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Gérard Biau

Gérard Biau contributes to research discovery and scholarly infrastructure.

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Published work

10 published item(s)

preprint2026arXiv

A Geometry-Aware Residual Correction of Hagan's SABR Implied Volatility Formula

This paper proposes a hybrid methodology to improve the approximation of SABR (Stochastic Alpha Beta Rho) implied volatility by combining analytical structure with machine learning. The approach augments the neural-network input representation with geometric features derived from the stochastic differential equations of the SABR model. Unlike approaches that fully replace analytical formulas with black-box models, the proposed framework preserves the analytical backbone of the model. The hybridization operates along two complementary dimensions. First, geometry-aware variables reflecting intrinsic properties of the SABR dynamics are used as structured inputs to the network. Second, the neural network is trained to learn the residual error relative to Hagan's closed-form approximation rather than implied volatility directly. The resulting model acts as a structured residual correction to the analytical formula, retaining interpretability while capturing higher-order effects that are not included in the asymptotic expansion. Numerical experiments conducted over realistic parameter domains, as well as stressed environments, show that the method improves accuracy and robustness compared with both analytical approximations and standard neural-network approaches. Because the correction remains lightweight and structurally consistent with the underlying model, the framework is well suited for real-time pricing and calibration in practical trading environments.

preprint2022arXiv

SHAFF: Fast and consistent SHApley eFfect estimates via random Forests

Interpretability of learning algorithms is crucial for applications involving critical decisions, and variable importance is one of the main interpretation tools. Shapley effects are now widely used to interpret both tree ensembles and neural networks, as they can efficiently handle dependence and interactions in the data, as opposed to most other variable importance measures. However, estimating Shapley effects is a challenging task, because of the computational complexity and the conditional expectation estimates. Accordingly, existing Shapley algorithms have flaws: a costly running time, or a bias when input variables are dependent. Therefore, we introduce SHAFF, SHApley eFfects via random Forests, a fast and accurate Shapley effect estimate, even when input variables are dependent. We show SHAFF efficiency through both a theoretical analysis of its consistency, and the practical performance improvements over competitors with extensive experiments. An implementation of SHAFF in C++ and R is available online.

preprint2021arXiv

Interpretable Random Forests via Rule Extraction

We introduce SIRUS (Stable and Interpretable RUle Set) for regression, a stable rule learning algorithm which takes the form of a short and simple list of rules. State-of-the-art learning algorithms are often referred to as "black boxes" because of the high number of operations involved in their prediction process. Despite their powerful predictivity, this lack of interpretability may be highly restrictive for applications with critical decisions at stake. On the other hand, algorithms with a simple structure-typically decision trees, rule algorithms, or sparse linear models-are well known for their instability. This undesirable feature makes the conclusions of the data analysis unreliable and turns out to be a strong operational limitation. This motivates the design of SIRUS, which combines a simple structure with a remarkable stable behavior when data is perturbed. The algorithm is based on random forests, the predictive accuracy of which is preserved. We demonstrate the efficiency of the method both empirically (through experiments) and theoretically (with the proof of its asymptotic stability). Our R/C++ software implementation sirus is available from CRAN.

preprint2021arXiv

Wasserstein Random Forests and Applications in Heterogeneous Treatment Effects

We present new insights into causal inference in the context of Heterogeneous Treatment Effects by proposing natural variants of Random Forests to estimate the key conditional distributions. To achieve this, we recast Breiman's original splitting criterion in terms of Wasserstein distances between empirical measures. This reformulation indicates that Random Forests are well adapted to estimate conditional distributions and provides a natural extension of the algorithm to multivariate outputs. Following the philosophy of Breiman's construction, we propose some variants of the splitting rule that are well-suited to the conditional distribution estimation problem. Some preliminary theoretical connections are established along with various numerical experiments, which show how our approach may help to conduct more transparent causal inference in complex situations.

preprint2013arXiv

High-dimensional $p$-norms

Let $\bX=(X_1, \hdots, X_d)$ be a $\mathbb R^d$-valued random vector with i.i.d. components, and let $\Vert\bX\Vert_p= (\sum_{j=1}^d|X_j|^p)^{1/p}$ be its $p$-norm, for $p>0$. The impact of letting $d$ go to infinity on $\Vert\bX\Vert_p$ has surprising consequences, which may dramatically affect high-dimensional data processing. This effect is usually referred to as the {\it distance concentration phenomenon} in the computational learning literature. Despite a growing interest in this important question, previous work has essentially characterized the problem in terms of numerical experiments and incomplete mathematical statements. In the present paper, we solidify some of the arguments which previously appeared in the literature and offer new insights into the phenomenon.

preprint2012arXiv

Analysis of a Random Forests Model

Random forests are a scheme proposed by Leo Breiman in the 2000's for building a predictor ensemble with a set of decision trees that grow in randomly selected subspaces of data. Despite growing interest and practical use, there has been little exploration of the statistical properties of random forests, and little is known about the mathematical forces driving the algorithm. In this paper, we offer an in-depth analysis of a random forests model suggested by Breiman in \cite{Bre04}, which is very close to the original algorithm. We show in particular that the procedure is consistent and adapts to sparsity, in the sense that its rate of convergence depends only on the number of strong features and not on how many noise variables are present.

preprint2010arXiv

PCA-Kernel Estimation

Many statistical estimation techniques for high-dimensional or functional data are based on a preliminary dimension reduction step, which consists in projecting the sample $\bX_1, \hdots, \bX_n$ onto the first $D$ eigenvectors of the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) associated with the empirical projector $\hat Π_D$. Classical nonparametric inference methods such as kernel density estimation or kernel regression analysis are then performed in the (usually small) $D$-dimensional space. However, the mathematical analysis of this data-driven dimension reduction scheme raises technical problems, due to the fact that the random variables of the projected sample $(\hat Π_D\bX_1,\hdots, \hat Π_D\bX_n)$ are no more independent. As a reference for further studies, we offer in this paper several results showing the asymptotic equivalencies between important kernel-related quantities based on the empirical projector and its theoretical counterpart. As an illustration, we provide an in-depth analysis of the nonparametric kernel regression case

preprint2010arXiv

Sequential Quantile Prediction of Time Series

Motivated by a broad range of potential applications, we address the quantile prediction problem of real-valued time series. We present a sequential quantile forecasting model based on the combination of a set of elementary nearest neighbor-type predictors called "experts" and show its consistency under a minimum of conditions. Our approach builds on the methodology developed in recent years for prediction of individual sequences and exploits the quantile structure as a minimizer of the so-called pinball loss function. We perform an in-depth analysis of real-world data sets and show that this nonparametric strategy generally outperforms standard quantile prediction methods

preprint2010arXiv

Statistical analysis of $k$-nearest neighbor collaborative recommendation

Collaborative recommendation is an information-filtering technique that attempts to present information items that are likely of interest to an Internet user. Traditionally, collaborative systems deal with situations with two types of variables, users and items. In its most common form, the problem is framed as trying to estimate ratings for items that have not yet been consumed by a user. Despite wide-ranging literature, little is known about the statistical properties of recommendation systems. In fact, no clear probabilistic model even exists which would allow us to precisely describe the mathematical forces driving collaborative filtering. To provide an initial contribution to this, we propose to set out a general sequential stochastic model for collaborative recommendation. We offer an in-depth analysis of the so-called cosine-type nearest neighbor collaborative method, which is one of the most widely used algorithms in collaborative filtering, and analyze its asymptotic performance as the number of users grows. We establish consistency of the procedure under mild assumptions on the model. Rates of convergence and examples are also provided.