The paper provides concentration inequalities for Markov chain variance estimators.
problem Estimating the variance of Markov chains with concentration properties.
method Martingale decomposition method for uniformly geometrically ergodic Markov chains.
result Explicit control of the p-th moment of the OBM estimator difference and dependence on p and mixing time.
A new method simulates a lazy version of a Markov chain for empirical inference.
problem Estimating and testing unknown Markov chains with limited data.
method Simulates an α-lazy version of an unknown Markov chain, making it ergodic.
result The pseudo spectral gap can be applied to non-ergodic Markov chains.
Stochastic gradient methods are the workhorse (algorithms) of large-scale optimization problems in machine learning, signal processing, and other computational sciences and engineering. This paper studies Markov chain gradient descent, a variant of stochastic gradient descent where the random samples are taken on the t…
Study Markov chain gradient descent in Hilbert spaces for quadratic loss.
problem Approximating optimal solutions for quadratic loss functions.
method Developed a Markov chain-based stochastic gradient algorithm in Hilbert spaces.
result Established probabilistic upper bounds on convergence.
Enhanced Markov chain sampler learns network statistics faster.
problem Learning network statistics efficiently.
method Integrates graph Forman curvature into Markov chain transition probabilities and stationary distribution.
result Curved Markov chain Monte Carlo achieves faster convergence.
Stochastic kernel based dimensionality reduction approaches have become popular in the last decade. The central component of many of these methods is a symmetric kernel that quantifies the vicinity between pairs of data points and a kernel-induced Markov chain on the data. Typically, the Markov chain is fully specified…
In his 2011 work, Maas has shown that the law of any time-reversible continuous-time Markov chain with finite state space evolves like a gradient flow of the relative entropy with respect to its stationary distribution. In this work we show the converse to the above by showing that if the relative law of a Markov chain…
Study nonparametric estimator for Markov chain transition matrices in offline setting.
problem Estimating transition matrices of finite controlled Markov chains from logged data.
method Developed sample complexity bounds and conditions for minimaxity.
result Achieving certain statistical risk requires balancing mixing properties and sample size.
Elo ratings learn model parameters quickly using Markov chains.
problem Ranking players in online settings.
method Bradley--Terry--Luce model and Markov chain theory.
result Elo learns model parameters at a competitive rate.
DCDC calculates convergence rates for Markov chains using neural networks.
problem Computing precise convergence rates for Markov chains is hard.
method Developed a neural network-based algorithm (DCDC) to bound convergence rates in Wasserstein distance.
result Demonstrated effective convergence bounds for real-world Markov chains.
The paper studies how quickly samples from Langevin dynamics become independent.
problem Understanding the dependence between samples along Langevin dynamics and related algorithms.
method Measures dependence via Φ-mutual information and proves strong data processing inequalities. result The Φ-mutual information between samples decreases exponentially to zero. New insights into Markov chain geometry via positive transition measures.
problem Lack of statistical meaning in the space of transition probabilities.
method Constructing an extension of the space of transition probabilities using Amari's theory of positive measures.
result Introduction of a new dually flat structure for the space of positive transition measures.
In this paper we describe three stochastic models based on a semi-Markov chains approach and its generalizations to study the high frequency price dynamics of traded stocks. The three models are: a simple semi-Markov chain model, an indexed semi-Markov chain model and a weighted indexed semi-Markov chain model. We show…
The paper extends Hoeffding's inequality for Markov chains using a generalized concentrability condition.
problem Applying Hoeffding's inequality to non-ergodic Markov chains.
method Integrates generalized concentrability condition via IPM to extend traditional hypotheses.
result Demonstrates utility in machine learning applications such as empirical risk minimization and bandits.
Identity testing for reversible Markov chains without symmetry assumption.
problem Identity testing of reversible Markov chains.
method Using distance notion from Daskalakis et al. [2018a], testing without symmetry assumption.
result It is possible to perform identity testing under weaker assumption of reversibility.
Unbiased gradient estimation for Markov chains
problem Estimating gradients of stationary means in Markov chains
method Propose new unbiased estimators
result Improves efficiency for slow mixing Markov chains
New framework improves variational inference with Markov chain methods.
problem Challenges of minimizing KL divergence with stochastic gradient descent.
method Markov chain score ascent (MCSA) methods, including parallel MCSA (pMCSA).
result Improved theoretical and empirical performance of MCSA methods.
Method reconstructs hidden Markov chains from insurance data.
problem Recovering hidden Markov chains from incomplete insurance data.
method Neural architecture to explicitly provide transition probabilities.
result Neural model successfully validates decompression of insurance information.
This paper proposes a stochastic model using the concept of Markov chains for the inter-state transitions of the millisecond order quasi-stable phase synchronized patterns or synchrostates, found in multi-channel Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. First and second order transition probability matrices are estimated fo…
Matrix Chernoff bound for Markov chains applied to co-occurrence matrices.
problem Analyzing the behavior of co-occurrence statistics in sequential data.
method Proved a matrix Chernoff-type bound for sums of matrix-valued random variables sampled via a regular Markov chain.
result Achieved exponentially fast convergence rate and sample complexity analysis for co-occurrence matrices.
DMGD algorithm solves large-scale ML problems in costly sampling settings.
problem Large-scale machine learning problems with costly or impossible independent sampling.
method Decentralized Markov chain gradient descent (DMGD) algorithm.
result Nonergodic and ergodic convergence rates established for DMGD.
New method estimates convergence bounds for nonlinear Markov chains.
problem Difficulty in describing properties of nonlinear Markov chains.
method Coupling Markov chains to reconstitute distribution relationships and estimate convergence bounds.
result Estimation of convergence bounds is more precise than existing results.
Reduces identity testing of reversible Markov chains to simpler symmetric chain tests.
problem Testing identity of reversible Markov chains from a single trajectory.
method Using lumping-congruent Markov embeddings, the problem is simplified to testing symmetric chains over a larger state space.
result Achieves state-of-the-art sample complexity for identity testing.
The time to converge to the steady state of a finite Markov chain can be greatly reduced by a lifting operation, which creates a new Markov chain on an expanded state space. For a class of quadratic objectives, we show an analogous behavior where a distributed ADMM algorithm can be seen as a lifting of Gradient Descent…
Paper proposes semi-supervised learning with triplet Markov chains.
problem Lack of labels in training data.
method Variational Bayesian inference for semi-supervised learning.
result Derives semi-supervised algorithms for various sequential models.
The method of block coordinate gradient descent (BCD) has been a powerful method for large-scale optimization. This paper considers the BCD method that successively updates a series of blocks selected according to a Markov chain. This kind of block selection is neither i.i.d. random nor cyclic. On the other hand, it is…
Study on gradient descent in Hilbert spaces with Markov chains, focusing on mixing coefficients.
problem Analyzing convergence of gradient descent in Hilbert spaces with stationary Markov chains.
method Examined strictly stationary Markov chains with φ- and β-mixing coefficients, derived probabilistic upper bounds. result Probabilistic upper bounds on convergence behavior of gradient descent algorithm based on mixing coefficients.
Unified framework for analyzing convergence of RSAs using Wasserstein divergence.
problem Analyzing convergence of constant stepsize recursive stochastic algorithms (RSAs).
method Lifting RSA into a higher-dimensional space as a Markov chain and studying the distribution's contraction property with respect to Wasserstein divergence.
result RSAs' iterates' distribution converges to an invariant distribution under certain contraction properties.
The aim of this text is to establish some relations between Markov chains in Dirichlet Environments on directed graphs and certain hypergeometric integrals associated with a particular arrangement of hyperplanes. We deduce from these relations and the computation of the connexion obtained by moving one hyperplane of th…
Expands Hidden Markov Model to include Markov chain observations.
problem Handling Markov chain observations in Hidden Markov Models.
method Developed Expectation-Maximization algorithm and Viterbi algorithm analogs.
result Estimates transition probabilities for hidden states and observations.
New density estimator from Markov Chains outperforms KDE.
problem Density estimation from Markov Chains.
method Nonparametric density estimator based on Markov Chains.
result Consistent and outperforms KDE in large sample size and high dimensionality.
Develops CLTs for Markov chain transition probabilities and policies.
problem Estimating transition probabilities and policies in controlled Markov chains.
method Non-parametric estimator for transition matrices; CLTs for value, Q-, and advantage functions; goodness-of-fit tests.
result Asymptotic normality of estimators under specific logging policies.
New concentration inequality for U-statistics of Markov chains.
problem Proving a concentration inequality for U-statistics of order two in uniformly ergodic Markov chains.
method Inductive analysis using martingale techniques, uniform ergodicity, Nummelin splitting, and Bernstein's inequality.
result Recovery of convergence rate for U-statistics of independent random variables and canonical kernels, with improved results for dependent kernels.
We study the problem of learning the transition matrices of a set of Markov chains from a single stream of observations on each chain. We assume that the Markov chains are ergodic but otherwise unknown. The learner can sample Markov chains sequentially to observe their states. The goal of the learner is to sequentially…
New algorithm clusters trajectories from multiple Markov chains with near-optimal error.
problem Clustering trajectories from multiple unknown Markov chains.
method Two-stage algorithm: spectral clustering followed by likelihood-based refinement.
result Achieves near-optimal clustering error with high probability.
We study the problem of identity testing of markov chains. In this setting, we are given access to a single trajectory from a markov chain with unknown transition matrix Q and the goal is to determine whether Q=P for some known matrix P or Dist(P,Q)≥ε where Dist is suitably defined. In r…
Proposes MIVI for efficient posterior estimation and design of MCMC transitions.
problem Efficiently estimating posterior distributions in constrained time.
method Combines variational inference and MCMC with a variational distribution and optimized Markov chain.
result Optimized Markov chain improves variational distribution and vice versa, leading to more accurate posteriors.
Unified framework for MCMC and machine learning problems.
problem Intersection of MCMC and machine learning problems.
method Unified framework integrating various MCMC and machine learning techniques.
result Translation and generalization of theory and methods.
Non-negative curvature affects Markov chains' mixing and expansion properties.
problem Understanding the behavior of Markov chains with non-negative curvature.
method Analyzing conductance, displacement, and cutoff phenomenon in sparse Markov chains.
result Non-negatively curved Markov chains exhibit specific, non-standard behavior in terms of mixing and expansion.
Study shows how certain stochastic models reach a steady state over time.
problem Understanding long-term behavior of stochastic volatility models.
method Novel coupling technique for Markov chains, applicable to random environments.
result Convergence to an invariant measure for multidimensional fractional models.
This paper models time-series data with a mixture of Markov chains, automatically determining the number of components.
problem Tackles the inability of common Markov state modeling frameworks to discern heterogeneities in complex data.
method Uses a mixture of Markov chains and variational expectation-maximization algorithm for automatic component selection.
result Achieves performance consistent with theoretically optimal error scaling, identifying meaningful heterogeneities in various data sets.
New empirical PAC-Bayes bound for Markov chains with finite state space.
problem Lack of empirical bounds for Markov chains with temporal dependence.
method Proved a new PAC-Bayes bound for Markov chains, providing an empirical pseudo-spectral gap.
result First fully empirical PAC-Bayes bound for Markov chains with finite state space.
Method estimates number of clusters in Block Markov Chain trajectories.
problem Challenges in choosing number of clusters for sequential data.
method Spectral embedding and density-based clustering.
result Asymptotically consistent method for estimating clusters.
Proves limiting distributions for Markov chains in random environments.
problem Analyzing Markov chains in random environments.
method Proves existence of limiting distributions using drift and minorization conditions.
result Law of large numbers holds for bounded functionals of the process.
Paper proposes variance reduction for Markov chains, especially useful in MCMC.
problem Reducing variance in Markov chain additive functionals.
method Minimizes asymptotic variance of functionals over control variates.
result Significantly reduces overall finite sample variance in simulations.
We study (backward) stochastic differential equations with noise coming from a finite state Markov chain. We show that, for the solutions of these equations to be `Markovian', in the sense that they are deterministic functions of the state of the underlying chain, the integrand must be of a specific form. This allows u…
Algorithm learns mixtures of Markov chains and MDPs from short trajectories.
problem Learning mixtures of Markov chains and MDPs from short unlabeled trajectories.
method Subspace estimation, spectral clustering, EM algorithm, model estimation, classification.
result 96.6% average accuracy on a mixture of two MDPs in gridworld, outperforming EM algorithm with random initialization.
Estimates covariance matrices using Markov chain Monte Carlo with improved sample complexity.
problem Complexity of covariance matrix estimation for Gibbs distributions.
method Uses Markov chain Monte Carlo with conditions on the chain's spectral gap and Poincaré inequality.
result Achieves similar sample complexity as i.i.d. samples with better query complexity.