10:39:11Z An optimization based algorithm for Bayesian inference Optimization-based sampling algorithm for Bayesian inference Wang, Zheng, S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Youssef M. Marzouk. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Aeronautics and Astronautics. Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2015. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (pages 75-76). In the Bayesian statistical paradigm, uncertainty in the parameters of a physical system is characterized by a probability distribution. Information from observations is incorporated by updating this distribution from prior to posterior. Quantities of interest, such as credible regions, event probabilities, and other expectations can then be obtained from the posterior distribution. One major task in Bayesian inference is then to characterize the posterior distribution, for example, through sampling. Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms are often used to sample from posterior distributions using only unnormalized evaluations of the posterior density. However, high dimensional Bayesian inference problems are challenging for MCMC-type sampling algorithms, because accurate proposal distributions are needed in order for the sampling to be efficient. One method to obtain efficient proposal samples is an optimization-based algorithm titled 'Randomize-then-Optimize' (RTO). We build upon RTO by developing a new geometric interpretation that describes the samples as projections of Gaussian-distributed points, in the joint data and parameter space, onto a nonlinear manifold defined by the forward model. This interpretation reveals generalizations of RTO that can be used. We use this interpretation to draw connections between RTO and two other sampling techniques, transport map based MCMC and implicit sampling. In addition, we motivate and propose an adaptive version of RTO designed to be more robust and efficient. Finally, we introduce a variable transformation to apply RTO to problems with non-Gaussian priors, such as Bayesian inverse problems with Li-type priors. We demonstrate several orders of magnitude in computational savings from this strategy on a high-dimensional inverse problem. by Zheng Wang. S.M. 2015-09-17T19:14:04Z 2015-09-17T19:14:04Z 2015 2015 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/98815 921147308 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 76 pages application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Wang, Zheng, S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
An optimization based algorithm for Bayesian inference
title An optimization based algorithm for Bayesian inference
title_full An optimization based algorithm for Bayesian inference
title_fullStr An optimization based algorithm for Bayesian inference
title_full_unstemmed An optimization based algorithm for Bayesian inference
title_short An optimization based algorithm for Bayesian inference
title_sort optimization based algorithm for bayesian inference
topic Aeronautics and Astronautics.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/98815
work_keys_str_mv AT wangzhengsmmassachusettsinstituteoftechnology anoptimizationbasedalgorithmforbayesianinference
AT wangzhengsmmassachusettsinstituteoftechnology optimizationbasedsamplingalgorithmforbayesianinference
AT wangzhengsmmassachusettsinstituteoftechnology optimizationbasedalgorithmforbayesianinference