arXiv subjects

Giacomo Albi

Publications and source records attributed to Giacomo Albi.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Consensus-based optimization with $α$-stable jump processes

In this paper, we introduce a novel variant of the CBO method that incorporates jumps according to an $α$-stable stochastic process in a kinetic framework. This extension gives rise to nonlocal stochastic effects, which improve the exploration capabilities of the method. We formulate the method at the particle level, detailing the corresponding stochastic dynamics and its asymptotic behavior. In particular, through a Fourier-based representation, we derive the associated fractional Fokker-Planck equation, which naturally accounts for the nonlocal diffusion behaviors induced by $α$-stable processes. As a central result, we establish a rigorous convergence result for the proposed approach. Finally, we evaluate the performance of the method through a set of numerical experiments. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the $α$-stable jump process and emphasize its potential advantages over standard diffusion-based methods, particularly in complex optimization settings.

math.OC↗

arXiv2026

Discovery of interaction and diffusion kernels in particle-to-mean-field multi-agent systems

We propose a data-driven framework to learn interaction kernels in stochastic multi-agent systems. Our approach aims at identifying the functional form of nonlocal interaction and diffusion terms directly from trajectory data, without any a priori knowledge of the underlying interaction structure. Starting from a discrete stochastic binary-interaction model, we formulate the inverse problem as a sequence of sparse regression tasks in structured finite-dimensional spaces spanned by compactly supported basis functions, such as piecewise linear polynomials. In particular, we assume that pairwise interactions between agents are not directly observed and that only limited trajectory data are available. To address these challenges, we propose two complementary identification strategies. The first based on random-batch sampling, which compensates for latent interactions while preserving the statistical structure of the full dynamics in expectation. The second based on a mean-field approximation, where the empirical particle density reconstructed from the data defines a continuous nonlocal regression problem. Numerical experiments demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed framework, showing accurate reconstruction of both interaction and diffusion kernels even from partially observed. The method is validated on benchmark models, including bounded-confidence and attraction-repulsion dynamics, where the two proposed strategies achieve comparable levels of accuracy.

cs.LG↗

arXiv2026

Control of kinetic opinion dynamics in popularity-adaptive social networks

This paper presents a mathematical model for opinion dynamics in popularity-adaptive social networks, where both opinion spreading and the evolution of social media contacts depend on agents' popularity and the prominence of their views. While previous approaches accounted for the influence of popularity on opinion dynamics, we introduce a novel feedback mechanism in which opinion affects the formation of contacts. Within a kinetic modeling framework, we describe the evolution of the coupled dynamics of opinions and network structure, incorporating a class of control laws in order to promote interactions with popular individuals and amplify dominant opinions. Such control strategies are introduced to influence both opinion formation and connectivity, representing interventions such as awareness campaigns or moderation policies. Numerical results show how control strategies can mitigate polarization, foster consensus, or guide opinion distributions in dynamically evolving networks.

math.OC↗

arXiv2025

Sparse stabilization of mean-field agent dynamics through a three-operator splitting method

We study the sparse stabilization of nonlinear multi-agent systems within a mean-field optimal control framework. The goal is to drive large populations of interacting agents toward consensus with minimal control effort. In the mean-field limit, the dynamics are described by a Vlasov-type kinetic equation, and sparsity is enforced through an l1-l2 penalization in the cost functional. The resulting nonsmooth optimization problem is solved via a three-operator splitting (TOS) method that separately handles smooth, nonsmooth, and constraint components through gradient, shrinkage, and projection steps. A particle-based Monte Carlo discretization with random batch interactions enables scalable computation while preserving the mean-field structure. Numerical experiments on the Cucker-Smale model demonstrate effective consensus formation with sparse, localized control actions, confirming the efficiency and robustness of the proposed approach.

math.OC↗

arXiv2025

Robust feedback control of collisional plasma dynamics in presence of uncertainties

Magnetic fusion aims to confine high-temperature plasma within a device, enabling the fusion of deuterium and tritium nuclei to release energy. Due to the very large temperatures involved, it is essential to isolate the plasma from the device walls to prevent structural damage and the external magnetic fields play a fundamental role in achieving this confinement. In realistic settings, the physical mechanisms governing plasma behavior are highly complex, involving numerous uncertain parameters and intricate particle interactions, such as collisions, that significantly affect both confinement efficiency and overall stability. In this work, we address particularly these challenges by proposing a robust feedback control strategy designed to steer the plasma towards a desired spatial region, despite the presence of uncertainties. From a modeling perspective, we consider a collisional plasma described by a Vlasov-Poisson-BGK system, which accounts for a self-consistent electric field and a strong external magnetic field, while incorporating uncertainty in the model. A key feature of the proposed control strategy is its independence from the random parameter, making it particularly suitable for practical applications. A series of numerical simulations confirms the effectiveness of our approach and demonstrates the ability of external magnetic fields to successfully confine plasma away from the device boundaries, even in the presence of uncertain conditions.

math.NA↗

arXiv2025

A second-order numerical scheme for optimal control of non-linear Fokker-Planck equations and applications in social dynamics

In this work, we present a second-order numerical scheme to address the solution of optimal control problems constrained by the evolution of nonlinear Fokker-Planck equations arising from socio-economic dynamics. In order to design an appropriate numerical scheme for control realization, a coupled forward-backward system is derived based on the associated optimality conditions. The forward equation, corresponding to the Fokker-Planck dynamics, is discretized using a structure preserving scheme able to capture steady states. On the other hand, the backward equation, modeled as a Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman problem, is solved via a semi-Lagrangian scheme that supports large time steps while preserving stability. Coupling between the forward and backward problems is achieved through a gradient descent optimization strategy, ensuring convergence to the optimal control. Numerical experiments demonstrate second-order accuracy, computational efficiency, and effectiveness in controlling different examples across various scenarios in social dynamics. This approach provides a reliable computational tool for the study of opinion manipulation and consensus formation in socially structured systems.

math.NA↗

arXiv2025

Micro-macro and macro-macro limits for controlled leader-follower systems

We study a leader-follower system of interacting particles subject to feedback control and derive its mean-field limits through a two-step passage: first to a micro-macro system coupling leader particles with a follower fluid, and then to a fully continuum macro-macro system. For each limiting procedure, we establish quantitative stability and convergence estimates based on modulated energy methods and Wasserstein distances. These results provide a rigorous foundation for the hierarchical reduction of controlled multi-agent systems. Numerical simulations are presented, including examples with interaction potentials beyond the analytical class considered, to demonstrate the dynamics and support the theoretical results.

math.AP↗

arXiv2025

Control of high-dimensional collective dynamics by deep neural feedback laws and kinetic modelling

Modeling and control of agent-based models is twice cursed by the dimensionality of the problem, as both the number of agents and their state space dimension can be large. Even though the computational barrier posed by a large ensemble of agents can be overcome through a mean field formulation of the control problem, the feasibility of its solution is generally guaranteed only for agents operating in low-dimensional spaces. To circumvent the difficulty posed by the high dimensionality of the state space a kinetic model is proposed, requiring the sampling of high-dimensional, two-agent sub-problems, to evolve the agents' density using a Boltzmann type equation. Such density evolution requires a high-frequency sampling of two-agent optimal control problems, which is efficiently approximated by means of deep neural networks and supervised learning, enabling the fast simulation of high-dimensional, large-scale ensembles of controlled particles. Numerical experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in the control of consensus and attraction-repulsion dynamics.

math.OC↗

arXiv2025

A data-driven kinetic model for opinion dynamics with social network contacts

Opinion dynamics is an important and very active area of research that delves into the complex processes through which individuals form and modify their opinions within a social context. The ability to comprehend and unravel the mechanisms that drive opinion formation is of great significance for predicting a wide range of social phenomena such as political polarization, the diffusion of misinformation, the formation of public consensus, and the emergence of collective behaviors. In this paper, we aim to contribute to that field by introducing a novel mathematical model that specifically accounts for the influence of social media networks on opinion dynamics. With the rise of platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram and many others, social networks have become significant arenas where opinions are shared, discussed, and potentially altered. To this aim after an analytical construction of our new model and through incorporation of real-life data from Twitter, we calibrate the model parameters to accurately reflect the dynamics that unfold in social media, showing in particular the role played by the so-called influencers in driving individual opinions towards predetermined directions.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2024

Impact of opinion formation phenomena in epidemic dynamics: kinetic modeling on networks

After the recent COVID-19 outbreaks, it became increasingly evident that individuals' thoughts and beliefs can have a strong impact on disease transmission. It becomes therefore important to understand how information and opinions on protective measures evolve during epidemics. To this end, incorporating the impact of social media is essential to take into account the hierarchical structure of these platforms. In this context, we present a novel approach to take into account the interplay between infectious disease dynamics and socially-structured opinion dynamics. Our work extends a conventional compartmental framework including behavioral attitudes in shaping public opinion and promoting the adoption of protective measures under the influence of different degrees of connectivity. The proposed approach is capable to reproduce the emergence of epidemic waves. Specifically, it provides a clear link between the social influence of highly connected individuals and the epidemic dynamics. Through a heterogeneity of numerical tests we show how this comprehensive framework offers a more nuanced understanding of epidemic dynamics in the context of modern information dissemination and social behavior.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2024

Kinetic based optimization enhanced by genetic dynamics

We propose and analyse a variant of the recently introduced kinetic based optimization method that incorporates ideas like survival-of-the-fittest and mutation strategies well-known from genetic algorithms. Thus, we provide a first attempt to reach out from the class of consensus/kinetic-based algorithms towards genetic metaheuristics. Different generations of genetic algorithms are represented via two species identified with different labels, binary interactions are prescribed on the particle level and then we derive a mean-field approximation in order to analyse the method in terms of convergence. Numerical results underline the feasibility of the approach and show in particular that the genetic dynamics allows to improve the efficiency, of this class of global optimization methods in terms of computational cost.

math.OC↗

arXiv2024

Kinetic description of swarming dynamics with topological interaction and transient leaders

In this paper, we present a model describing the collective motion of birds. The model introduces spontaneous changes in direction which are initialized by few agents, here referred as leaders, whose influence act on their nearest neighbors, in the following referred as followers. Starting at the microscopic level, we develop a kinetic model that characterizes the behaviour of large flocks with transient leadership. One significant challenge lies in managing topological interactions, as identifying nearest neighbors in extensive systems can be computationally expensive. To address this, we propose a novel stochastic particle method to simulate the mesoscopic dynamics and reduce the computational cost of identifying closer agents from quadratic to logarithmic complexity using a $k$-nearest neighbours search algorithm with a binary tree. Lastly, we conduct various numerical experiments for different scenarios to validate the algorithm's effectiveness and investigate collective dynamics in both two and three dimensions.

math.NA↗

arXiv2024

Instantaneous control strategies for magnetically confined fusion plasma

The principle behind magnetic fusion is to confine high temperature plasma inside a device in such a way that the nuclei of deuterium and tritium joining together can release energy. The high temperatures generated needs the plasma to be isolated from the wall of the device to avoid damages and the scope of external magnetic fields is to achieve this goal. In this paper, to face this challenge from a numerical perspective, we propose an instantaneous control mathematical approach to steer a plasma into a given spatial region. From the modeling point of view, we focus on the Vlasov equation in a bounded domain with self induced electric field and an external strong magnetic field. The main feature of the control strategy employed is that it provides a feedback on the equation of motion based on an instantaneous prediction of the discretized system. This permits to directly embed the minimization of a given cost functional into the particle interactions of the corresponding Vlasov model. The numerical results demonstrate the validity of our control approach and the capability of an external magnetic field, even if in a simplified setting, to lead the plasma far from the boundaries.

math.NA↗

arXiv2024

Data/moment-driven approaches for fast predictive control of collective dynamics

Feedback control synthesis for large-scale particle systems is reviewed in the framework of model predictive control (MPC). The high-dimensional character of collective dynamics hampers the performance of traditional MPC algorithms based on fast online dynamic optimization at every time step. Two alternatives to MPC are proposed. First, the use of supervised learning techniques for the offline approximation of optimal feedback laws is discussed. Then, a procedure based on sequential linearization of the dynamics based on macroscopic quantities of the particle ensemble is reviewed. Both approaches circumvent the online solution of optimal control problems enabling fast, real-time, feedback synthesis for large-scale particle systems. Numerical experiments assess the performance of the proposed algorithms.

math.OC↗

arXiv2023

Exponential integrators for mean-field selective optimal control problems

In this paper we consider mean-field optimal control problems with selective action of the control, where the constraint is a continuity equation involving a non-local term and diffusion. First order optimality conditions are formally derived in a general framework, accounting for boundary conditions. Hence, the optimality system is used to construct a reduced gradient method, where we introduce a novel algorithm for the numerical realization of the forward and the backward equations, based on exponential integrators. We illustrate extensive numerical experiments on different control problems for collective motion in the context of opinion formation and pedestrian dynamics.

math.OC↗

arXiv2022

Robust feedback stabilization of interacting multi-agent systems under uncertainty

We consider control strategies for large-scale interacting agent systems under uncertainty. The particular focus is on the design of robust controls that allow to bound the variance of the controlled system over time. To this end we consider $\mathcal{H}_\infty$ control strategies on the agent and mean field description of the system. We show a bound on the $\mathcal{H}_\infty$ norm for a stabilizing controller independent on the number of agents. Furthermore, we compare the new control with existing approaches to treat uncertainty by generalized polynomial chaos expansion. Numerical results are presented for one-dimensional and two-dimensional agent systems.

math.OC↗

arXiv2022

Supervised learning for kinetic consensus control

In this paper, how to successfully and efficiently condition a target population of agents towards consensus is discussed. To overcome the curse of dimensionality, the mean field formulation of the consensus control problem is considered. Although such formulation is designed to be independent of the number of agents, it is feasible to solve only for moderate intrinsic dimensions of the agents space. For this reason, the solution is approached by means of a Boltzmann procedure, i.e. quasi-invariant limit of controlled binary interactions as approximation of the mean field PDE. The need for an efficient solver for the binary interaction control problem motivates the use of a supervised learning approach to encode a binary feedback map to be sampled at a very high rate. A gradient augmented feedforward neural network for the Value function of the binary control problem is considered and compared with direct approximation of the feedback law.

math.OC↗

arXiv2022

Efficient ensemble stochastic algorithms for agent-based models with spatial predator-prey dynamics

Experiments in predator-prey systems show the emergence of long-term cycles. Deterministic model typically fails in capturing these behaviors, which emerge from the microscopic interplay of individual based dynamics and stochastic effects. However, simulating stochastic individual based models can be extremely demanding, especially when the sample size is large. Hence, we propose an alternative simulation approach, whose computation cost is lower than the one of the classic stochastic algorithms. First, we describe the agent-based model with predator-prey dynamics, and its mean-field approximation. Then, we provide a consistency result for the novel stochastic algorithm at the microscopic and mesoscopic scale. Finally, we perform different numerical experiments in order to test the efficiency of the proposed algorithm, focusing also on the analysis of the different nature of oscillations between mean-field and stochastic simulations.

math.NA↗