Publication
Title
Boosting Monte Carlo simulations of spin glasses using autoregressive neural networks
Author
Abstract
The autoregressive neural networks are emerging as a powerful computational tool to solve relevant problems in classical and quantum mechanics. One of their appealing functionalities is that, after they have learned a probability distribution from a dataset, they allow exact and efficient sampling of typical system configurations. Here we employ a neural autoregressive distribution estimator (NADE) to boost Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulations of a paradigmatic classical model of spin-glass theory, namely, the two-dimensional Edwards-Anderson Hamiltonian. We show that a NADE can be trained to accurately mimic the Boltzmann distribution using unsupervised learning from system configurations generated using standard MCMC algorithms. The trained NADE is then employed as smart proposal distribution for the Metropolis-Hastings algorithm. This allows us to perform efficient MCMC simulations, which provide unbiased results even if the expectation value corresponding to the probability distribution learned by the NADE is not exact. Notably, we implement a sequential tempering procedure, whereby a NADE trained at a higher temperature is iteratively employed as proposal distribution in a MCMC simulation run at a slightly lower temperature. This allows one to efficiently simulate the spin-glass model even in the low-temperature regime, avoiding the divergent correlation times that plague MCMC simulations driven by local-update algorithms. Furthermore, we show that the NADE-driven simulations quickly sample ground-state configurations, paving the way to their future utilization to tackle binary optimization problems.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Physical review : E : statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics / American Physical Society. - Melville, N.Y., 2001 - 2015
Publication
Melville, N.Y. : American Physical Society , 2020
ISSN
1539-3755 [print]
1550-2376 [online]
DOI
10.1103/PHYSREVE.101.053312
Volume/pages
101 :5 (2020) , 12 p.
Article Reference
053312
ISI
000535862000014
Pubmed ID
32575304
Medium
E-only publicatie
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 17.07.2020
Last edited 02.10.2024
To cite this reference