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Robust principal component analysis

Robust principal component analysis is a mathematics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Robust principal component analysis rather than just read about it. In short: Robust Principal Component Analysis (RPCA) is a modification of the widely used statistical procedure of principal component analysis (PCA) which works well with respect to grossly corrupted observations. A number of different approaches exist for Robust PCA, including an idealized version of Robust PCA, which aims to recover a low-rank matrix L0 from highly corrupted measurements M = L0 +S0.

Key takeaways

  • Robust principal component analysis belongs to mathematics; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Robust principal component analysis to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Robust principal component analysis from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Robust Principal Component Analysis (RPCA) is a modification of the widely used statistical procedure of principal component analysis (PCA) which works well with respect to grossly corrupted observations. A number of different approaches exist for Robust PCA, including an idealized version of Robust PCA, which aims to recover a low-rank matrix L0 from highly corrupted measurements M = L0 +S0. This decomposition in low-rank and sparse matrices can be achieved by techniques such as Principal Component Pursuit method (PCP), Stable PCP, Quantized PCP, Block based PCP, and Local PCP. Then, optimization methods are used such as the Augmented Lagrange Multiplier Method (ALM), Alternating Direction Method (ADM), Fast Alternating Minimization (FAM), Iteratively Reweighted Least Squares (IRLS ) or alternating projections (AP).

Algorithms

Non-convex method The 2014 guaranteed algorithm for the robust PCA problem (with the input matrix being M = L + S {\displaystyle M=L+S} ) is an alternating minimization type algorithm. The computational complexity is O ( m n r 2 log ⁡ 1 ϵ ) {\displaystyle O\left(mnr^{2}\log {\frac {1}{\epsilon }}\right)} where the input is the superposition of a low-rank (of rank r {\displaystyle r} ) and a sparse matrix of dimension m × n {\displaystyle m\times n} and ϵ {\displaystyle \epsilon } is the desired accuracy of the recovered solution, i.e., ‖ L ^ − L ‖ F ≤ ϵ {\displaystyle \|{\widehat {L}}-L\|_{F}\leq \epsilon } where L {\displaystyle L} is the true low-rank component and L ^ {\displaystyle {\widehat {L}}} is the estimated or recovered low-rank component. Intuitively, this algorithm performs projections of the residual onto the set of low-rank matrices (via the SVD operation) and sparse matrices (via entry-wise hard thresholding) in an alternating manner - that is, low-rank projection of the difference the input matrix and the sparse matrix obtained at a given iteration followed by sparse projection of the difference of the input matrix and the low-rank matrix obtained in the previous step, and iterating the two steps until convergence. This alternating projections algorithm is later improved by an accelerated version, coined AccAltProj. The acceleration is achieved by applying a tangent space projection before projecting the residue onto the set of low-rank matrices. This trick improves the computational complexity to O ( m n r log ⁡ 1 ϵ ) {\displaystyle O\left(mnr\log {\frac {1}{\epsilon }}\right)} with a much smaller constant in front while it maintains the theoretically guaranteed linear convergence. Another fast version of accelerated alternating projections algorithm is IRCUR. It uses the structure of CUR decomposition in alternating projections framework to dramatically reduces the computational complexity of RPCA to O ( max { m , n } r 2 log ⁡ ( m ) log ⁡ ( n ) log ⁡ 1 ϵ ) {\displaystyle O\left(\max\{m,n\}r^{2}\log(m)\log(n)\log {\frac {1}{\epsilon }}\right)}

Convex relaxation This method consists of relaxing the rank constraint r a n k ( L ) {\displaystyle rank(L)} in the optimization problem to the nuclear norm ‖ L ‖ ∗ {\displaystyle \|L\|_{*}} and the sparsity constraint ‖ S ‖ 0 {\displaystyle \|S\|_{0}} to ℓ 1 {\displaystyle \ell _{1}} -norm ‖ S ‖ 1 {\displaystyle \|S\|_{1}} . The resulting program can be solved using methods such as the method of Augmented Lagrange Multipliers.

Deep-learning augmented method Some recent works propose RPCA algorithms with learnable/training parameters. Such a learnable/trainable algorithm can be unfolded as a deep neural network whose parameters can be learned via machine learning techniques from a given dataset or problem distribution. The learned algorithm will have superior performance on the corresponding problem distribution.

Applications RPCA has many real life important applications particularly when the data under study can naturally be modeled as a low-rank plus a sparse contribution. Following examples are inspired by contemporary challenges in computer science, and depending on the applications, either the low-rank component or the sparse component could be the object of interest:

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Robust principal component analysis

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Robust principal component analysis claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Robust principal component analysis before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Robust principal component analysis ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Robust principal component analysis

In research
Robust principal component analysis appears in mathematics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Robust principal component analysis in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Robust principal component analysis is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Dimension reduction, Matrix decompositions, Robust statistics, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Robust principal component analysis outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study Robust principal component analysis in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Robust principal component analysis means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Robust principal component analysis out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Robust principal component analysis in simple terms?

Robust Principal Component Analysis (RPCA) is a modification of the widely used statistical procedure of principal component analysis (PCA) which works well with respect to grossly corrupted observations. A number of different approaches exist for Robust PCA, including an idealized version of Robus…

Why does Robust principal component analysis matter?

Because it connects several mathematics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Robust principal component analysis?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Robust principal component analysis.

Tags

  • Dimension reduction
  • Matrix decompositions
  • Robust statistics

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