On Approximations of the Beta Process in Latent Feature Models

Abstract: The beta process has recently been widely used as a nonparametric prior for different models in machine learning, including latent feature models. In this paper, we prove the asymptotic consistency of the finite dimensional approximation of the beta process due to Paisley & Carin (2009). In addition, we derive an almost sure approximation of the beta process. This approximation provides a direct method to efficiently simulate the beta process. A simulated example, illustrating the work of the method and comparing its performance to several existing algorithms, is also included.