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Stochastic spectral methods for efficient Bayesian solution of inverse problems.

Journal Article · · Proposed for publication in the American Institute of Physics.
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2149785· OSTI ID:971800

We present a reformulation of the Bayesian approach to inverse problems, that seeks to accelerate Bayesian inference by using polynomial chaos (PC) expansions to represent random variables. Evaluation of integrals over the unknown parameter space is recast, more efficiently, as Monte Carlo sampling of the random variables underlying the PC expansion. We evaluate the utility of this technique on a transient diffusion problem arising in contaminant source inversion. The accuracy of posterior estimates is examined with respect to the order of the PC representation, the choice of PC basis, and the decomposition of the support of the prior. The computational cost of the new scheme shows significant gains over direct sampling.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Laboratories
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-94AL85000
OSTI ID:
971800
Report Number(s):
SAND2005-5150J
Journal Information:
Proposed for publication in the American Institute of Physics., Journal Name: Proposed for publication in the American Institute of Physics.
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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