Best approximations of non-linear mappings: Method of optimal injections

Abstract

While the theory of operator approximation with any given accuracy is well elaborated, the theory of {best constrained} constructive operator approximation is still not so well developed. Despite increasing demands from applications this subject is hardly tractable because of intrinsic difficulties in associated approximation techniques. This paper concerns the best constrained approximation of a non-linear operator in probability spaces. We propose and justify a new approach and technique based on the following observation. Methods for best approximation are aimed at obtaining the best solution within a certain class; the accuracy of the solution is limited by the extent to which the class is suitable. By contrast, iterative methods are normally convergent but the convergence can be quite slow. Moreover, in practice only a finite number of iteration loops can be carried out and therefore, the final approximate solution is often unsatisfactorily inaccurate. A natural idea is to combine the methods for best approximation and iterative techniques to exploit their advantageous features. Here, we present an approach which realizes this. The proposed approximating operator has several degrees of freedom to minimize the associated error. In particular, one of the specific features of the approximating technique we develop is special random vectors called injections. They are determined in the way that allows us to further minimize the associated error.