Submodularity of the expected information gain in infinite-dimensional linear inverse problems

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Alexanderian, Alen, Maio, Steven
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2026
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author Alexanderian, Alen
Maio, Steven
author_facet Alexanderian, Alen
Maio, Steven
contents We consider infinite-dimensional linear Gaussian Bayesian inverse problems with uncorrelated sensor data, and focus on the problem of finding sensor placements that maximize the expected information gain (EIG). This study is motivated by optimal sensor placement for linear inverse problems constrained by partial differential equations (PDEs). We consider measurement models where each sensor collects a single-snapshot measurement. This covers sensor placement for inverse problems governed by linear steady PDEs or evolution equations with final-in-time observations. It is well-known that in the finite-dimensional (discretized) formulations of such inverse problems, EIG is a monotone submodular function. This also entails a theoretical guarantee for greedy sensor placement in the discretized setting. We extend the result on submodularity of the EIG to the infinite-dimensional setting, proving that the approximation guarantee of greedy sensor placement remains valid in the infinite-dimensional limit. We also discuss computational considerations and present strategies that exploit problem structure and submodularity to yield an efficient implementation of the greedy procedure.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_09285
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Submodularity of the expected information gain in infinite-dimensional linear inverse problems
Alexanderian, Alen
Maio, Steven
Optimization and Control
35R30, 62K05, 90C27, 49K40, 47B02
We consider infinite-dimensional linear Gaussian Bayesian inverse problems with uncorrelated sensor data, and focus on the problem of finding sensor placements that maximize the expected information gain (EIG). This study is motivated by optimal sensor placement for linear inverse problems constrained by partial differential equations (PDEs). We consider measurement models where each sensor collects a single-snapshot measurement. This covers sensor placement for inverse problems governed by linear steady PDEs or evolution equations with final-in-time observations. It is well-known that in the finite-dimensional (discretized) formulations of such inverse problems, EIG is a monotone submodular function. This also entails a theoretical guarantee for greedy sensor placement in the discretized setting. We extend the result on submodularity of the EIG to the infinite-dimensional setting, proving that the approximation guarantee of greedy sensor placement remains valid in the infinite-dimensional limit. We also discuss computational considerations and present strategies that exploit problem structure and submodularity to yield an efficient implementation of the greedy procedure.
title Submodularity of the expected information gain in infinite-dimensional linear inverse problems
topic Optimization and Control
35R30, 62K05, 90C27, 49K40, 47B02
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.09285