This work addresses a version of the two-armed Bernoulli bandit problem where the sum of the means of the arms is one (the symmetric two-armed Bernoulli bandit). In a regime where the gap between these means goes to zero and the number of prediction periods approaches infinity, we obtain the leading order terms of the expected regret and pseudoregret for this problem by associating each of them with a solution of a linear parabolic partial differential equation. Our results improve upon the previously known results; specifically we explicitly compute the leading order term of the optimal regret and pseudoregret in three different scaling regimes for the gap. Additionally, we obtain new non-asymptotic bounds for any given time horizon.
In this paper we present an algebraic dimension-oblivious two-level domain decomposition solver for discretizations of elliptic partial differential equations. The proposed parallel solver is based on a space-filling curve partitioning approach that is applicable to any discretization, i.e. it directly operates on the assembled matrix equations. Moreover, it allows for the effective use of arbitrary processor numbers independent of the dimension of the underlying partial differential equation while maintaining optimal convergence behavior. This is the core property required to attain a sparse grid based combination method with extreme scalability which can utilize exascale parallel systems efficiently. Moreover, this approach provides a basis for the development of a fault-tolerant solver for the numerical treatment of high-dimensional problems. To achieve the required data redundancy we are therefore concerned with large overlaps of our domain decomposition which we construct via space-filling curves. In this paper, we propose our space-filling curve based domain decomposition solver and present its convergence properties and scaling behavior. The results of numerical experiments clearly show that our approach provides optimal convergence and scaling behavior in arbitrary dimension utilizing arbitrary processor numbers.
We introduce and analyze various Regularized Combined Field Integral Equations (CFIER) formulations of time-harmonic Navier equations in media with piece-wise constant material properties. These formulations can be derived systematically starting from suitable coercive approximations of Dirichlet-to-Neumann operators (DtN), and we present a periodic pseudodifferential calculus framework within which the well posedness of CIER formulations can be established. We also use the DtN approximations to derive and analyze Optimized Schwarz (OS) methods for the solution of elastodynamics transmission problems. The pseudodifferential calculus we develop in this paper relies on careful singularity splittings of the kernels of Navier boundary integral operators which is also the basis of high-order Nystr\"om quadratures for their discretizations. Based on these high-order discretizations we investigate the rate of convergence of iterative solvers applied to CFIER and OS formulations of scattering and transmission problems. We present a variety of numerical results that illustrate that the CFIER methodology leads to important computational savings over the classical CFIE one, whenever iterative solvers are used for the solution of the ensuing discretized boundary integral equations. Finally, we show that the OS methods are competitive in the high-frequency high-contrast regime.
Non-probability sampling is prevailing in survey sampling, but ignoring its selection bias leads to erroneous inferences. We offer a unified nonparametric calibration method to estimate the sampling weights for a non-probability sample by calibrating functions of auxiliary variables in a reproducing kernel Hilbert space. The consistency and the limiting distribution of the proposed estimator are established, and the corresponding variance estimator is also investigated. Compared with existing works, the proposed method is more robust since no parametric assumption is made for the selection mechanism of the non-probability sample. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms its competitors, especially when the model is misspecified. The proposed method is applied to analyze the average total cholesterol of Korean citizens based on a non-probability sample from the National Health Insurance Sharing Service and a reference probability sample from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Given a set $P$ of $n$ points in the plane, the $k$-center problem is to find $k$ congruent disks of minimum possible radius such that their union covers all the points in $P$. The $2$-center problem is a special case of the $k$-center problem that has been extensively studied in the recent past \cite{CAHN,HT,SH}. In this paper, we consider a generalized version of the $2$-center problem called \textit{proximity connected} $2$-center (PCTC) problem. In this problem, we are also given a parameter $\delta\geq 0$ and we have the additional constraint that the distance between the centers of the disks should be at most $\delta$. Note that when $\delta=0$, the PCTC problem is reduced to the $1$-center(minimum enclosing disk) problem and when $\delta$ tends to infinity, it is reduced to the $2$-center problem. The PCTC problem first appeared in the context of wireless networks in 1992 \cite{ACN0}, but obtaining a nontrivial deterministic algorithm for the problem remained open. In this paper, we resolve this open problem by providing a deterministic $O(n^2\log n)$ time algorithm for the problem.
We extend the Deep Galerkin Method (DGM) introduced in Sirignano and Spiliopoulos (2018)} to solve a number of partial differential equations (PDEs) that arise in the context of optimal stochastic control and mean field games. First, we consider PDEs where the function is constrained to be positive and integrate to unity, as is the case with Fokker-Planck equations. Our approach involves reparameterizing the solution as the exponential of a neural network appropriately normalized to ensure both requirements are satisfied. This then gives rise to nonlinear a partial integro-differential equation (PIDE) where the integral appearing in the equation is handled by a novel application of importance sampling. Secondly, we tackle a number of Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equations that appear in stochastic optimal control problems. The key contribution is that these equations are approached in their unsimplified primal form which includes an optimization problem as part of the equation. We extend the DGM algorithm to solve for the value function and the optimal control \simultaneously by characterizing both as deep neural networks. Training the networks is performed by taking alternating stochastic gradient descent steps for the two functions, a technique inspired by the policy improvement algorithms (PIA).
We provide a decision theoretic analysis of bandit experiments. The setting corresponds to a dynamic programming problem, but solving this directly is typically infeasible. Working within the framework of diffusion asymptotics, we define suitable notions of asymptotic Bayes and minimax risk for bandit experiments. For normally distributed rewards, the minimal Bayes risk can be characterized as the solution to a nonlinear second-order partial differential equation (PDE). Using a limit of experiments approach, we show that this PDE characterization also holds asymptotically under both parametric and non-parametric distribution of the rewards. The approach further describes the state variables it is asymptotically sufficient to restrict attention to, and therefore suggests a practical strategy for dimension reduction. The upshot is that we can approximate the dynamic programming problem defining the bandit experiment with a PDE which can be efficiently solved using sparse matrix routines. We derive the optimal Bayes and minimax policies from the numerical solutions to these equations. The proposed policies substantially dominate existing methods such as Thompson sampling. The framework also allows for substantial generalizations to the bandit problem such as time discounting and pure exploration motives.
Over the years, many graph problems specifically those in NP-complete are studied by a wide range of researchers. Some famous examples include graph colouring, travelling salesman problem and subgraph isomorphism. Most of these problems are typically addressed by exact algorithms, approximate algorithms and heuristics. There are however some drawback for each of these methods. Recent studies have employed learning-based frameworks such as machine learning techniques in solving these problems, given that they are useful in discovering new patterns in structured data that can be represented using graphs. This research direction has successfully attracted a considerable amount of attention. In this survey, we provide a systematic review mainly on classic graph problems in which learning-based approaches have been proposed in addressing the problems. We discuss the overview of each framework, and provide analyses based on the design and performance of the framework. Some potential research questions are also suggested. Ultimately, this survey gives a clearer insight and can be used as a stepping stone to the research community in studying problems in this field.
Multigrid is a powerful solver for large-scale linear systems arising from discretized partial differential equations. The convergence theory of multigrid methods for symmetric positive definite problems has been well developed over the past decades, while, for nonsymmetric problems, such theory is still not mature. As a foundation for multigrid analysis, two-grid convergence theory plays an important role in motivating multigrid algorithms. Regarding two-grid methods for nonsymmetric problems, most previous works focus on the spectral radius of iteration matrix or rely on convergence measures that are typically difficult to compute in practice. Moreover, the existing results are confined to two-grid methods with exact solution of the coarse-grid system. In this paper, we analyze the convergence of a two-grid method for nonsymmetric positive definite problems (e.g., linear systems arising from the discretizations of convection-diffusion equations). In the case of exact coarse solver, we establish an elegant identity for characterizing two-grid convergence factor, which is measured by a smoother-induced norm. The identity can be conveniently used to derive a class of optimal restriction operators and analyze how the convergence factor is influenced by restriction. More generally, we present some convergence estimates for an inexact variant of the two-grid method, in which both linear and nonlinear coarse solvers are considered.
Dynamic Linear Models (DLMs) are commonly employed for time series analysis due to their versatile structure, simple recursive updating, ability to handle missing data, and probabilistic forecasting. However, the options for count time series are limited: Gaussian DLMs require continuous data, while Poisson-based alternatives often lack sufficient modeling flexibility. We introduce a novel semiparametric methodology for count time series by warping a Gaussian DLM. The warping function has two components: a (nonparametric) transformation operator that provides distributional flexibility and a rounding operator that ensures the correct support for the discrete data-generating process. We develop conjugate inference for the warped DLM, which enables analytic and recursive updates for the state space filtering and smoothing distributions. We leverage these results to produce customized and efficient algorithms for inference and forecasting, including Monte Carlo simulation for offline analysis and an optimal particle filter for online inference. This framework unifies and extends a variety of discrete time series models and is valid for natural counts, rounded values, and multivariate observations. Simulation studies illustrate the excellent forecasting capabilities of the warped DLM. The proposed approach is applied to a multivariate time series of daily overdose counts and demonstrates both modeling and computational successes.
Holonomic functions play an essential role in Computer Algebra since they allow the application of many symbolic algorithms. Among all algorithmic attempts to find formulas for power series, the holonomic property remains the most important requirement to be satisfied by the function under consideration. The targeted functions mainly summarize that of meromorphic functions. However, expressions like $\tan(z)$, $z/(\exp(z)-1)$, $\sec(z)$, etc., particularly, reciprocals, quotients and compositions of holonomic functions, are generally not holonomic. Therefore their power series are inaccessible by the holonomic framework. From the mathematical dictionaries, one can observe that most of the known closed-form formulas of non-holonomic power series involve another sequence whose evaluation depends on some finite summations. In the case of $\tan(z)$ and $\sec(z)$ the corresponding sequences are the Bernoulli and Euler numbers, respectively. Thus providing a symbolic approach that yields complete representations when linear summations for power series coefficients of non-holonomic functions appear, might be seen as a step forward towards the representation of non-holonomic power series. By adapting the method of ansatz with undetermined coefficients, we build an algorithm that computes least-order quadratic differential equations with polynomial coefficients for a large class of non-holonomic functions. A differential equation resulting from this procedure is converted into a recurrence equation by applying the Cauchy product formula and rewriting powers into polynomials and derivatives into shifts. Finally, using enough initial values we are able to give normal form representations to characterize several non-holonomic power series and prove non-trivial identities. We discuss this algorithm and its implementation for Maple 2022.