Optimal scaling of random walk Metropolis algorithms with discontinuous target densities

DOI10.1214/11-AAP817zbMATH Open1259.60082arXiv1210.5090OpenAlexW3101802995MaRDI QIDQ691108FDOQ691108

Authors: Peter Neal, Wai Kong Yuen, Gareth O. Roberts 

Publication date: 29 November 2012

Published in: The Annals of Applied Probability (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: We consider the optimal scaling problem for high-dimensional random walk Metropolis (RWM) algorithms where the target distribution has a discontinuous probability density function. Almost all previous analysis has focused upon continuous target densities. The main result is a weak convergence result as the dimensionality d of the target densities converges to infinity. In particular, when the proposal variance is scaled by $d^{-2}$, the sequence of stochastic processes formed by the first component of each Markov chain converges to an appropriate Langevin diffusion process. Therefore optimizing the efficiency of the RWM algorithm is equivalent to maximizing the speed of the limiting diffusion. This leads to an asymptotic optimal acceptance rate of $e^{-2}$ (=0.1353) under quite general conditions. The results have major practical implications for the implementation of RWM algorithms by highlighting the detrimental effect of choosing RWM algorithms over Metropolis-within-Gibbs algorithms.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1210.5090

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zbMATH Keywords

Markov chain Monte Carlooptimal scalingdiscontinuous densitiesrandom walk Metropolis algorithm

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Computational methods in Markov chains (60J22) Monte Carlo methods (65C05) Numerical analysis or methods applied to Markov chains (65C40) Central limit and other weak theorems (60F05) Discrete-time Markov processes on general state spaces (60J05)

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Cited In (27)

• Comparison of hit-and-run, slice sampler and random walk Metropolis
• Asymptotic analysis of the random walk metropolis algorithm on ridged densities
• Sampling constrained probability distributions using spherical augmentation
• Counterexamples for optimal scaling of Metropolis-Hastings chains with rough target densities
• Parallel hierarchical sampling: a general-purpose interacting Markov chains Monte Carlo algorithm
• Optimal scaling of random walk Metropolis algorithms using Bayesian large-sample asymptotics
• Bayesian computation: a summary of the current state, and samples backwards and forwards
• Optimal scaling of random-walk Metropolis algorithms on general target distributions
• Sampling constrained continuous probability distributions: a review
• Automatically tuned general-purpose MCMC via new adaptive diagnostics
• The random walk Metropolis: linking theory and practice through a case study
• Optimal scaling for random walk Metropolis on spherically constrained target densities
• Collapsing of non-centred parameterized MCMC algorithms with applications to epidemic models
• Hierarchical models: local proposal variances for RWM-within-Gibbs and MALA-within-Gibbs
• Optimal scaling for the transient phase of Metropolis Hastings algorithms: the longtime behavior
• Complexity bounds for Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms via diffusion limits
• Optimal scaling of random walk Metropolis algorithms with non-Gaussian proposals
• Diffusion limit for the random walk Metropolis algorithm out of stationarity
• A Dirichlet form approach to MCMC optimal scaling
• Random walk Metropolis algorithm in high dimension with non-Gaussian target distributions
• Multiplicative random walk Metropolis-Hastings on the real line
• Optimal scaling of the random walk Metropolis algorithm under L^p mean differentiability
• Hierarchical models and tuning of random walk Metropolis algorithms
• Dimension-Independent MCMC Sampling for Inverse Problems with Non-Gaussian Priors
• Forward simulation Markov chain Monte Carlo with applications to stochastic epidemic models
• Optimal scaling of Metropolis algorithms: Heading toward general target distributions
• Optimal scaling for the transient phase of the random walk Metropolis algorithm: the mean-field limit

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