Exact Discrete Stochastic Simulation with Deep-Learning-Scale Gradient Optimization
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| author | Vilar, Jose M. G. Saiz, Leonor |
| author_facet | Vilar, Jose M. G. Saiz, Leonor |
| contents | Exact stochastic simulation of continuous-time Markov chains (CTMCs) is essential when discreteness and noise drive system behavior, but the hard categorical event selection in Gillespie-type algorithms blocks gradient-based learning. We eliminate this constraint by decoupling forward simulation from backward differentiation, with hard categorical sampling generating exact trajectories and gradients propagating through a continuous massively-parallel Gumbel-Softmax straight-through surrogate. Our approach enables accurate optimization at parameter scales over four orders of magnitude beyond existing simulators. We validate for accuracy, scalability, and reliability on a reversible dimerization model (0.09% error), a genetic oscillator (1.2% error), a 203,796-parameter gene regulatory network achieving 98.4% MNIST accuracy (a prototypical deep-learning multilayer perceptron benchmark), and experimental patch-clamp recordings of ion channel gating (R^2 = 0.987) in the single-channel regime. Our GPU implementation delivers 1.9 billion steps per second, matching the scale of non-differentiable simulators. By making exact stochastic simulation massively parallel and autodiff-compatible, our results enable high-dimensional parameter inference and inverse design across systems biology, chemical kinetics, physics, and related CTMC-governed domains. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_19775 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Exact Discrete Stochastic Simulation with Deep-Learning-Scale Gradient Optimization Vilar, Jose M. G. Saiz, Leonor Quantitative Methods Statistical Mechanics Machine Learning Computational Physics Molecular Networks Exact stochastic simulation of continuous-time Markov chains (CTMCs) is essential when discreteness and noise drive system behavior, but the hard categorical event selection in Gillespie-type algorithms blocks gradient-based learning. We eliminate this constraint by decoupling forward simulation from backward differentiation, with hard categorical sampling generating exact trajectories and gradients propagating through a continuous massively-parallel Gumbel-Softmax straight-through surrogate. Our approach enables accurate optimization at parameter scales over four orders of magnitude beyond existing simulators. We validate for accuracy, scalability, and reliability on a reversible dimerization model (0.09% error), a genetic oscillator (1.2% error), a 203,796-parameter gene regulatory network achieving 98.4% MNIST accuracy (a prototypical deep-learning multilayer perceptron benchmark), and experimental patch-clamp recordings of ion channel gating (R^2 = 0.987) in the single-channel regime. Our GPU implementation delivers 1.9 billion steps per second, matching the scale of non-differentiable simulators. By making exact stochastic simulation massively parallel and autodiff-compatible, our results enable high-dimensional parameter inference and inverse design across systems biology, chemical kinetics, physics, and related CTMC-governed domains. |
| title | Exact Discrete Stochastic Simulation with Deep-Learning-Scale Gradient Optimization |
| topic | Quantitative Methods Statistical Mechanics Machine Learning Computational Physics Molecular Networks |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.19775 |