Probabilistic Models on Fibre Bundles

In this thesis, we propose probabilistic models on fibre bundles for learning the generative process of data. The main tool we use is the diffusion kernel and we use it in two ways. First, we build from the diffusion kernel on a fibre bundle a projected kernel that generates robust representations of the data, and we test that it outperforms regular diffusion maps under noise. Second, this diffusion kernel gives rise to a natural covariance function when defining Gaussian processes (GP) on the fibre bundle. To demonstrate the uses of GP on a fibre bundle, we apply it to simulated data on a Mobius strip for the problem of prediction and regression. Parameter tuning can also be guided by a novel semi-group test arising from the geometric properties of diffusion kernel. For an example of real-world application, we use probabilistic models on fibre bundles to study evolutionary process on anatomical surfaces. In a separate chapter, we propose a robust algorithm (ariaDNE) for computing curvature on each individual surface. The proposed machinery, relating diffusion processes to probabilistic models on fibre bundles, provides a unified framework for ideas from a variety of different topics such as geometric operators, dimension reduction, regression and Bayesian statistics.