Hyper-differential sensitivity analysis with respect to model discrepancy: Posterior Optimal Solution Sampling

Abstract: Optimization constrained by high-fidelity computational models has potential for transformative impact. However, such optimization is frequently unattainable in practice due to the complexity and computational intensity of the model. An alternative is to optimize a low-fidelity model and use limited evaluations of the high-fidelity model to assess the quality of the solution. This article develops a framework to use limited high-fidelity simulations to update the optimization solution computed using the low-fidelity model. Building off a previous article [22], which introduced hyper-differential sensitivity analysis with respect to model discrepancy, this article provides novel extensions of the algorithm to enable uncertainty quantification of the optimal solution update via a Bayesian framework. Specifically, we formulate a Bayesian inverse problem to estimate the model discrepancy and propagate the posterior model discrepancy distribution through the post-optimality sensitivity operator for the low-fidelity optimization problem. We provide a rigorous treatment of the Bayesian formulation, a computationally efficient algorithm to compute posterior samples, a guide to specify and interpret the algorithm hyper-parameters, and a demonstration of the approach on three examples which highlight various types of discrepancy between low and high-fidelity models.