Risk comparison theorems and application to deep learning of diffusion coefficients
TL;DR
This work investigates the nonparametric estimation of the diffusion matrix in stochastic differential equations featuring multidimensional, strong mixing covariate processes and proposes a flexible statistical framework that does not require a linear basis representation.
Abstract
We investigate the nonparametric estimation of the diffusion matrix in stochastic differential equations featuring multidimensional, strong mixing covariate processes. We propose a flexible statistical framework based on general function classes that does not require a linear basis representation, rendering our results directly applicable to deep neural network estimators. Our approach employs a two-step estimation procedure: constructing a preliminary nonparametric quasi-likelihood estimator and subsequently regularizing it via a $\beta$-H\"older class approximation. We establish general risk comparison theorems between empirical and generalization risks for arbitrary estimators without relying on a specific probabilistic structure of the underlying process. In diffusion matrix learning based on $n + 1$ observations over the time interval $[0,T]$, the derived upper bounds capture the intrinsic interplay between the $T$-rate, associated with the mixing behavior of the covariate process, and the intrinsic $n$-rate governing the volatility estimation.