Automatic Markov Chain Monte Carlo Procedures for Sampling from Multivariate Distributions

Publication: Working/Discussion PaperWU Working Paper

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Abstract

Generating samples from multivariate distributions efficiently is an important task in Monte Carlo integration and many other stochastic simulation problems. Markov chain Monte Carlo has been shown to be very efficient compared to "conventional methods", especially when many dimensions are involved. In this article we propose a Hit-and-Run sampler in combination with the Ratio-of-Uniforms method. We show that it is well suited for an algorithm to generate points from quite arbitrary distributions, which include all log-concave distributions. The algorithm works automatically in the sense that only the mode (or an approximation of it) and an oracle is required, i.e., a subroutine that returns the value of the density function at any point x. We show that the number of evaluations of the density increases slowly with dimension. An implementation of these algorithms in C is available from the authors. (author's abstract)
Original languageEnglish
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2005

Publication series

SeriesResearch Report Series / Department of Statistics and Mathematics
Number27

WU Working Paper Series

  • Research Report Series / Department of Statistics and Mathematics

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