Approximating the Partition Function by Deleting and then Correcting for Model Edges

We propose an approach for approximating the partition function which is based on two steps: (1) computing the partition function of a simplified model which is obtained by deleting model edges, and (2) rectifying the result by applying an edge-by-edge correction. The approach leads to an intuitive framework in which one can trade-off the quality of an approximation with the complexity of computing it. It also includes the Bethe free energy approximation as a degenerate case. We develop the approach theoretically in this paper and provide a number of empirical results that reveal its practical utility.