pyLAIS: A Python package for Layered Adaptive Importance Sampling

Bibliographic Details
Title: pyLAIS: A Python package for Layered Adaptive Importance Sampling
Authors: Ernesto Curbelo, Luca Martino, David Delgado-Gómez
Source: SoftwareX, Vol 29, Iss , Pp 101976- (2025)
Publisher Information: Elsevier, 2025.
Publication Year: 2025
Collection: LCC:Computer software
Subject Terms: Monte Carlo methods, Importance sampling, Bayesian inference, Computer software, QA76.75-76.765
More Details: Monte Carlo (MC) techniques are widely used to draw from complex distributions and/or for the calculation of related integrals. The most famous families of MC methods are Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) and importance sampling (IS). There are many separate implementations and packages, available online regarding MCMC or IS methods. Moreover, both techniques present different drawbacks and advantages. In this paper, we introduce a flexible Python implementation of the so-called layered adaptive importance sampling (LAIS) algorithm. LAIS combines the benefits of MCMC and IS schemes: the exploration of the state space by Markov chains and the low variance estimations provides by advanced and modern IS schemes. More precisely, LAIS allows the sampling of complex distributions and/or approximation of integrals involving complex distributions, through the combination of – possibly sophisticated – MCMC schemes and multiple importance sampling (MIS) techniques. In addition, the modular nature of the algorithm itself provides a great flexibility in choosing the desired MCMC techniques, invariant distributions, proposal densities and MIS approaches.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 2352-7110
Relation: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352711024003467; https://doaj.org/toc/2352-7110
DOI: 10.1016/j.softx.2024.101976
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/7d48c394510d400a939e76e6e2f62082
Accession Number: edsdoj.7d48c394510d400a939e76e6e2f62082
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:23527110
DOI:10.1016/j.softx.2024.101976
Published in:SoftwareX
Language:English