Weak Poincaré inequalities for two-component Deterministic-scan Metropolis-within-Gibbs samplers

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Authors: Mengxi Gao, Gareth O. Roberts, Andi Q. Wang
Cited by: 0

Abstract

Using the framework of weak Poincaré inequalities, we analyze the convergence properties of deterministic-scan Metropolis-within-Gibbs samplers, an important class of Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms. Our analysis applies to nonreversible Markov chains and yields explicit (subgeometric) convergence bounds through novel comparison techniques based on Dirichlet forms. We show that the joint chain inherits the convergence behavior of the marginal chain and conversely. In addition, we establish several fundamental results for weak Poincaré inequalities for discrete-time Markov chains, such as a tensorization property for independent chains. We apply our theoretical results through applications to algorithms for Bayesian inference for a hierarchical regression model and a diffusion model under discretely-observed data.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Markov Chains and Monte Carlo Methods Stochastic processes and statistical mechanics Mathematical Dynamics and Fractals

Publication details

Journal / source
arXiv (Cornell University)
Publication date
16 February 2026
Language
EN
Document type
Preprint