Control Variate Methods

Principle

Control variate methods are variance reduction techniques used in Monte Carlo simulations. This approach leverages a correlated random variable whose expected value is known analytically. By subtracting a scaled version of this control variate from the original estimator, the overall variance of the simulation output decreases. The method relies on the covariance between the target variable and the control variate. Optimal scaling minimizes the variance of the adjusted estimator.