Toward Tractable Global Solutions to Bayesian Point Estimation Problems via Sparse Sum-of-Squares Relaxations

Bayesian point estimation is commonly used for system identification owing to its good properties for small sample sizes. Although this type of estimator is usually nonparametric, Bayes estimates can also be obtained for rational parametric models, which is often of interest. However, as in maximum-likelihood methods, the Bayes estimate is typically computed via local numerical optimization that requires good initialization and cannot guarantee global optimality. In this contribution, we propose a computationally tractable method that computes the Bayesian parameter estimates with posterior certification of global optimality via sum-of-squares polynomials and sparse semidefinite relaxations. It is shown that the method is applicable to certain discrete-time linear models, which takes advantage of the rational structure of these models and the sparsity in the Bayesian parameter estimation problem. The method is illustrated on a simulation model of a resonant system that is difficult to handle when the sample size is small.