Variable elimination

Variable elimination (VE) is a simple and general exact inference algorithm in probabilistic graphical models, such as Bayesian networks and Markov random fields.[1] It can be used for inference of maximum a posteriori (MAP) state or estimation of conditional or marginal distributions over a subset of variables. The algorithm has exponential time complexity, but could be efficient in practice for low-treewidth graphs, if the proper elimination order is used.

  1. ^ Zhang, N.L., Poole, D.:A Simple Approach to Bayesian Network Computations.In: 7th Canadian Conference on Artificial Intelligence, pp. 171--178. Springer, New York (1994)