Petar Zhivkov

Dr. Petar Zhivkov

Department of Parallel Algorithms and Machine Learning with Neurotechnology Laboratory, Institute of Information and Communication Technologies, Sofia, Sofia-Grad, Bulgaria
orcid
Senior Assistant Professor, Multi-Agent AI, Network Risk an

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

5Years (2022-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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16 June 2025 in Atmosphere
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Journal Article
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Petar ZhivkovPetar Zhivkov
Petar Zhivkov
SFStefka Fidanova
Stefka Fidanova
Ivan DimovIvan Dimov
Ivan Dimov
This study introduces a digital twin paradigm that uses both stationary and mobile sensors and cutting-edge machine learning for urban air quality monitoring. By boosting R2 values from 0.29 to 0.87–0.95, our two-step calibration method increased the accuracy of low-cost PM sensors, showing the possibility of growing monitoring networks without sacrificing measurement accuracy. Significant temporal and spatial variability in PM concentrations was found by mobile sensor deployments, with variations of up to 300% over short distances, predominantly during heavy traffic. During rush hours, peak concentrations were found on multi-lane boulevards and intersections, indicating important exposure concerns usually overlooked by stationary monitoring networks. According to our Graph Neural Network model, which successfully described pollutant dispersion patterns, road dust resuspension predominates in residential areas, while vehicle emissions account for 65% of PM2.5 along high-traffic corridors. Urban green areas lower PM levels by 30%, yet when the current low-emission zones were first implemented, they had no discernible effect on air quality. Municipal authorities can use this digital twin strategy to acquire practical insights for focused air quality improvements. The method helps make evidence-based traffic management and urban planning judgments by identifying unidentified pollution hotspots and source contributions. The technique offers a scalable option for establishing healthier urban development and marks a substantial leap in environmental monitoring.

25 October 2025 in Mathematics
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Journal Article
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Venelin TodorovVenelin Todorov
Venelin Todorov
Petar ZhivkovPetar Zhivkov
Petar Zhivkov
Accurate and efficient estimation of Sobol’ sensitivity indices is a cornerstone of variance-based global sensitivity analysis, providing critical insights into how uncertainties in input parameters affect model outputs. This is particularly important for large-scale environmental, engineering, and financial models, where understanding parameter influence is essential for improving model reliability, guiding calibration, and supporting informed decision-making. However, computing Sobol’ indices requires evaluating high-dimensional integrals, presenting significant numerical and computational challenges. In this study, we present a comparative analysis of two of the best available Quasi-Monte Carlo (QMC) techniques: polynomial lattice rules (PLRs) and modified Sobol’ sequences. The performance of both approaches is systematically assessed in terms of performance and accuracy. Extensive numerical experiments demonstrate that the proposed PLR-based framework achieves superior precision for several sensitivity measures, while modified Sobol’ sequences remain competitive for lower-dimensional indices. Our results show that IPLR-α3 outperforms traditional QMC methods in estimating both dominant and weak sensitivity indices, offering a robust framework for high-dimensional models. These findings provide practical guidelines for selecting optimal QMC strategies, contributing to more reliable sensitivity analysis and enhancing the predictive power of complex computational models.

6 April 2022 in Mathematics
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Journal Article
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SFStefka Fidanova
Stefka Fidanova
Petar ZhivkovPetar Zhivkov
Petar Zhivkov
Olympia RoevaOlympia Roeva
Olympia Roeva
Human health is reflected in all spheres of life and the economy. One of the main causes of morbidity and early mortality is polluted air. Ambient air pollution is a serious source of disease and mortality across the world. Cities are notorious for their high levels of air pollution and sickness. However, the precise degree of the health impacts of air pollution at the municipal level are still largely unclear. One of the main reasons for increased morbidity is the presence of particulate matter. The aim of our study is to show the relationship between elevated levels of particulate matter in the air and certain diseases. In this paper, we apply InterCriteria Analysis (ICrA) to find the correlation between the level of air pollution and the number of people seeking medical help. This is a new approach for the problem. The results show the affect of air pollution on certain diseases with a short exposure on polluted air and when the exposure is prolonged. We observed that some diseases are exacerbated by brief exposure to polluted air, while in others, exacerbation occurs after prolonged exposure.

26 March 2026 in Atmosphere
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Journal Article
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Petar ZhivkovPetar Zhivkov
Petar Zhivkov
SFStefka Fidanova
Stefka Fidanova
Low-cost air quality sensors enable dense urban monitoring networks but require calibration against reference-grade instruments. While machine learning calibration is well-established for co-located sensor pairs, applying these calibrations to sensors deployed far from any reference station—the operational reality for most network sensors—lacks systematic methodology. We address this gap using 24 months of hourly data (August 2023–July 2025) from Sofia, Bulgaria, where five official reference stations (Executive Environmental Agency) operate alongside 22 AirThings low-cost sensors, four of which are co-located. Random Forest models achieved R2∈(0.53,0.75) across PM2.5, PM10, NO2, and O3, representing from 40% (for O3) to 408% (for PM2.5) improvement over Multiple Linear Regression baselines. Using leave-one-station-out spatial cross-validation, we derived pollutant-specific uncertainty growth rates (α) from 3.84% to 5.62% per km, characterizing how calibration uncertainty increases with distance from reference stations (statistically significant for PM10 and O3, p<0.05). Applied to 18 non-co-located sensors, the framework generated 1.2 million calibrated hourly measurements with 95% prediction intervals over the study period. Co-location sites spaced 6 km apart achieve a less than 30% uncertainty increase at network midpoints, within EU Air Quality Directive thresholds for indicative monitoring. These empirically derived α parameters enable network planners to predict measurement reliability at arbitrary sensor locations without ground-truth validation, providing evidence-based guidance for cost-effective hybrid monitoring network design.


25 February 2026 in Mathematics
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Journal Article
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Petar ZhivkovPetar Zhivkov
Petar Zhivkov
JKJuri Kandilarov
Juri Kandilarov
Hyperparameter optimization for cryptocurrency trading strategies encounters distinct challenges owing to continuous operation, volatility rates 3–4 times higher than equity indices, and price dynamics influenced by market sentiment. Bayesian optimization (Tree-Structured Parzen Estimator, TPE) and evolutionary algorithms (Differential Evolution, DE) are great for machine learning, but there are not many systematic comparisons for trading cryptocurrencies. This research evaluates Random Sampling, TPE, and DE through 36 factorial experiments, comprising 3 trading strategies (3, 4, and 5 hyperparameters) × 3 optimizers × 4 cryptocurrency pairs (BTC/USDT, ETH/USDT, INJ/USDT, SOL/USDT), resulting in 14,400 backtesting trials with walk-forward validation. TPE won 75% of strategy–asset pairs (9 of 12), reaching 90% of optimal performance within 13–17% of trial budgets. We find strategy-specific optimizer compatibility: mean-reversion strategies show DE underperformance independent of topology (−1% to −8%), whereas trend-following strategies show consistent DE competitiveness across assets (+13% to +37%). Most notably, for the same strategy, parameter space topology differs significantly between assets (trend following: 4.6% viable on BTC to 82% on ETH = 17.8×; mean reversion: 10.8% on ETH to 92% on SOL = 8.5×), indicating that topology results from strategy–asset interaction rather than intrinsic properties. Complete testing failures and widespread severe overfitting point to regime non-stationarity as a fundamental problem. Among the contributions are: (1) evidence shows that topological effects are dominated by optimizer–strategy compatibility (DE fails on mean-reversion strategies even in 92% viable spaces, but succeeds on trend-following strategies regardless of topology, spanning 13.6–82% viable spaces); (2) this is the first systematic Bayesian versus evolutionary comparison across 4 cryptocurrency assets; (3) parameter space topology emerges from strategy–asset interaction, varying up to 17.8-fold; and (4) single-period backtests inadequately identify parameter instability.