arXiv subjects

Alyson K. Fletcher

Publications and source records attributed to Alyson K. Fletcher.

30 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Hybrid Approximate Message Passing

Gaussian and quadratic approximations of message passing algorithms on graphs have attracted considerable recent attention due to their computational simplicity, analytic tractability, and wide applicability in optimization and statistical inference problems. This paper presents a systematic framework for incorporating such approximate message passing (AMP) methods in general graphical models. The key concept is a partition of dependencies of a general graphical model into strong and weak edges, with the weak edges representing interactions through aggregates of small, linearizable couplings of variables. AMP approximations based on the Central Limit Theorem can be readily applied to aggregates of many weak edges and integrated with standard message passing updates on the strong edges. The resulting algorithm, which we call hybrid generalized approximate message passing (HyGAMP), can yield significantly simpler implementations of sum-product and max-sum loopy belief propagation. By varying the partition of strong and weak edges, a performance--complexity trade-off can be achieved. Group sparsity and multinomial logistic regression problems are studied as examples of the proposed methodology.

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arXiv2017

Expectation Consistent Approximate Inference: Generalizations and Convergence

Approximations of loopy belief propagation, including expectation propagation and approximate message passing, have attracted considerable attention for probabilistic inference problems. This paper proposes and analyzes a generalization of Opper and Winther's expectation consistent (EC) approximate inference method. The proposed method, called Generalized Expectation Consistency (GEC), can be applied to both maximum a posteriori (MAP) and minimum mean squared error (MMSE) estimation. Here we characterize its fixed points, convergence, and performance relative to the replica prediction of optimality.

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arXiv2016

Vector Approximate Message Passing for the Generalized Linear Model

The generalized linear model (GLM), where a random vector $\boldsymbol{x}$ is observed through a noisy, possibly nonlinear, function of a linear transform output $\boldsymbol{z}=\boldsymbol{Ax}$, arises in a range of applications such as robust regression, binary classification, quantized compressed sensing, phase retrieval, photon-limited imaging, and inference from neural spike trains. When $\boldsymbol{A}$ is large and i.i.d. Gaussian, the generalized approximate message passing (GAMP) algorithm is an efficient means of MAP or marginal inference, and its performance can be rigorously characterized by a scalar state evolution. For general $\boldsymbol{A}$, though, GAMP can misbehave. Damping and sequential-updating help to robustify GAMP, but their effects are limited. Recently, a "vector AMP" (VAMP) algorithm was proposed for additive white Gaussian noise channels. VAMP extends AMP's guarantees from i.i.d. Gaussian $\boldsymbol{A}$ to the larger class of rotationally invariant $\boldsymbol{A}$. In this paper, we show how VAMP can be extended to the GLM. Numerical experiments show that the proposed GLM-VAMP is much more robust to ill-conditioning in $\boldsymbol{A}$ than damped GAMP.

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arXiv2016

Inference for Generalized Linear Models via Alternating Directions and Bethe Free Energy Minimization

Generalized Linear Models (GLMs), where a random vector $\mathbf{x}$ is observed through a noisy, possibly nonlinear, function of a linear transform $\mathbf{z}=\mathbf{Ax}$ arise in a range of applications in nonlinear filtering and regression. Approximate Message Passing (AMP) methods, based on loopy belief propagation, are a promising class of approaches for approximate inference in these models. AMP methods are computationally simple, general, and admit precise analyses with testable conditions for optimality for large i.i.d. transforms $\mathbf{A}$. However, the algorithms can easily diverge for general $\mathbf{A}$. This paper presents a convergent approach to the generalized AMP (GAMP) algorithm based on direct minimization of a large-system limit approximation of the Bethe Free Energy (LSL-BFE). The proposed method uses a double-loop procedure, where the outer loop successively linearizes the LSL-BFE and the inner loop minimizes the linearized LSL-BFE using the Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM). The proposed method, called ADMM-GAMP, is similar in structure to the original GAMP method, but with an additional least-squares minimization. It is shown that for strictly convex, smooth penalties, ADMM-GAMP is guaranteed to converge to a local minima of the LSL-BFE, thus providing a convergent alternative to GAMP that is stable under arbitrary transforms. Simulations are also presented that demonstrate the robustness of the method for non-convex penalties as well.

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arXiv2015

Iterative Reconstruction of Rank-One Matrices in Noise

We consider the problem of estimating a rank-one matrix in Gaussian noise under a probabilistic model for the left and right factors of the matrix. The probabilistic model can impose constraints on the factors including sparsity and positivity that arise commonly in learning problems. We propose a family of algorithms that reduce the problem to a sequence of scalar estimation computations. These algorithms are similar to approximate message passing techniques based on Gaussian approximations of loopy belief propagation that have been used recently in compressed sensing. Leveraging analysis methods by Bayati and Montanari, we show that the asymptotic behavior of the algorithm is described by a simple scalar equivalent model, where the distribution of the estimates at each iteration is identical to certain scalar estimates of the variables in Gaussian noise. Moreover, the effective Gaussian noise level is described by a set of state evolution equations. The proposed approach to deriving algorithms thus provides a computationally simple and general method for rank-one estimation problems with a precise analysis in certain high-dimensional settings.

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arXiv2014

Scalable Inference for Neuronal Connectivity from Calcium Imaging

Fluorescent calcium imaging provides a potentially powerful tool for inferring connectivity in neural circuits with up to thousands of neurons. However, a key challenge in using calcium imaging for connectivity detection is that current systems often have a temporal response and frame rate that can be orders of magnitude slower than the underlying neural spiking process. Bayesian inference methods based on expectation-maximization (EM) have been proposed to overcome these limitations, but are often computationally demanding since the E-step in the EM procedure typically involves state estimation for a high-dimensional nonlinear dynamical system. In this work, we propose a computationally fast method for the state estimation based on a hybrid of loopy belief propagation and approximate message passing (AMP). The key insight is that a neural system as viewed through calcium imaging can be factorized into simple scalar dynamical systems for each neuron with linear interconnections between the neurons. Using the structure, the updates in the proposed hybrid AMP methodology can be computed by a set of one-dimensional state estimation procedures and linear transforms with the connectivity matrix. This yields a computationally scalable method for inferring connectivity of large neural circuits. Simulations of the method on realistic neural networks demonstrate good accuracy with computation times that are potentially significantly faster than current approaches based on Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods.

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arXiv2012

Approximate Message Passing with Consistent Parameter Estimation and Applications to Sparse Learning

We consider the estimation of an i.i.d. (possibly non-Gaussian) vector $\xbf \in \R^n$ from measurements $\ybf \in \R^m$ obtained by a general cascade model consisting of a known linear transform followed by a probabilistic componentwise (possibly nonlinear) measurement channel. A novel method, called adaptive generalized approximate message passing (Adaptive GAMP), that enables joint learning of the statistics of the prior and measurement channel along with estimation of the unknown vector $\xbf$ is presented. The proposed algorithm is a generalization of a recently-developed EM-GAMP that uses expectation-maximization (EM) iterations where the posteriors in the E-steps are computed via approximate message passing. The methodology can be applied to a large class of learning problems including the learning of sparse priors in compressed sensing or identification of linear-nonlinear cascade models in dynamical systems and neural spiking processes. We prove that for large i.i.d. Gaussian transform matrices the asymptotic componentwise behavior of the adaptive GAMP algorithm is predicted by a simple set of scalar state evolution equations. In addition, we show that when a certain maximum-likelihood estimation can be performed in each step, the adaptive GAMP method can yield asymptotically consistent parameter estimates, which implies that the algorithm achieves a reconstruction quality equivalent to the oracle algorithm that knows the correct parameter values. Remarkably, this result applies to essentially arbitrary parametrizations of the unknown distributions, including ones that are nonlinear and non-Gaussian. The adaptive GAMP methodology thus provides a systematic, general and computationally efficient method applicable to a large range of complex linear-nonlinear models with provable guarantees.

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arXiv2011

Ranked Sparse Signal Support Detection

This paper considers the problem of detecting the support (sparsity pattern) of a sparse vector from random noisy measurements. Conditional power of a component of the sparse vector is defined as the energy conditioned on the component being nonzero. Analysis of a simplified version of orthogonal matching pursuit (OMP) called sequential OMP (SequOMP) demonstrates the importance of knowledge of the rankings of conditional powers. When the simple SequOMP algorithm is applied to components in nonincreasing order of conditional power, the detrimental effect of dynamic range on thresholding performance is eliminated. Furthermore, under the most favorable conditional powers, the performance of SequOMP approaches maximum likelihood performance at high signal-to-noise ratio.

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arXiv2011

Asymptotic Analysis of MAP Estimation via the Replica Method and Applications to Compressed Sensing

The replica method is a non-rigorous but well-known technique from statistical physics used in the asymptotic analysis of large, random, nonlinear problems. This paper applies the replica method, under the assumption of replica symmetry, to study estimators that are maximum a posteriori (MAP) under a postulated prior distribution. It is shown that with random linear measurements and Gaussian noise, the replica-symmetric prediction of the asymptotic behavior of the postulated MAP estimate of an n-dimensional vector "decouples" as n scalar postulated MAP estimators. The result is based on applying a hardening argument to the replica analysis of postulated posterior mean estimators of Tanaka and of Guo and Verdu. The replica-symmetric postulated MAP analysis can be readily applied to many estimators used in compressed sensing, including basis pursuit, lasso, linear estimation with thresholding, and zero norm-regularized estimation. In the case of lasso estimation the scalar estimator reduces to a soft-thresholding operator, and for zero norm-regularized estimation it reduces to a hard-threshold. Among other benefits, the replica method provides a computationally-tractable method for precisely predicting various performance metrics including mean-squared error and sparsity pattern recovery probability.

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arXiv2011

Orthogonal Matching Pursuit: A Brownian Motion Analysis

A well-known analysis of Tropp and Gilbert shows that orthogonal matching pursuit (OMP) can recover a k-sparse n-dimensional real vector from 4 k log(n) noise-free linear measurements obtained through a random Gaussian measurement matrix with a probability that approaches one as n approaches infinity. This work strengthens this result by showing that a lower number of measurements, 2 k log(n - k), is in fact sufficient for asymptotic recovery. More generally, when the sparsity level satisfies kmin <= k <= kmax but is unknown, 2 kmax log(n - kmin) measurements is sufficient. Furthermore, this number of measurements is also sufficient for detection of the sparsity pattern (support) of the vector with measurement errors provided the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) scales to infinity. The scaling 2 k log(n - k) exactly matches the number of measurements required by the more complex lasso method for signal recovery with a similar SNR scaling.

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arXiv2009

On-Off Random Access Channels: A Compressed Sensing Framework

This paper considers a simple on-off random multiple access channel, where n users communicate simultaneously to a single receiver over m degrees of freedom. Each user transmits with probability lambda, where typically lambda n < m << n, and the receiver must detect which users transmitted. We show that when the codebook has i.i.d. Gaussian entries, detecting which users transmitted is mathematically equivalent to a certain sparsity detection problem considered in compressed sensing. Using recent sparsity results, we derive upper and lower bounds on the capacities of these channels. We show that common sparsity detection algorithms, such as lasso and orthogonal matching pursuit (OMP), can be used as tractable multiuser detection schemes and have significantly better performance than single-user detection. These methods do achieve some near-far resistance but--at high signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs)--may achieve capacities far below optimal maximum likelihood detection. We then present a new algorithm, called sequential OMP, that illustrates that iterative detection combined with power ordering or power shaping can significantly improve the high SNR performance. Sequential OMP is analogous to successive interference cancellation in the classic multiple access channel. Our results thereby provide insight into the roles of power control and multiuser detection on random-access signalling.

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arXiv2008

Necessary and Sufficient Conditions on Sparsity Pattern Recovery

The problem of detecting the sparsity pattern of a k-sparse vector in R^n from m random noisy measurements is of interest in many areas such as system identification, denoising, pattern recognition, and compressed sensing. This paper addresses the scaling of the number of measurements m, with signal dimension n and sparsity-level nonzeros k, for asymptotically-reliable detection. We show a necessary condition for perfect recovery at any given SNR for all algorithms, regardless of complexity, is m = Omega(k log(n-k)) measurements. Conversely, it is shown that this scaling of Omega(k log(n-k)) measurements is sufficient for a remarkably simple ``maximum correlation'' estimator. Hence this scaling is optimal and does not require more sophisticated techniques such as lasso or matching pursuit. The constants for both the necessary and sufficient conditions are precisely defined in terms of the minimum-to-average ratio of the nonzero components and the SNR. The necessary condition improves upon previous results for maximum likelihood estimation. For lasso, it also provides a necessary condition at any SNR and for low SNR improves upon previous work. The sufficient condition provides the first asymptotically-reliable detection guarantee at finite SNR.

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