We consider the fundamental problem of solving quadratic systems of m equations in n variables. We propose a novel method, which starting with an initial guess computed by means of a spectral method, proceeds by minimizing a nonconvex functional as in the Wirtinger flow approach. There are several key distinguishing features, most notably, a distinct objective functional and novel update rules, which operate in an adaptive fashion and drop terms bearing too much influence on the search direction. These careful selection rules provide a tighter initial guess, better descent directions, and thus enhanced practical performance. On the theoretical side, we prove that for certain unstructured models of quadratic systems, our algorithms return the correct solution in linear time, i.e. in time proportional to reading the data and as soon as the ratio m/n between the number of equations and unknowns exceeds a fixed numerical constant. We extend the theory to deal with noisy systems and prove that our algorithms achieve a statistical accuracy, which is nearly un-improvable. We complement our theoretical study with numerical examples showing that solving random quadratic systems is both computationally and statistically not much harder than solving linear systems of the same size---hence the title of this paper. For instance, we demonstrate empirically that the computational cost of our algorithm is about four times that of solving a least-squares problem of the same size.

A practical and accessible introduction to the bootstrap methodnewly revised and updated Over the past decade, the application of bootstrap methods to new areas of study has expanded, resulting in theoretical and applied advances across various fields. Bootstrap Methods, Second Edition is a highly approachable guide to the multidisciplinary, real-world uses of bootstrapping and is ideal for readers who have a professional interest in its methods, but are without an advanced background in mathematics. Updated to reflect current techniques and the most up-to-date work on the topic, the Second Edition features: The addition of a second, extended bibliography devoted solely to publications from 19992007, which is a valuable collection of references on the latest research in the field A discussion of the new areas of applicability for bootstrap methods, including use in the pharmaceutical industry for estimating individual and population bioequivalence in clinical trials A revised chapter on when and why bootstrap fails and remedies for overcoming these drawbacks Added coverage on regression, censored data applications, P-value adjustment, ratio estimators, and missing data New examples and illustrations as well as extensive historical notes at the end of each chapter With a strong focus on application, detailed explanations of methodology, and complete coverage of modern developments in the field, Bootstrap Methods, Second Edition is an indispensable reference for applied statisticians, engineers, scientists, clinicians, and other practitioners who regularly use statistical methods in research. It is also suitable as a supplementary text

A variable screening procedure via correlation learning was proposed by Fan and Lv (2008) to reduce dimensionality in sparse ultra-high-dimensional models. Even when the true model is linear, the marginal regression can be highly nonlinear. To address this issue, we further extend the correlation learning to marginal nonparametric learning. Our nonparametric independence screening (NIS) is a specific type of sure independence screening. We propose several closely related variable screening procedures. We show that with general nonparametric models, under some mild technical conditions, the proposed independence screening methods have a sure screening property. The extent to which the dimensionality can be reduced by independence screening is also explicitly quantified. As a methodological extension, we also propose a data-driven thresholding and an iterative nonparametric independence

The availability of high-frequency intraday data allows us to accurately estimate stock volatility. This paper employs a bivariate diffusion to model the price and volatility of an asset and investigates kernel type estimators of spot volatility based on high-frequency return data. We establish both pointwise and global asymptotic distributions for the estimators.

Several novel large volatility matrix estimation methods have been developed based on the high-frequency financial data. They often employ the approximate factor model that leads to a low-rank plus sparse structure for the integrated volatility matrix and facilitates estimation of large volatility matrices. However, for predicting future volatility matrices, these nonparametric estimators do not have a dynamic structure to implement. In this paper, we introduce a novel It diffusion process based on the approximate factor models and call it a factor GARCH-It model. We then investigate its properties and propose a quasi-maximum likelihood estimation method for the parameter of the factor GARCH-It model. We also apply it to estimating conditional expected large volatility matrices and establish their asymptotic properties. Simulation studies are conducted to validate the finite sample performance of the proposed