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Abstract We consider the simulation of Bayesian statistical inverse problems governed by large-scale linear and nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs). Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms are standard techniques to solve such problems. However, MCMC techniques are computationally challenging as they require a prohibitive number of forward PDE solves. The goal of this paper is to introduce a fractional deep neural network (fDNN) based approach for the forward solves within an MCMC routine. Moreover, we discuss some approximation error estimates. We illustrate the efficiency of fDNN on inverse problems governed by nonlinear elliptic PDEs and the unsteady Navier–Stokes equations. In the former case, two examples are discussed, respectively depending on two and 100 parameters, with significant observed savings. The unsteady Navier–Stokes example illustrates that fDNN can outperform existing DNNs, doing a better job of capturing essential features such as vortex shedding.
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On Bayesian data assimilation for PDEs with ill-posed forward problems
Abstract We study Bayesian data assimilation (filtering) for time-evolution Partial differential equations (PDEs), for which the underlying forward problem may be very unstable or ill-posed. Such PDEs, which include the Navier–Stokes equations of fluid dynamics, are characterized by a high sensitivity of solutions to perturbations of the initial data, a lack of rigorous global well-posedness results as well as possible non-convergence of numerical approximations. Under very mild and readily verifiable general hypotheses on the forward solution operator of such PDEs, we prove that the posterior measure expressing the solution of the Bayesian filtering problem is stable with respect to perturbations of the noisy measurements, and we provide quantitative estimates on the convergence of approximate Bayesian filtering distributions computed from numerical approximations. For the Navier–Stokes equations, our results imply uniform stability of the filtering problem even at arbitrarily small viscosity, when the underlying forward problem may become ill-posed, as well as the compactness of numerical approximants in a suitable metric on time-parametrized probability measures.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2042454
- PAR ID:
- 10341609
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Inverse Problems
- Volume:
- 38
- Issue:
- 8
- ISSN:
- 0266-5611
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 085012
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6420/ac7acd
