Twisting the Alive Particle Filter

This work focuses on sampling from hidden Markov models (Cappe et al. 2005) whose observations have intractable density functions. We develop a new sequential Monte Carlo (e.g. Doucet, 2011) algorithm and a new particle marginal Metropolis-Hastings (Andrieu et al J R Statist Soc Ser B 72:269-342, 2010) algorithm for these purposes. We build from Jasra et al (2013) and Whiteley and Lee (Ann Statist 42:115-141, 2014) to construct the sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) algorithm, which we call the alive twisted particle filter. Like the alive particle filter (Amrein and Künsch, 2011, Jasra et al, 2013), our new SMC algorithm adopts an approximate Bayesian computation (Tavare et al. Genetics 145:505-518, 1997) estimate of the HMM. Our alive twisted particle filter also uses a twisted proposal as in Whiteley and Lee (Ann Statist 42:115-141, 2014) to obtain a low-variance estimate of the HMM normalising constant. We demonstrate via numerical examples that, in some scenarios, this estimate has a much lower variance than that of the estimate obtained via the alive particle filter. The low variance of this normalising constant estimate encourages the implementation of our SMC algorithm within a particle marginal Metropolis-Hastings (PMMH) scheme, and we call the resulting methodology “alive twisted PMMH”. We numerically demonstrate, on a stochastic volatility model, how our alive twisted PMMH can converge faster than the standard alive PMMH of Jasra et al (2013).     

Convolution kernels implementation of cardinalized probability hypothesis density filter

The probability hypothesis density （PHD） propagates the posterior intensity in place of the poste- rior probability density of the multi-target state. The cardinalized PHD （CPHD） recursion is a generalization of PHD recursion, which jointly propagates the posterior intensity function and posterior cardinality distribution. A number of sequential Monte Carlo （SMC） implementations of PHD and CPHD filters （also known as SMC- PHD and SMC-CPHD filters, respectively） for general non-linear non-Gaussian models have been proposed. However, these approaches encounter the limitations when the observation variable is analytically unknown or the observation noise is null or too small. In this paper, we propose a convolution kernel approach in the SMC-CPHD filter. The simuIation results show the performance of the proposed filter on several simulated case studies when compared to the SMC-CPHD filter.     

An Algorithm for Approximating the Second Moment of the Normalizing Constant Estimate from a Particle Filter

We propose a new algorithm for approximating the non-asymptotic second moment of the marginal likelihood estimate, or normalizing constant, provided by a particle filter. The computational cost of the new method is O(M) per time step, independently of the number of particles N in the particle filter, where M is a parameter controlling the quality of the approximation. This is in contrast to O(M N) for a simple averaging technique using M i.i.d. replicates of a particle filter with N particles. We establish that the approximation delivered by the new algorithm is unbiased, strongly consistent and, under standard regularity conditions, increasing M linearly with time is sufficient to prevent growth of the relative variance of the approximation, whereas for the simple averaging technique it can be necessary to increase M exponentially with time in order to achieve the same effect. This makes the new algorithm useful as part of strategies for estimating Monte Carlo variance. Numerical examples illustrate performance in the context of a stochastic Lotka–Volterra system and a simple AR(1) model.     

A note on random walks with absorbing barriers and sequential Monte Carlo methods

In this article, we consider importance sampling (IS) and sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) methods in the context of one-dimensional random walks with absorbing barriers. In particular, we develop a very precise variance analysis for several IS and SMC procedures. We take advantage of some explicit spectral formulae available for these models to derive sharp and explicit estimates; this provides stability properties of the associated normalized Feynman–Kac semigroups. Our analysis allows one to compare the variance of SMC and IS techniques for these models. The work in this article is one of the few to consider an in-depth analysis of an SMC method for a particular model-type as well as variance comparison of SMC algorithms.     

Static-parameter estimation in piecewise deterministic processes using particle Gibbs samplers

We develop particle Gibbs samplers for static-parameter estimation in discretely observed piecewise deterministic process (PDPs). PDPs are stochastic processes that jump randomly at a countable number of stopping times but otherwise evolve deterministically in continuous time. A sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) sampler for filtering in PDPs has recently been proposed. We first provide new insight into the consequences of an approximation inherent within that algorithm. We then derive a new representation of the algorithm. It simplifies ensuring that the importance weights exist and also allows the use of variance-reduction techniques known as backward and ancestor sampling. Finally, we propose a novel Gibbs step that improves mixing in particle Gibbs samplers whose SMC algorithms make use of large collections of auxiliary variables, such as many instances of SMC samplers. We provide a comparison between the two particle Gibbs samplers for PDPs developed in this paper. Simulation results indicate that they can outperform reversible-jump MCMC approaches.     

Multilevel Monte Carlo in approximate Bayesian computation

In the following article, we consider approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) inference. We introduce a method for numerically approximating ABC posteriors using the multilevel Monte Carlo (MLMC). A sequential Monte Carlo version of the approach is developed and it is shown under some assumptions that for a given level of mean square error, this method for ABC has a lower cost than i.i.d. sampling from the most accurate ABC approximation. Several numerical examples are given.     

Inference for a class of partially observed point process models

This paper presents a simulation-based framework for sequential inference from partially and discretely observed point process models with static parameters. Taking on a Bayesian perspective for the static parameters, we build upon sequential Monte Carlo methods, investigating the problems of performing sequential filtering and smoothing in complex examples, where current methods often fail. We consider various approaches for approximating posterior distributions using SMC. Our approaches, with some theoretical discussion are illustrated on a doubly stochastic point process applied in the context of finance.     

On the Stability and the Approximation of Branching Distribution Flows,with Applications to Nonlinear Multiple Target Filtering

We analyze the exponential stability properties of a class of measure-valued equations arising in nonlinear multi-target filtering problems. We also prove the uniform convergence properties w.r.t. the time parameter of a rather general class of stochastic filtering algorithms, including sequential Monte Carlo type models and mean field particle interpretation models. We illustrate these results in the context of the Bernoulli and the Probability Hypothesis Density filter, yielding what seems to be the first results of this kind in this subject.     

Sequential Bayesian learning for stochastic volatility with variance‐gamma jumps in returns

In this work, we investigate sequential Bayesian estimation for inference of stochastic volatility with variance‐gamma (SVVG) jumps in returns. We develop an estimation algorithm that combines the sequential learning auxiliary particle filter with the particle learning filter. Simulation evidence and empirical estimation results indicate that this approach is able to filter latent variances, identify latent jumps in returns, and provide sequential learning about the static parameters of SVVG. We demonstrate comparative performance of the sequential algorithm and off‐line Markov Chain Monte Carlo in synthetic and real data applications.     

Optimal importance sampling for Lévy processes

We develop importance sampling estimators for Monte Carlo pricing of European and path-dependent options in models driven by Lévy processes. Using results from the theory of large deviations for processes with independent increments, we compute an explicit asymptotic approximation for the variance of the pay-off under a time-dependent Esscher-style change of measure. Minimizing this asymptotic variance using convex duality, we then obtain an importance sampling estimator of the option price. We show that our estimator is logarithmically optimal among all importance sampling estimators. Numerical tests in the variance gamma model show consistent variance reduction with a small computational overhead.     

Smoothing algorithms for state–space models

Two-filter smoothing is a principled approach for performing optimal smoothing in non-linear non-Gaussian state–space models where the smoothing distributions are computed through the combination of ‘forward’ and ‘backward’ time filters. The ‘forward’ filter is the standard Bayesian filter but the ‘backward’ filter, generally referred to as the backward information filter, is not a probability measure on the space of the hidden Markov process. In cases where the backward information filter can be computed in closed form, this technical point is not important. However, for general state–space models where there is no closed form expression, this prohibits the use of flexible numerical techniques such as Sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) to approximate the two-filter smoothing formula. We propose here a generalised two-filter smoothing formula which only requires approximating probability distributions and applies to any state–space model, removing the need to make restrictive assumptions used in previous approaches to this problem. SMC algorithms are developed to implement this generalised recursion and we illustrate their performance on various problems.     

Particle Learning of Gaussian Process Models for Sequential Design and Optimization

We develop a simulation-based method for the online updating of Gaussian process regression and classification models. Our method exploits sequential Monte Carlo to produce a fast sequential design algorithm for these models relative to the established MCMC alternative. The latter is less ideal for sequential design since it must be restarted and iterated to convergence with the inclusion of each new design point. We illustrate some attractive ensemble aspects of our SMC approach, and show how active learning heuristics may be implemented via particles to optimize a noisy function or to explore classification boundaries online. Supplemental material, including an R package, is available online.     

Adaptive Mixture Modeling Metropolis Methods for Bayesian Analysis of Nonlinear State-Space Models

We describe a strategy for Markov chain Monte Carlo analysis of nonlinear, non-Gaussian state-space models involving batch analysis for inference on dynamic, latent state variables and fixed model parameters. The key innovation is a Metropolis–Hastings method for the time series of state variables based on sequential approximation of filtering and smoothing densities using normal mixtures. These mixtures are propagated through the nonlinearities using an accurate, local mixture approximation method, and we use a regenerating procedure to deal with potential degeneracy of mixture components. This provides accurate, direct approximations to sequential filtering and retrospective smoothing distributions, and hence a useful construction of global Metropolis proposal distributions for simulation of posteriors for the set of states. This analysis is embedded within a Gibbs sampler to include uncertain fixed parameters. We give an example motivated by an application in systems biology. Supplemental materials provide an example based on a stochastic volatility model as well as MATLAB code.     

Coupling stochastic EM and approximate Bayesian computation for parameter inference in state-space models

We study the class of state-space models and perform maximum likelihood estimation for the model parameters. We consider a stochastic approximation expectation–maximization (SAEM) algorithm to maximize the likelihood function with the novelty of using approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) within SAEM. The task is to provide each iteration of SAEM with a filtered state of the system, and this is achieved using an ABC sampler for the hidden state, based on sequential Monte Carlo methodology. It is shown that the resulting SAEM-ABC algorithm can be calibrated to return accurate inference, and in some situations it can outperform a version of SAEM incorporating the bootstrap filter. Two simulation studies are presented, first a nonlinear Gaussian state-space model then a state-space model having dynamics expressed by a stochastic differential equation. Comparisons with iterated filtering for maximum likelihood inference, and Gibbs sampling and particle marginal methods for Bayesian inference are presented.     

Bayesian Variable Selection via Particle Stochastic Search

We focus on Bayesian variable selection in regression models. One challenge is to search the huge model space adequately, while identifying high posterior probability regions. In the past decades, the main focus has been on the use of Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms for these purposes. In this article, we propose a new computational approach based on sequential Monte Carlo (SMC), which we refer to as particle stochastic search (PSS). We illustrate PSS through applications to linear regression and probit models.     

Computing the variance of a conditional expectation via non-nested Monte Carlo

Computing the variance of a conditional expectation has often been of importance in uncertainty quantification. Sun et al. has introduced an unbiased nested Monte Carlo estimator, which they call $1\frac{1}{2}$-level simulation since the optimal inner-level sample size is bounded as the computational budget increases. In this letter, we construct unbiased non-nested Monte Carlo estimators based on the so-called pick-freeze scheme due to Sobol’. An extension of our approach to compute higher order moments of a conditional expectation is also discussed.     

Bootstrap,wild bootstrap,and asymptotic normality

Summary We show for an i.i.d. sample that bootstrap estimates consistently the distribution of a linear statistic if and only if the normal approximation with estimated variance works. An asymptotic approach is used where everything may depend onn. The result is extended to the case of independent, but not necessarily identically distributed random variables. Furthermore it is shown that wild bootstrap works under the same conditions as bootstrap.This work has been supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Sonderforschungsbereich 123 Stochastische Mathematische Modelle     

An Online Expectation–Maximization Algorithm for Changepoint Models

Changepoint models are widely used to model the heterogeneity of sequential data. We present a novel sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) online expectation–maximization (EM) algorithm for estimating the static parameters of such models. The SMC online EM algorithm has a cost per time which is linear in the number of particles and could be particularly important when the data is representable as a long sequence of observations, since it drastically reduces the computational requirements for implementation. We present an asymptotic analysis for the stability of the SMC estimates used in the online EM algorithm and demonstrate the performance of this scheme by using both simulated and real data originating from DNA analysis. The supplementary materials for the article are available online.     

A Monte Carlo Filtering Approach for Estimating the Term Structure of Interest Rates

We develop new methodology for estimation of general class of term structure models based on a Monte Carlo filtering approach. We utilize the generalized state space model which can be naturally applied to the estimation of the term structure models based on the Markov state processes. It is also possible to introduce measurement errors in the general way without any bias. Moreover, the Monte Carlo filter can be applied even to the models in which the zero-coupon bonds' prices can not be analytically obtained. As an example, we apply the method to LIBORs (London Inter Bank Offered Rates) and interest rates swaps in the Japanese market and show the usefulness of our approach.