Multivariate Priors and the Linearity of Optimal Bayesian Estimators under Gaussian Noise
Leighton Barnes, Center for Communications Research, United States; Alex Dytso, Qualcomm, United States; Jingbo Liu, University of Illinois, United States; H Vincent Poor, Princeton University, United States
Session:
Bayesian estimation
Track:
8: Learning Theory
Location:
Ballroom II & III
Presentation Time:
Tue, 9 Jul, 12:10 - 12:30
Session Chair:
Wojtek Szpankowski, Purdue Univeristy
Abstract
Consider the task of estimating a random vector $X$ from noisy observations $Y = X + Z$, where $Z$ is a standard normal vector, under the $L^p$ fidelity criterion. This work establishes that, for $1 \leq p \leq 2$, the optimal Bayesian estimator is linear and positive definite if and only if the prior distribution on $X$ is a (non-degenerate) multivariate Gaussian. Furthermore, for $p > 2$, it is demonstrated that there are infinitely many priors that can induce such an estimator.