arXiv Machine Learning

Probabilistic Gaussian Homotopy: A Probability-Space Continuation Framework for Nonconvex Optimization

arXiv:2603. 13546v2 Announce Type: replace Abstract: We introduce Probabilistic Gaussian Homotopy (PGH), a probability-space continuation framework for nonconvex optimization.

arXiv Machine Learning
Jul 16

Power Homotopy for Zeroth-Order Non-Convex Optimizations

arXiv:2511. 13592v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: The existing method of GS-PowerOpt solves the non-convex optimization problem of the form $\max_{\boldsymbol{x} \in \mathbb{R}^d} f(\boldsymbol{x})$ through maximizing a Gaussian-smoothed surrogate $F_{N,\sigma}(\boldsymbol{\mu}) = \mathbb{E}_{\boldsymbol{x}\sim\mathcal{N}(\boldsymbol{\mu},\sigma^2 I_d)}[e^{N f(\boldsymbol{x})}]$.

By Chen Xu
arXiv Machine Learning
Oct 5

Learn Feasibility Once, Optimize All Objectives: Derivative-Free Diffusion Models for Chance-Constrained Programming

The paper introduces D$^3$Opt, a derivative‑free diffusion‑based framework that separates constraint modeling from objective optimization in chance‑constrained programs. It learns a risk‑conditioned diffusion model once on constraint‑filtered decisions, then uses an annealed, particle‑based Feynman–Kac correction to optimize any post‑specified objective without retraining. The method is proven to preserve feasibility and provides an error bound, and experiments show effective optimization across smooth, non‑smooth, and non‑convex objectives, including objective transfer tasks.

By Ziwen Liu, Yan Liu, Congying Han, Tiande Guo, Yao Yan, Weichen Zhao
arXiv Machine Learning
Jun 5

Variational Entropic Optimal Transport

arXiv:2602. 02241v2 Announce Type: replace Abstract: Entropic optimal transport (EOT) in continuous spaces with quadratic cost is a classical tool for solving the domain translation problem.

By Roman Dyachenko, Nikita Gushchin, Kirill Sokolov, Petr Mokrov, Evgeny Burnaev, Alexander Korotin
arXiv Machine Learning
Sep 14

A Generalized Tangent Approximation based Variational Inference Framework for Strongly Super-Gaussian Likelihoods

The paper introduces a new variational inference framework that uses tangent transformations to handle strongly super‑Gaussian likelihoods across a wide range of probability models. By constructing tangent minorants of the log‑likelihood through convex duality, the method achieves conjugacy with Gaussian priors, enabling tractable inference where traditional approaches struggle. The authors provide algorithmic convergence guarantees and near‑parametric risk bounds, and demonstrate superior scalability and accuracy on both simulated and real‑world datasets compared to existing variational algorithms.

By Somjit Roy, Pritam Dey, Debdeep Pati, Bani K. Mallick
arXiv Machine Learning
Aug 27

Improved Analysis for Hessian-free High-resolution Monte Carlo Sampling

The paper introduces Hessian-free high-resolution (HFHR) dynamics, an extension of underdamped Langevin dynamics that incorporates reversible position diffusion for sampling in machine learning. It provides an explicit quantitative contraction rate under a position Poincaré inequality, weighted Hessian and Laplacian bounds, and a compact Sobolev embedding, even when the potential is non‑convex. For the HFHR Monte Carlo algorithm, a path‑space Girsanov argument yields a non‑asymptotic convergence bound and an explicit iteration complexity in total variation distance, improving on previous HFHR results and demonstrating benefits of a positive diffusion parameter through numerical experiments.

By Wujun Lv, Xiaoyu Wang, Yingli Wang, Lingjiong Zhu