Bayesian Statistical Inversion for High-Dimensional Computer Model Output and Spatially Distributed Counts

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Barnett, Steven D., Gramacy, Robert B., Beesley, Lauren J., Osthus, Dave, Huang, Yifan, Guo, Fan, Reisenfeld, Daniel B.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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_version_ 1866917116479799296
author Barnett, Steven D.
Gramacy, Robert B.
Beesley, Lauren J.
Osthus, Dave
Huang, Yifan
Guo, Fan
Reisenfeld, Daniel B.
author_facet Barnett, Steven D.
Gramacy, Robert B.
Beesley, Lauren J.
Osthus, Dave
Huang, Yifan
Guo, Fan
Reisenfeld, Daniel B.
contents Data collected by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) satellite, recording heliospheric energetic neutral atoms (ENAs), exhibit a phenomenon that has caused space scientists to revise hypotheses about the physical processes, and computer simulations under those models, in play at the boundary of our solar system. Evaluating the fit of these computer models involves tuning their parameters to observational data from IBEX. This would be a classic (Bayesian) inverse problem if not for three challenges: (1) the computer simulations are slow, limiting the size of campaigns of runs; so (2) surrogate modeling is essential, but outputs are high-resolution images, thwarting conventional methods; and (3) IBEX observations are counts, whereas most inverse problem techniques assume Gaussian field data. To fill that gap we propose a novel approach to Bayesian inverse problems coupling a Poisson response with a sparse Gaussian process surrogate using the Vecchia approximation. We demonstrate the capabilities of our proposed framework, which compare favorably to alternatives, through multiple simulated examples in terms of recovering "true" computer model parameters and accurate out-of-sample prediction. We then apply this new technology to IBEX satellite data and associated computer models developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_01927
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Bayesian Statistical Inversion for High-Dimensional Computer Model Output and Spatially Distributed Counts
Barnett, Steven D.
Gramacy, Robert B.
Beesley, Lauren J.
Osthus, Dave
Huang, Yifan
Guo, Fan
Reisenfeld, Daniel B.
Applications
Computation
Data collected by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) satellite, recording heliospheric energetic neutral atoms (ENAs), exhibit a phenomenon that has caused space scientists to revise hypotheses about the physical processes, and computer simulations under those models, in play at the boundary of our solar system. Evaluating the fit of these computer models involves tuning their parameters to observational data from IBEX. This would be a classic (Bayesian) inverse problem if not for three challenges: (1) the computer simulations are slow, limiting the size of campaigns of runs; so (2) surrogate modeling is essential, but outputs are high-resolution images, thwarting conventional methods; and (3) IBEX observations are counts, whereas most inverse problem techniques assume Gaussian field data. To fill that gap we propose a novel approach to Bayesian inverse problems coupling a Poisson response with a sparse Gaussian process surrogate using the Vecchia approximation. We demonstrate the capabilities of our proposed framework, which compare favorably to alternatives, through multiple simulated examples in terms of recovering "true" computer model parameters and accurate out-of-sample prediction. We then apply this new technology to IBEX satellite data and associated computer models developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
title Bayesian Statistical Inversion for High-Dimensional Computer Model Output and Spatially Distributed Counts
topic Applications
Computation
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.01927