Neural Surrogate HMC: On Using Neural Likelihoods for Hamiltonian Monte Carlo in Simulation-Based Inference

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Wolniewicz, Linnea M, Sadowski, Peter, Corti, Claudio
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2024
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author Wolniewicz, Linnea M
Sadowski, Peter
Corti, Claudio
author_facet Wolniewicz, Linnea M
Sadowski, Peter
Corti, Claudio
contents Bayesian inference methods such as Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) typically require repeated computations of the likelihood function, but in some scenarios this is infeasible and alternative methods are needed. Simulation-based inference (SBI) methods address this problem by using machine learning to amortize computations. In this work, we highlight a particular synergy between the SBI method of neural likelihood estimation and the classic MCMC method of Hamiltonian Monte Carlo. We show that approximating the likelihood function with a neural network model can provide three distinct advantages: (1) amortizing the computations for MCMC; (2) providing gradients for Hamiltonian Monte Carlo, and (3) smoothing over noisy simulations resulting from numerical instabilities. We provide practical guidelines for defining a prior, sampling a training set, and evaluating convergence. The method is demonstrated in an application modeling the heliospheric transport of galactic cosmic rays, where it enables efficient inference of latent parameters in the Parker equation.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2407_20432
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Neural Surrogate HMC: On Using Neural Likelihoods for Hamiltonian Monte Carlo in Simulation-Based Inference
Wolniewicz, Linnea M
Sadowski, Peter
Corti, Claudio
Machine Learning
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
I.2.1
Bayesian inference methods such as Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) typically require repeated computations of the likelihood function, but in some scenarios this is infeasible and alternative methods are needed. Simulation-based inference (SBI) methods address this problem by using machine learning to amortize computations. In this work, we highlight a particular synergy between the SBI method of neural likelihood estimation and the classic MCMC method of Hamiltonian Monte Carlo. We show that approximating the likelihood function with a neural network model can provide three distinct advantages: (1) amortizing the computations for MCMC; (2) providing gradients for Hamiltonian Monte Carlo, and (3) smoothing over noisy simulations resulting from numerical instabilities. We provide practical guidelines for defining a prior, sampling a training set, and evaluating convergence. The method is demonstrated in an application modeling the heliospheric transport of galactic cosmic rays, where it enables efficient inference of latent parameters in the Parker equation.
title Neural Surrogate HMC: On Using Neural Likelihoods for Hamiltonian Monte Carlo in Simulation-Based Inference
topic Machine Learning
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
I.2.1
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.20432