Title
Consistency and Fluctuations For Stochastic Gradient Langevin Dynamics
Abstract
Applying standard Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms to large data sets is computationally expensive. Both the calculation of the acceptance probability and the creation of informed proposals usually require an iteration through the whole data set. The recently proposed stochastic gradient Langevin dynamics (SGLD) method circumvents this problem by generating proposals which are only based on a subset of the data, by skipping the accept-reject step and by using decreasing step-sizes sequence (delta(m))(m >= 0). We provide in this article a rigorous mathematical framework for analysing this algorithm. We prove that, under verifiable assumptions, the algorithm is consistent, satisfies a central limit theorem (CLT) and its asymptotic bias-variance decomposition can be characterized by an explicit functional of the step-sizes sequence (delta(m))(m >= 0). We leverage this analysis to give practical recommendations for the notoriously difficult tuning of this algorithm: it is asymptotically optimal to use a step-size sequence of the type delta(m) asymptotic to m(-1/3), leading to an algorithm whose mean squared error (MSE) decreases at rate O(m(-1/3)).
Year
Venue
Keywords
2016
JOURNAL OF MACHINE LEARNING RESEARCH
Markov chain Monte Carlo,Langevin dynamics,big data
Field
DocType
Volume
Applied mathematics,Central limit theorem,Mathematical optimization,Data set,Langevin dynamics,Markov chain Monte Carlo,Pattern recognition,Mean squared error,Verifiable secret sharing,Artificial intelligence,Asymptotically optimal algorithm,Mathematics
Journal
17
Issue
ISSN
Citations 
1
1532-4435
18
PageRank 
References 
Authors
0.87
11
3
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Yee Whye Teh16253539.26
Alexandre H. Thiery2222.01
Sebastian J. Vollmer3211.96