Manipulating a Gaussian Distribution - MathOverflow [closed] most recent 30 from http://mathoverflow.net 2013-05-18T08:51:09Z http://mathoverflow.net/feeds/question/107032 http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/rdf http://mathoverflow.net/questions/107032/manipulating-a-gaussian-distribution Manipulating a Gaussian Distribution Fido 2012-09-12T17:06:14Z 2012-09-12T17:06:14Z <p>Hello All,</p> <p>I warn in advance my math skills are quite limited so speaking to me like I am an idiot would be appreciated.</p> <p>I have a polynomial :</p> <p>$y = a\cdot e^{\frac{-2(x - x_0)^2}{w^2}}$</p> <p>Now I know that this is of the form of a Gaussian distribution, here is my issue: </p> <p>I am only interested on the positive side i.e $x \geq 0$ and $y \geq 0$. I would like to be able to manipulate the positive side of this equation such that the area below the curve is maintained on that positive side.</p> <p>In essence I would like to be able to sweep through all curves defined by the above equation using a single control parameter for example $w$. </p> <p>Is there a way of me deriving from the above equation another equation where I can manipulate the curve using a single parameter and ensure that the area is maintained. (Please keep in mind I am only interested in the positive side of the curve)</p> <p>Ideally I would like to be able to sweep from an extreme curve such as an exponential decay all the way to a straight line such as a uniform distribution.</p> <p>I have been told I should look into gamma distributions but when I looked into such I failed to apply it to my work.</p> <p>Thanks to all that can help in anyway!</p>