An overview of sequential Monte Carlo methods for parameter estimation in general state-space models

Nonlinear non-Gaussian state-space models arise in numerous applications in control and signal processing. Sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) methods, also known as Particle Filters, are numerical techniques based on Importance Sampling for solving the optimal state estimation problem. The task of calibrating the state-space model is an important problem frequently faced by practitioners and the observed data may be used to estimate the parameters of the model. The aim of this paper is to present a comprehensive overview of SMC methods that have been proposed for this task accompanied with a discussion of their advantages and limitations.

Sequential Monte Carlo computation of the score and observed information matrix in state-space models with application to parameter estimation

Sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) methods are popular computational tools for Bayesian inference in non-linear non-Gaussian state-space models. For this class of models, we propose SMC algorithms to compute the score vector and observed information matrix recursively in time. We propose two different SMC implementations, one with computational complexity $\mathcal{O}(N)$ and the other with complexity $\mathcal{O}(N^{2})$ where $N$ is the number of importance sampling draws. Although cheaper, the performance of the $\mathcal{O}(N)$ method degrades quickly in time as it inherently relies on the SMC approximation of a sequence of probability distributions whose dimension is increasing linearly with time. In particular, even under strong \textit{mixing} assumptions, the variance of the estimates computed with the $\mathcal{O}(N)$ method increases at least quadratically in time. The $\mathcal{O}(N^{2})$ is a non-standard SMC implementation that does not suffer from this rapid degrade. We then show how both methods can be used to perform batch and recursive parameter estimation.

Monte Carlo approaches to nonlinear optimal control

This paper explores the use of Monte Carlo techniques in deterministic nonlinear optimal control. Inter-dimensional population Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) techniques are proposed to solve the nonlinear optimal control problem. The linear quadratic and Acrobot problems are studied to demonstrate the successful application of the relevant techniques.

用量子Monte Carlo方法计算氢分子H_2基态(Χ~1∑_g~+)势能曲线

本文用量子MontoCarlo方法中优化试探波函数Ψ_T计算氢分子H_2基态(X~1∑_g~+)势能曲线.文中采用相当简单的波函数形式,并用固定样点优化技术优化试探波函数的参数.确定优化试探波函数后,分别用变分Monte Carlo及固定节面M0nte Carlo计算势能曲线各点能值.二种方法先后得95%和100%的相关能.因此,在量子M0nte Carlo方法中,用本文作者提出的试探波函数计算分子势能面,将会获得很好的结果.从而对分子散射和动力学的研究有重要意义.