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Slow kinetic processes in molecular systems can be analyzed by computing the dominant eigenpairs of the Koopman operator or its generator. In this context, the Variational Approach to Markov Processes (VAMP) provides a rigorous way of discerning the quality of different approximate models. Kernel methods have been shown to provide accurate and robust estimates for slow kinetic processes, but they are sensitive to hyper-parameter selection and require the solution of large-scale generalized eigenvalue problems, which can easily become computationally demanding for large data sizes. In this contribution, we employ a stochastic approximation of the kernel based on random Fourier features (RFFs) to derive a small-scale dual eigenvalue problem that can be easily solved. We provide an interpretation of this procedure in terms of a finite, randomly generated basis set. By combining the RFF approach and model selection by means of the VAMP score, we show that kernel parameters can be efficiently tuned and accurate estimates of slow molecular kinetics can be obtained for several benchmarking systems, such as deca alanine and the NTL9 protein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Classical optimizers play a crucial role in determining the accuracy and convergence of variational quantum algorithms; leading algorithms use a near-term quantum computer to solve the ground state properties of molecules, simulate dynamics of different quantum systems, and so on. In the literature, many optimizers, each having its own architecture, have been employed expediently for different applications. In this work, we consider a few popular and efficacious optimizers and assess their performance in variational quantum algorithms for applications in quantum chemistry in a realistic noisy setting. We benchmark the optimizers with critical analysis based on quantum simulations of simple molecules, such as hydrogen, lithium hydride, beryllium hydride, water, and hydrogen fluoride. The errors in the ground state energy, dissociation energy, and dipole moment are the parameters used as yardsticks. All the simulations were carried out with an ideal quantum circuit simulator, a noisy quantum circuit simulator, and finally a noisy simulator with noise embedded from the IBM Cairo quantum device to understand the performance of the classical optimizers in ideal and realistic quantum environments. We used the standard unitary coupled cluster ansatz for simulations, and the number of qubits varied from two starting from the hydrogen molecule to ten qubits in hydrogen fluoride. Based on the performance of these optimizers in the ideal quantum circuits, the conjugate gradient, limited-memory Broyden—Fletcher—Goldfarb—Shanno bound, and sequential least squares programming optimizers are found to be the best-performing gradient-based optimizers. While constrained optimization by linear approximation (COBYLA) and Powell's conjugate direction algorithm for unconstrained optimization (POWELL) perform most efficiently among the gradient-free methods, in noisy quantum circuit conditions, simultaneous perturbation stochastic approximation, POWELL, and COBYLA are among the best-performing optimizers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The established relationships between the size, shape, and terminal velocity of raindrops, along with the spheroidal shape approximation (SSA), are commonly employed for calculating radar observables in rain. This study, however, reveals the SSA's limitations in accurately simulating spectral and integrated backscattering polarimetric variables in rain at the W-band. Improving existing models is a complex task that demands high-precision data from both laboratory settings and natural rain, enhanced stochastic shape approximation techniques, and comprehensive scattering simulations. To circumvent these challenges, this study introduces a simpler and more straightforward approach – the empirical scattering model (ESM). The ESM is derived from an analysis of high-quality, low-turbulence Doppler spectra, which were selected from measurements taken with a 94 GHz radar at three different locations between 2021 and 2024. The ESM's primary advantages over the SSA include superior accuracy and the direct incorporation of microphysical effects observed in natural rain. This study demonstrates that the ESM can potentially clarify issues in existing retrieval and calibration methods that use polarimetric observations at the W-band. The findings of this study are not only valuable for experts in cloud radar polarimetry but also for scattering modelers and laboratory experimenters since explaining the presented observations necessitates a more profound understanding of the microphysical properties and processes in rain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate a stochastic coupled model of the Cahn–Hilliard equations and the stochastic magnetohydrodynamic equations in a bounded domain of ℝ 2 {\mathbb{R}^{2}} . The model describes the flow of the mixture of two incompressible and immiscible fluids under the influence of an electromagnetic field with stochastic perturbations. We prove the existence, uniqueness and regularity of a probabilistic strong solution. The proof of the existence is based on the Galerkin approximation, the stopping time technique and some weak convergence principles in functional analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on approximating stochastic delay differential equations with delayed impulses using Euler-Maruyama-type approximations. One key difference from previous literature is that the impulsive perturbations considered in this paper are past-dependent. Additionally, both the time delays in the stochastic delay differential equations and in the impulsive functions are functions of time. We establish the mean square convergence of the Euler-Maruyama approximations under a local Lipschitz condition and a linear growth condition. Furthermore, we determine the order of convergence under a global Lipschitz condition and provide an illustrative example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate a fully discrete approximation of stochastic diffusion-wave equation driven by additive tempered fractional Gaussian noise. This additive noise exhibits semi-long range dependence. The model involves two nonlocal terms in time, i.e., a Caputo fractional derivative and a tempered fractional Brownian motion. The space discretization is achieved via the spectral Galerkin method. The Caputo fractional derivative of order α ∈ (1 , 2) is approximated by using the Grünwald–Letnikov formula. Combining Mittag-Leffler function, Laplace transform and z -transform, we establish the error estimates of the full discretization in the sense of mean-squared L 2 -norm. Numerical experiments are presented to confirm the strong convergence rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data collected over time are common in applications and may contain censored or missing observations, making it difficult to use standard statistical procedures. This article proposes an algorithm to estimate the parameters of a censored linear regression model with errors serially correlated and innovations following a Student‐t distribution. This distribution is widely used in the statistical modelling of data containing outliers because its longer‐than‐normal tails provide a robust approach to handling such data. The maximum likelihood estimates of the proposed model are obtained through a stochastic approximation of the EM algorithm. The methods are applied to an environmental dataset regarding ammonia‐nitrogen concentration, which is subject to a limit of detection (left censoring) and contains missing observations. Additionally, two simulation studies are conducted to examine the asymptotic properties of the estimates and the robustness of the model. The proposed algorithm and methods are implemented in the R package ARCensReg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many systems in the manufacturing industry have spatial distribution characteristics, which correlate with both time and space. Such systems are known as distributed parameter systems (DPSs). Due to the spatiotemporal coupling characteristics, the modeling of such systems is quite complex. The paper presents a new approach for three-dimensional fuzzy modeling using Simultaneous Perturbation Stochastic Approximation (SPSA) for nonlinear DPSs. The Affinity Propagation clustering approach is utilized to determine the optimal number of fuzzy rules and construct a collection of preceding components for three-dimensional fuzzy models. Fourier space base functions are used in the resulting components of three-dimensional fuzzy models, and their parameters are learned by the SPSA algorithm. The proposed three-dimensional fuzzy modeling technique was utilized on a conventional DPS within the semiconductor manufacturing industry, with the simulation experiments confirming its efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the Wong-Zakai approximations of stochastic evolution equations driven by a multiplicative white noise and their related dynamical behavior, where the Wong-Zakai approximations are given by a stationary process via the Wiener shift. Firstly, we show that the solutions of these stochastic evolution equations can be approximated almost surely with a polynomial rate. Next, we explore the Wong-Zakai approximations on the center manifolds of these stochastic evolution equations under an exponential trichotomy condition. Finally, we prove that these approximate center manifolds converge almost surely, with a polynomial rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stochastic approximation (SA) was introduced in the early 1950s and has been an active area of research for several decades. While the initial focus was on statistical questions, it was seen to have applications to signal processing, convex optimization. In later years, SA has found application in reinforced learning (RL) and led to revival of interest.While bulk of the literature is on SA for the case when the observations are from a finite dimensional Euclidian space, there has been interest in extending the same to infinite dimension. Extension to Hilbert spaces is relatively easier to do, but this is not so when we come to a Banach space — since in the case of a Banach space, even law of large numbers is not true in general. We consider some cases where approximation works in a Banach space. Our framework includes case when the Banach space 픹 is C([0, 1], ℝd), as well as ℒ1([0, 1], ℝd), the two cases which do not even have the Radon–Nikodym property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through the Bayesian lens of four-dimensional variational (4D-Var) data assimilation, uncertainty in model parameters is traditionally quantified through the posterior covariance matrix. However, in modern settings involving high-dimensional and computationally expensive forward models, posterior covariance knowledge must be relaxed to deterministic or stochastic approximations. In the carbon flux inversion literature, proposed a stochastic method capable of approximating posterior variances of linear functionals of the model parameters that is particularly well suited for large-scale Earth-system 4D-Var data assimilation tasks. This note formalizes this algorithm and clarifies its properties. We provide a formal statement of the algorithm, demonstrate why it converges to the desired posterior variance quantity of interest, and provide additional uncertainty quantification allowing incorporation of the Monte Carlo sampling uncertainty into the method's Bayesian credible intervals. The methodology is demonstrated using toy simulations and a realistic carbon flux inversion observing system simulation experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we deal with the global approximation of solutions of stochastic differential equations (SDEs) driven by countably dimensional Wiener process. Under certain regularity conditions imposed on the coefficients, we show lower bounds for exact asymptotic error behaviour. For that reason, we analyse separately two classes of admissible algorithms: based on equidistant, and possibly not equidistant meshes. Our results indicate that in both cases, decrease of any method error requires significant increase of the cost term, which is illustrated by the product of cost and error diverging to infinity. This is, however, not visible in the finite-dimensional case. In addition, we propose an implementable, path-independent Euler algorithm with adaptive step-size control, which is asymptotically optimal among algorithms using specified truncation levels of the underlying Wiener process. Our theoretical findings are supported by numerical simulation in Python language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stochastic food chain model is an important model within the field of ecological research. Since existing models are difficult to describe the influence of cross-diffusion and random factors on the evolution of species populations, this work is concerned with a stochastic cross-diffusion three-species food chain model with prey-taxis, in which the direction of predators' movement is opposite to the gradient of prey, i.e., a higher density of prey. The existence and uniqueness of martingale solutions are established in a Hilbert space by using the stochastic Galerkin approximation method, the tightness criterion, Jakubowski's generalization of the Skorokhod theorem, and the Vitali convergence theorem. Furthermore, asymptotic behaviors around the steady states of the stochastic cross-diffusion three-species food chain model in the time mean sense are investigated. Finally, numerical simulations are carried out to illustrate the results of our analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimal values and solutions of empirical approximations of stochastic optimization problems can be viewed as statistical estimators of their true values. From this perspective, it is important to understand the asymptotic behavior of these estimators as the sample size goes to infinity. This area of study has a long tradition in stochastic programming. However, the literature is lacking consistency analysis for problems in which the decision variables are taken from an infinite-dimensional space, which arise in optimal control, scientific machine learning, and statistical estimation. By exploiting the typical problem structures found in these applications that give rise to hidden norm compactness properties for solution sets, we prove consistency results for nonconvex risk-averse stochastic optimization problems formulated in infinite-dimensional space. The proof is based on several crucial results from the theory of variational convergence. The theoretical results are demonstrated for several important problem classes arising in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Since the dawn of quantum computing (QC), theoretical developments like Shor's algorithm proved the conceptual superiority of QC over traditional computing. However, such quantum supremacy claims are difficult to achieve in practice because of the technical challenges of realizing noiseless qubits. In the near future, QC applications will need to rely on noisy quantum devices that offload part of their work to classical devices. One way to achieve this is by using parameterized quantum circuits in optimization or even in machine learning tasks. The energy requirements of quantum algorithms have not yet been studied extensively. In this article, we explore several optimization algorithms using both theoretical insights and numerical experiments to understand their impact on energy consumption. Specifically, we highlight why and how algorithms like quantum natural gradient descent, simultaneous perturbation stochastic approximations or circuit learning methods, are at least 2×$$ 2\times $$ to 4×$$ 4\times $$ more energy efficient than their classical counterparts; why feedback‐based quantum optimization is energy‐inefficient; and how techniques like Rosalin can improve the energy efficiency of other algorithms by a factor of ≥$$ \ge $$20×$$ \times $$. Finally, we use the NchooseK high‐level programming model to run optimization problems on both gate‐based quantum computers and quantum annealers. Empirical data indicate that these optimization problems run faster, have better success rates, and consume less energy on quantum annealers than on their gate‐based counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivated by important applications to the analysis of complex noise-induced phenomena, we consider a problem of the constructive description of randomly forced equilibria for nonlinear systems with multiplicative noise. Using the apparatus of the first approximation systems, we construct an approximation of mean square deviations that explicitly takes into account the presence of multiplicative noises, depending on the current system state. A spectral criterion of existence and exponential stability of the stationary second moments for the solution of the first approximation system is presented. For mean square deviation, we derive an expansion in powers of the small parameter of noise intensity. Based on this theory, we derive a new, more accurate approximation of mean square deviations in a general nonlinear system with multiplicative noises. This approximation is compared with the widely used approximation based on the stochastic sensitivity technique. The general mathematical results are illustrated with examples of the model of climate dynamics and the van der Pol oscillator with hard excitement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Methods Results Conclusions To develop a non‐linear mixed‐effects population pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic (PK‐PD) model describing the change in the concentration of methotrexate polyglutamates in erythrocytes (ery‐MTX‐PGn with “n” number of glutamate, representing PK component) and how this relates to modified 28‐joint Disease Activity Score incorporating erythrocyte sedimentation rate (DAS‐28‐3) for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), representing PD component.An existing PK model was fitted to data from a study consisting of 117 RA patients. The estimation of population PK‐PD parameters was performed using stochastic approximation expectation maximisation algorithm in Monolix 2021R2. The model was used to perform Monte Carlo simulations of a loading dose regimen (50mg subcutaneous methotrexate as loading doses, then 20mg weekly oral methotrexate) compared to a standard dosing regimen (10mg weekly oral methotrexate for 2 weeks, then 20mg weekly oral methotrexate).Every 40 nmol/L increase in ery‐MTX‐PG3‐5 total concentration correlated with 1‐unit reduction in DAS‐28‐3. Significant covariate effects on the therapeutic response of methotrexate included the use of prednisolone in the first 4 weeks (positive use correlated with 25% reduction in DAS‐28‐3 when other variables were constant) and patient age (every 10‐year increase in age correlated with 3.4% increase in DAS‐28‐3 when other variables were constant). 4 methotrexate loading doses led to a higher percentage of patients achieving a good/moderate response compared to the standard regimen (Week 4: 87.6% vs. 39.8%; Week 10: 64.7% vs. 57.0%).A loading dose regimen was more likely to achieve higher ery‐MTX‐PG concentration and better therapeutic response after 4 weeks of methotrexate treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For numerical approximations to stochastic differential equations using the Euler-- Maruyama scheme, we propose incorporating approximate random variables computed using low precisions, such as single and half precision. We propose and justify a model for the rounding error incurred, and produce an average case error bound for two and four way differences, appropriate for regular and nested multilevel Monte Carlo estimations. Our rounding error model recovers and extends the statistical model by Arciniega and Allen [Stoch. Anal. Appl., 21 (2003), pp. 281-- 300], while bounding the size that systematic and biased rounding errors are permitted to be. By considering the variance structure of multilevel Monte Carlo correction terms in various precisions with and without a Kahan compensated summation, we compute the potential speed ups offered from the various precisions. We find single precision offers the potential for approximate speed improvements by a factor of 7 across a wide span of discretization levels. Half precision offers comparable improvements for several levels of coarse simulations, and even offers improvements by a factor of 10--12 for the very coarsest few levels, which are likely to dominate higher order methods such as the Milstein scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we obtain weak order-2 conditions of Runge–Kutta method for the optimal control of stochastic differential equations which occurs in many areas of economics and finance and recently in cognitive sciences and neuroscience. We get the order conditions that a stochastic Runge–Kutta technique must meet to have weak order two by comparing the stochastic expansion of the approximation with the associated Taylor scheme. Moreover, we present numerical examples which verify the theoretical results. We conclude our paper by a summary and an outlook to future research and application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimating free energy differences, an important problem in computational drug discovery and in a wide range of other application areas, commonly involves a computationally intensive process of sampling a family of high-dimensional probability distributions and a procedure for computing estimates based on those samples. The variance of the free energy estimate of interest typically depends strongly on how the total computational resources available for sampling are divided among the distributions, but determining an efficient allocation is difficult without sampling the distributions. Here we introduce the Times Square sampling algorithm, a novel on-the-fly estimation method that dynamically allocates resources in such a way as to significantly accelerate the estimation of free energies and other observables, while providing rigorous convergence guarantees for the estimators. We also show that it is possible, surprisingly, for on-the-fly free energy estimation to achieve lower asymptotic variance than the maximum-likelihood estimator MBAR, raising the prospect that on-the-fly estimation could reduce variance in a variety of other statistical applications. for this article are available online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stochastic approximation (SA) method stands as the foundational mathematical tool for modern large-scale optimization and machine learning. Therefore, gaining a theoretical understanding of SA algorithms is of fundamental interest. In their paper titled "A Lyapunov Theory for Finite-Sample Guarantees of Markovian Stochastic Approximation," Chen et al. present a unified Lyapunov framework for the finite-sample analysis of a Markovian SA algorithm under a contractive operator with respect to an arbitrary norm. The key novelty lies in the construction of a smooth Lyapunov function called the generalized Moreau envelope. The authors demonstrate the effectiveness of their SA results in the context of reinforcement learning (RL), specifically through popular algorithms such as variants of temporal difference (TD) learning and Q-learning. As byproducts, the results provide theoretical insights into the efficiency of bootstrapping in TD learning with eligibility traces and the bias-variance tradeoff in off-policy learning. This paper develops a unified Lyapunov framework for finite-sample analysis of a Markovian stochastic approximation (SA) algorithm under a contraction operator with respect to an arbitrary norm. The main novelty lies in the construction of a valid Lyapunov function called the generalized Moreau envelope. The smoothness and an approximation property of the generalized Moreau envelope enable us to derive a one-step Lyapunov drift inequality, which is the key to establishing the finite-sample bounds. Our SA result has wide applications, especially in the context of reinforcement learning (RL). Specifically, we show that a large class of value-based RL algorithms can be modeled in the exact form of our Markovian SA algorithm. Therefore, our SA results immediately imply finite-sample guarantees for popular RL algorithms such as n-step temporal difference (TD) learning, TD (λ) , off-policy V-trace, and Q-learning. As byproducts, by analyzing the convergence bounds of n-step TD and TD (λ) , we provide theoretical insight into the problem about the efficiency of bootstrapping. Moreover, our finite-sample bounds of off-policy V-trace explicitly capture the tradeoff between the variance of the stochastic iterates and the bias in the limit. Funding: This work was supported by RTX, the National Science Foundation [Grants 2019844, 2107037, 211247, 2112533, 2144316, and 2240982], and the Machine Learning Laboratory at University of Texas at Austin. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/opre.2022.0249. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we propose an approximation for a renewal reward process that describes a stochastic control model of type (s, S) based on the first three moments of demand random variables. Various asymptotic expansions for this model exist in the literature. All these studies rely on the condition of knowing the distribution function of demand random variables and require obtaining the asymptotic expansion of the renewal function produced by them. However, obtaining a renewal function can be challenging for certain distribution families, and in some cases, the mathematical structure of the renewal function is difficult to apply. Therefore, in this study, simple and compact approximations are presented for the stochastic control model of type (s, S). The findings of this study rely on Kambo's method, through which we obtain approximations for the ergodic distribution, and the nth order ergodic moments of this process. To conclude the study, the accuracy of the proposed approximate formulas are examined through a specialized illustrative example. Moreover, it has been noted that the proposed approximation is more accurate than the approximations existing in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The researchers believe that the number of epidemic diseases will increase in the twenty-first century. The recent virus histories, Sars-CoV, H1N1/09, MERS-CoV, Zika, Sars-CoV-2, point to this new reality. We need to be prepared to give a fast and precise response to the new epidemic diseases. We need to improve the responses because the current measures are so expensive in all aspects. To help with this new demand, we propose an epidemic model developed with a focus on control applications. The proposed model describes epidemic diseases split into unlimited compartments defined by classes (biological aspects) and groups (populational aspects) that are independent. It divides the population into clusters of individuals with homogeneous behavior. The high flexibility of the proposed model gives it the versatility needed in control applications. Moreover, the proposed model is an epidemic model with a deterministic behavior that presents an approximation for stochastic effects, contemplates the individuals' contact network effects, and its structure is ready for the big-data age. In this work, we analyzed, showed the mathematical properties, and simulated the proposed compartmental epidemic disease model to detail for the reader how the model works and how to use it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we devise a stochastic extragradient-like algorithm incorporated with inertial terms, which requires a single projection onto our feasible set and employs a stochastic approximation version of an Armijo-type line search scheme along a feasible direction, for solving pseudomonotone stochastic variational inequalities. In the algorithm, two different stepsize strategies are employed to update steplength sequences without using the prior knowledge of the Lipschitz constant of involved operators. In the process of the stochastic approximation, we iteratively reduce the variance of stochastic errors. The almost sure convergence, the complexity analysis, and rates are provided in a dimensional space under reasonable conditions. Finally, some numerical experiments with graphical illustrations are reported to demonstrate the applicability and the efficiency of our algorithm in comparison with some projection type methods in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose two parametric approaches to evaluate swing contracts with firm constraints. Our objective is to define approximations for the optimal control, which represents the amounts of energy purchased throughout the contract. The first approach involves approximating the optimal control by means of an explicit parametric function, where the parameters are determined using stochastic gradient descent based algorithms. The second approach builds on the first one, where we replace parameters in the first approach by the output of a neural network. Our numerical experiments demonstrate that by using Langevin based algorithms, both parameterizations provide, in a short computation time, better prices compared to state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the problem of identifying autoregressive-moving-average systems under random threshold binary-valued output measurements is considered. With the help of stochastic approximation algorithms with expanding truncations, the authors give the recursive estimates for the parameters of both the linear system and the binary sensor. Under reasonable conditions, all constructed estimates are proved to be convergent to the true values with probability one, and the convergence rates are also established. A simulation example is provided to justify the theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stochastic optimization has experienced significant growth in recent decades, with the increasing prevalence of variance reduction techniques in stochastic optimization algorithms to enhance computational efficiency. In this paper, we introduce two projection-free stochastic approximation algorithms for maximizing diminishing return (DR) submodular functions over convex constraints, building upon the Stochastic Path Integrated Differential EstimatoR (SPIDER) and its variants. Firstly, we present a SPIDER Continuous Greedy (SPIDER-CG) algorithm for the monotone case that guarantees a (1 - e - 1) OPT - ε approximation after O (ε - 1) iterations and O (ε - 2) stochastic gradient computations under the mean-squared smoothness assumption. For the non-monotone case, we develop a SPIDER Frank–Wolfe (SPIDER-FW) algorithm that guarantees a 1 4 (1 - min x ∈ C ‖ x ‖ ∞) OPT - ε approximation with O (ε - 1) iterations and O (ε - 2) stochastic gradient estimates. To address the practical challenge associated with a large number of samples per iteration, we introduce a modified gradient estimator based on SPIDER, leading to a Hybrid SPIDER-FW (Hybrid SPIDER-CG) algorithm, which achieves the same approximation guarantee as SPIDER-FW (SPIDER-CG) algorithm with only O (1) samples per iteration. Numerical experiments on both simulated and real data demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to discuss the simultaneous longitudinal and lateral flight control of the octorotor, a rotary wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), for the first time under the effect of morphing and to improve autonomous flight performance. Design/methodology/approach: This study aims to design and control the octorotor flight control system with stochastic optimal tuning under morphnig effect. For this purpose, models of different arm lengths of the octorotor were drawn in the Solidworks program. The morphing was carried out by simultaneously lengthening or shortening the arm lengths of the octorotor. The morphing rate was estimated by using simultaneous perturbation stochastic approximation (SPSA). The stochastic gradient descent algorithm, which is frequently used in machine learning, was used to estimate the changing moments of inertia with the change of arm lengths. The proportional integral derivative (PID) controller has been preferred as an octorotor control algorithm because of its simplicity of structure. The PID gains required to control both longitudinal and lateral flight were also estimated with SPSA. Findings: With SPSA, three longitudinal flight PID gains, three lateral flight PID gains and one morphing ratio were estimated. PID gains remained within the limits set for SPSA, giving satisfactory results. In addition, the cost index created was 93% successful. The gradient descent algorithm used for the moment of inertia estimation achieved the optimum result in 1,570 iterations. However, in the simulations made with the obtained data, longitudinal and lateral flight was successfully carried out. Originality/value: Octorotor longitudinal and lateral flight control was performed quickly and effectively with the proposed method. In addition, the desired parameters were obtained with the optimization methods used, and the longitudinal and lateral flight of the octorotor was successfully carried out in the desired trajectory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to simultaneously and stochastically maximize autonomous flight performance of a variable wing incidence angle having an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and its flight control system (FCS) design. Design/methodology/approach: A small UAV is produced in Iskenderun Technical University Drone Laboratory. Its wing incidence angle is able to change before UAV flight. FCS parameters and wing incidence angle are simultaneously and stochastically designed to maximize autonomous flight performance using an optimization method named simultaneous perturbation stochastic approximation. Obtained results are also benefitted during UAV flight simulations. Findings: Applying simultaneous and stochastic design approach for a UAV having passively morphing wing incidence angle and its flight control system, autonomous flight performance is maximized. Research limitations/implications: Permission of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation in Turkish Republic is necessary for real-time flights. Practical implications: Simultaneous stochastic variable wing incidence angle having UAV and its flight control system design approach is so useful for maximizing UAV autonomous flight performance. Social implications: Simultaneous stochastic variable wing incidence angle having UAV and its flight control system design methodology succeeds confidence, excellent autonomous performance index and practical service interests of UAV users. Originality/value: Creating an innovative method to recover autonomous flight performance of a UAV and generating an innovative procedure carrying out simultaneous stochastic variable wing incidence angle having UAV and its flight control system design idea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired from quantum Monte Carlo, by sampling discrete and continuous variables at the same time using the Metropolis–Hastings algorithm, we present a novel, fast, and accurate high performance Monte Carlo Parametric Expectation Maximization (MCPEM) algorithm. We named it Randomized Parametric Expectation Maximization (RPEM). We compared RPEM with NONMEM's Importance Sampling Method (IMP), Monolix's Stochastic Approximation Expectation Maximization (SAEM), and Certara's Quasi‐Random Parametric Expectation Maximization (QRPEM) for a realistic two‐compartment voriconazole model with ordinary differential equations using simulated data. We show that RPEM is as fast and as accurate as the algorithms IMP, QRPEM, and SAEM for the voriconazole model in reconstructing the population parameters, for the normal and log‐normal cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data sites selected from modeling high-dimensional problems often appear scattered in nonpaternalistic ways. Except for sporadic-clustering at some spots, they become relatively far apart as the dimension of the ambient space grows. These features defy any theoretical treatment that requires local or global quasi-uniformity of distribution of data sites. Incorporating a recently developed application of integral operator theory in machine learning, we propose and study in the current article a new framework to analyze kernel interpolation of high-dimensional data, which features bounding stochastic approximation error by the spectrum of the underlying kernel matrix. Both theoretical analysis and numerical simulations show that spectra of kernel matrices are reliable and stable barometers for gauging the performance of kernel-interpolation methods for high-dimensional data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In statistical process monitoring, control charts typically depend on a set of tuning parameters besides its control limit(s). Proper selection of these tuning parameters is crucial to their performance. In a specific application, a control chart is often designed for detecting a target process distributional shift. In such cases, the tuning parameters should be chosen such that some characteristic of the out-of-control (OC) run length of the chart, such as its average, is minimized for detecting the target shift, while the control limit is set to maintain a desired in-control (IC) performance. However, explicit solutions for such a design are unavailable for most control charts, and thus numerical optimization methods are needed. In such cases, Monte Carlo-based methods are often a viable alternative for finding suitable design constants. The computational cost associated with such scenarios is often substantial, and thus computational efficiency is a key requirement. To address this problem, a two-step design based on stochastic approximations is presented in this paper, which is shown to be much more computationally efficient than some representative existing methods. A detailed discussion about the new algorithm's implementation along with some examples are provided to demonstrate the broad applicability of the proposed methodology for the optimal design of univariate and multivariate control charts. Computer codes in the Julia programming language are also provided in the . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studied the numerical approximation of the stochastic differential equations driven by non-global Lipschitz drift coefficient and multiplicative noise. An efficient data-driven method, called extended continuous latent process flow, was proposed for the underlying problem. Compared with the piecewise construction of a variational posterior process used in the classical continuous latent process flow developed by Deng et al. [13], the principle idea of our method was to derive a variational lower bound by constructing a posterior latent process conditional on all information over the whole time interval to maximize the log-likelihood generated by the observations, which reduces the computational cost and, thus, provides a convenient way to approximate the considered equation. Particularly, our new method showed a better approximation to the underlying equation than the classical drift-θ discretization scheme through numerical error comparison. Numerical experiments were finally reported to demonstrate the effectiveness and generalization performance of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the discrete approximation of two-stage stochastic variational inequalities has been investigated when the second stage problem has multiple solutions. First, a discrete approximation scheme is given by a series of models with the aid of merit functions. After that, the convergence relationships between these models are analysed, which therefore yields the convergence guarantee of the proposed discrete approximation scheme. Finally, we use the well-known progressive hedging algorithm to report some numerical results and to validate the effectiveness of the discrete approximation approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a new class of weak approximation schemes for stochastic differential equations with coefficients of suplinearly growth. Both the modified weak Euler schemes and the drift-implicit weak Euler scheme are studied. Under certain non-globally Lipschitz conditions, the proposed schemes are proved to have first-order convergence in the weak sense. Numerical experiments are included to confirm the theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study statistical properties of the optimal value of the sample average approximation (SAA). The focus is on the tail function of the absolute error induced by the SAA, deriving upper estimates of its outcomes dependent on the sample size. The estimates allow to conclude immediately convergence rates for the optimal value of the SAA. As a crucial point, the investigations are based on new types of conditions from the theory of empirical processes which do not rely on pathwise analytical properties of the goal functions. In particular, continuity in the parameter is not imposed in advance as often in the literature on the SAA method. It is also shown that the new condition is satisfied if the paths of the goal functions are H\"older continuous so that the main results carry over in this case. Moreover, the main results are applied to goal functions whose paths are piecewise H\"older continuous as, e.g., in two-stage mixed-integer programs. The main results are shown for classical risk-neutral stochastic programs, but we also demonstrate how to apply them to the sample average approximation of risk-averse stochastic programs. In this respect, we consider stochastic programs expressed in terms of mean upper semideviations and divergence risk measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deals with the active redundancy allocation to coherent systems. We extend the optimal allocation policy uniformly maximizing the redundant system reliability function to that maximizing the mean lower semi-deviation of the redundant system lifetime, and then we propose a stochastic algorithm to approximate the optimal redundancy allocation policy through maximizing the mean lower semi-deviation of the system lifetime. Some numerical examples are presented to illustrate the algorithm as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose two approaches, based on Riemannian optimization for computing a stochastic approximation of the pth root of a stochastic matrix A. In the first approach, the approximation is found in the Riemannian manifold of positive stochastic matrices. In the second approach, we introduce the Riemannian manifold of positive stochastic matrices sharing with A the Perron eigenvector and we compute the approximation of the pth root of A in such a manifold. This way, differently from the available methods based on constrained optimization, A and its pth root approximation share the Perron eigenvector. Such a property is relevant, from a modeling point of view, in the embedding problem for Markov chains. The extended numerical experimentation shows that, in the first approach, the Riemannian optimization methods are generally faster and more accurate than the available methods based on constrained optimization. In the second approach, even though the stochastic approximation of the pth root is found in a smaller set, the approximation is generally more accurate than the one obtained by standard constrained optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1976–1977, Polyak published in the journal Avtomatica i Telemekhanika (Automation and Remote Control) two remarkable papers on how to study the properties of estimates of iterative pseudogradient algorithms. The first paper published in 1976 considered the general case based on the stochastic Lyapunov function, and the second one considered the linear case. The assumptions formulated in these papers and the estimates obtained in them can still be considered the state-of-the art. In the current paper, Polyak's approach is applied to the study of the properties of estimates of a (randomized) stochastic approximation search algorithm for the case of unknown-but-bounded noise in observations. The obtained asymptotic estimates were already known earlier, and exact estimates for a finite number of observations are published for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider a continuous-valued simulation optimization (SO) problem, where a simulator is built to optimize an expected performance measure of a real-world system while parameters of the simulator are estimated from streaming data collected periodically from the system. At each period, a new batch of data is combined with the cumulative data and the parameters are re-estimated with higher precision. The system requires the decision variable to be selected in all periods. Therefore, it is sensible for the decision-maker to update the decision variable at each period by solving a more precise SO problem with the updated parameter estimate to reduce the performance loss with respect to the target system. We define this decision-making process as the multi-period SO problem and introduce a multi-period stochastic approximation (SA) framework that generates a sequence of solutions. Two algorithms are proposed: Re-start SA (ReSA) reinitializes the stepsize sequence in each period, whereas Warm-start SA (WaSA) carefully tunes the stepsizes, taking both fewer and shorter gradient-descent steps in later periods as parameter estimates become increasingly more precise. We show that under suitable strong convexity and regularity conditions, ReSA and WaSA achieve the best possible convergence rate in expected sub-optimality either when an unbiased or a simultaneous perturbation gradient estimator is employed, while WaSA accrues significantly lower computational cost as the number of periods increases. In addition, we present the regularizedReSA, which obviates the need to know the strong convexity constant and achieves the same convergence rate at the expense of additional computation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal in this article is to approximate the Price of Stability (PoS) in stochastic Nash games using stochastic approximation (SA) schemes. PoS is among the most popular metrics in game theory and provides an avenue for estimating the efficiency of Nash games. In particular, evaluating the PoS can help with designing efficient networked systems, including communication networks and power market mechanisms. Motivated by the absence of efficient methods for computing the PoS, first we consider stochastic optimization problems with a nonsmooth and merely convex objective function and a merely monotone stochastic variational inequality (SVI) constraint. This problem appears in the numerator of the PoS ratio. We develop a randomized block-coordinate stochastic extra-(sub)gradient method where we employ a novel iterative penalization scheme to account for the mapping of the SVI in each of the two gradient updates of the algorithm. We obtain an iteration complexity of the order ϵ -4 that appears to be best known result for this class of constrained stochastic optimization problems, where ϵ denotes an arbitrary bound on suitably defined infeasibility and suboptimality metrics. Second, we develop an SA-based scheme for approximating the PoS and derive lower and upper bounds on the approximation error. To validate the theoretical findings, we provide preliminary simulation results on a networked stochastic Nash Cournot competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We develop a new technique for the path approximation of one-dimensional stochastic processes. Our results apply to the Brownian motion and to some families of stochastic differential equations whose distributions could be represented as a function of a time-changed Brownian motion (usually known as $ L $ and $ G $-classes). We are interested in the $ \varepsilon $-strong approximation. We propose an explicit and easy-to-implement procedure that jointly constructs, the sequences of exit times and corresponding exit positions of some well-chosen domains. In our main results, we prove the convergence of our scheme and how to control the number of steps, which depends on the covering of a fixed time interval by intervals of random sizes. The underlying idea of our analysis is to combine results on Brownian exit times from time-depending domains (one-dimensional heat balls) and classical renewal theory. Numerical examples and issues are also developed in order to complete the theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel stochastic optimization methodology to perform empirical Bayesian inference in semi-blind image deconvolution problems. Given a blurred image and a parametric class of possible operators, the proposed optimization approach automatically calibrates the parameters of the blur model by maximum marginal likelihood estimation, followed by (non-blind) image deconvolution by maximum a posteriori estimation conditionally to the estimated model parameters. In addition to the blur model, the proposed approach also automatically calibrates the noise level as well as any regularization parameters. The marginal likelihood of the blur, noise, and regularization parameters is generally computationally intractable, as it requires calculating several integrals over the entire solution space. Our approach addresses this difficulty by using a stochastic approximation proximal gradient optimization scheme, which iteratively solves such integrals by using a Moreau- Yosida regularized unadjusted Langevin Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm. This optimization strategy can be easily and efficiently applied to any model that is log-concave and by using the same gradient and proximal operators that are required to compute the maximum a posteriori solution by convex optimization. We provide convergence guarantees for the proposed optimization scheme under realistic and easily verifiable conditions and subsequently demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach with a series of deconvolution experiments and comparisons with alternative strategies from the state of the art [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]