Variational Parameters

Definition

Variational parameters are the free parameters that define the approximate distribution $q_\phi(z)$.

In Q1

For a diagonal Gaussian, the variational parameters are typically the mean vector and the log standard deviation vector:

$$\phi = (\mu,\log \sigma).$$

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Related

• Variational Inference
• Stochastic Variational Inference
• Reparameterization Trick
• STA414 W6+A3