All Questions
Tagged with pr.probability measure-concentration
324 questions
24
votes
1
answer
1k
views
A Rademacher ‘root 7’ anti-concentration inequality
Let $r_1,r_2,r_3,\dotsc$ be an IID sequence of Rademacher random variables, so that $\mathbb P(r_n=\pm1)=1/2$, and $a_1,a_2,\dotsc$ be a real sequence with $\sum_na_n^2=1$. For $S=\sum_na_nr_n$, does ...
- 17.1k
18
votes
1
answer
1k
views
How fast can extreme eigenvalues of the average of random matrices converge to their expectation?
Suppose that $X_1,X_2,\ldots,X_m$ are independent $d\times d$ random matrices and let $\overline{X} := \frac{1}{m}\sum_{i=1}^m X_i$. One of the questions studied under the theory of random matrices is ...
- 181
14
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Concentration bounds for sums of random variables of permutations
I'm trying to find theorems regarding random variables derived from sampling permutations, specifically concentration bounds.
As an example, let $X_i$ be the $\{0,1\}$-random variable that represents ...
- 539
12
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Can we do better than Azuma-Hoeffding when the variance is small?
The Azuma-Hoeffding Inequality says that if $X_1,X_2, \ldots$ is a martingale and the differences are bounded by constants, $\|X_i - X_{i-1}\| \le 1$ say, then we should not expect the difference $\|...
- 1,955
12
votes
0
answers
489
views
Is this extension of Hoeffding's inequality known?
Question Overview:
Is it already known that, when using Hoeffding's inequality to lower bound the mean of i.i.d. random variables, you can replace the upper bound on the random variables with the ...
- 399
11
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Maximal inequality for the average of i.i.d. random variables
Let $Z_i$ be i.i.d. random variables with $\mathbb{E}[Z_i] = 0$ and $\mathbb{E}|Z_i|^p< \infty$ for $p=1,2,3,\cdots$. I am looking for the following type of estimate if possible, and it is not like ...
- 485
10
votes
3
answers
4k
views
Extension of the Azuma-Hoeffding inequality (when the differences are bounded with large probability)
Let $(X_i)$ be a super-martingale and suppose their differences are bounded ''with high probability'', that is
$$\mathbb{P}(\exists\,i=1,\dots,n\text{ s.t. }|X_i-X_{i-1}|>c_i) \,\leq\, \epsilon$$
...
- 223
10
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Bounds on the moments of the binomial distribution
I'm looking for simple and reasonably tight bounds on the k-th moment of the Binomial distribution $B(n,p)$, namely, $E[B(n,p)^k]$. I'm interested in the case when k is large (say on the order of $\...
- 211
10
votes
2
answers
847
views
Minimum separation among $m$ random points on an $n$-dimensional unit sphere
Consider $m$ points $v_1, \ldots, v_m \in R^{n}$, which are uniformly distributed on the $n$-dimensional unit sphere $S^{n-1} = \{v:\|v\|_2 = 1\}$. Let the minimum separation be
$$
\rho = \min_{i,j\in{...
- 1,127
10
votes
4
answers
645
views
Expected value of Bernoulli quadratic forms
Let $\mathbf{Y}\in\mathbb{R}^{n\times n}$ be a symmetric matrix. Let $\mathbf{x}\in\mathbb{R}^n$ be random vectors with entries i.i.d. $\pm 1$ with equal probability. I'm interested in a lower bound ...
- 363
10
votes
2
answers
455
views
Largest deviations for uniform order statistics
Let $n >0$.
Let $X_1,\ldots,X_n$ be i.i.d. uniform random variable on $[0,1].$ Denote by $X^{(1)}\leq X^{(2)} \leq \cdots \leq X^{(n)}$ their order statistics, and write $\Delta^{(i)} = \vert X^{(...
- 245
10
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Simple proof of sharp constant in DKW inequality
The DKW inequality says that if $F_n$ is the empirical CDF corresponding to real-valued random variables $X_1, \dots, X_n$ distributed identically and independently from a distribution with CDF $F$, ...
- 420
10
votes
1
answer
846
views
A Johnson-Lindenstrauss lemma for finite fields?
Given $m$ points in $\mathbb{R}^N$, the Johnson-Lindenstrauss lemma guarantees the existence of a linear operator $\mathbb{R}^N\rightarrow\mathbb{R}^n$ that nearly preserves pairwise distances between ...
- 7,633
9
votes
2
answers
4k
views
What is (approximately) the expected value of $X\log{ X}$ where $X$ is binomial (or Poisson)?
Let $X$ follow a binomial distribution with parameters $n$ and $p$. Are there any known bounds for the expected value of $X\log{X}$, for large $n$ and small (but fixed) $p$? A Poisson approximation ...
- 383
9
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Adaptive version of the Azuma–Hoeffding inequality
The Azuma inequality states that if we have a martingale $X_1,\ldots,X_N$ that satisfies a bounded difference condition:
$$|X_k - X_{k-1}| \leq c_k$$
Then:
$$\Pr\left[X_N - X_0 \geq \sqrt{2\sum_kc_k^2 ...
- 794
9
votes
2
answers
616
views
construction of a random measure with a given mean
Let me first pose a trivial question.
Given a Borel probability measure $\mu$ on the real line, is it possible to construct a purely atomic random measure $M$ whose mean is $\mu$?
The answer is ...
- 1,839
9
votes
1
answer
350
views
Concentration inequalities for very rare events on a multiplicative scale
Let $E_1, \dots, E_N$ be independent events, each of probability $p$, where $p$ is very close to $0$. Let $A_N = \frac{1}{N} ( 1_{E_1} + \dots + 1_{E_N} )$ be the proportion of the events $E_i$ that ...
- 323
9
votes
1
answer
886
views
Concentration of sum of powers of normals
Let $Z_1,Z_2,\ldots,Z_n$ be i.i.d. copies of a random variable $Z$ distributed as $\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}X+i\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}Y$ with $X$ and $Y$ independent standard Normal random variables i.e.~$X\sim\...
- 859
9
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Doob Martingale: Where is the catch?
I am working on a research problem in uncertainty propagation that involves sums of possibly dependent random variables with bounded sets of support.
I am attempting to use the method of bounded ...
- 219
9
votes
0
answers
1k
views
Balls and bins -- concentration bounds pertaining to the minimal load bin
Consider the standard balls and bins process, where $m$ balls are thrown uniformly at random into $n$ bins. Previous work has been done on estimating the value of the maximum load (i.e., the number of ...
- 201
8
votes
1
answer
533
views
Concentration bounds for martingales with adaptive Gaussian steps
Consider the following martingale: $X_1 \sim \mathcal{N}(0, 1)$, and for any $n > 1$, $X_n \sim \mathcal{N}(X_{n-1}, X_{n-1}^2)$ (notice, this is a conditional distribution given $X_{n-1}$).
I am ...
- 83
8
votes
2
answers
486
views
concentration inequality for entropy from sample
Consider a measure $\mu$ on a finite set, and let $x_1, \ldots, x_n$ be i.i.d samples from $\mu$. Then the expression $S_n = -\frac{1}{n} \sum_{i=1}^n \log \mu(x_i)$ converges by a.s. to the entropy $...
- 83
8
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Does Multiplicative Version of Azuma's Inequality Hold?
It is known that there are multiplicative version concentration inequalities for
sums of independent random variables. For example, the following
multiplicative version Chernoff bound.
Chernoff bound:...
- 175
7
votes
3
answers
496
views
Chernoff-type bounds for a stopped sum of independent random variables
Let $Y_1, \ldots, Y_n$ and $X_1, \ldots, X_n$ be i.i.d. $p$-Bernoulli random variables and let $T \in \{0, \ldots, n\}$ be a stopping time for the process. From Wald's equation, we know
$$
E\left[\...
- 153
7
votes
2
answers
594
views
Large deviation/concentration inequality for submartingale
Let $S_t = M_t + D_t$ be the sum of a martingale $\left(M_t\right)_{t=1,2,\ldots}$ and a predictable process $(D_t)_{t=1,2,\ldots}$ such that the variance of the increments of $M$ is uniformly bounded ...
- 355
7
votes
1
answer
975
views
Prove an anti-concentration inequality for a martingale
My problem can be described easily:
I have a sequence $(X_l)_{l \in \mathbb{N}}$ of r.v. adapted to some filtration $(\mathcal{F}_l)_{l \in \mathbb{N}}$, such that
$\left|X_{l+1}-X_l\right|\le R$ a. ...
- 73
7
votes
1
answer
466
views
Martingale version of Bernstein-type inequality for (slightly) heavy-tailed distributions?
It is known that for sub-exponentially distributed martingale difference sequence, the following Bernstein-type inequality holds:
$$
ℙ\left(\left|
\sum_{i=1}^N a_i X_i
\right| \ge t \right)
\le
2\...
- 719
7
votes
1
answer
409
views
Do i.i.d. sums concentrate any faster than martingales?
Suppose $X_1,X_2, \ldots, X_N \in \mathbb R^d$ are random variables with each $\|X_n\|_2 \le 1/2$ (this choice of the constant simplifies later formulae).
The simplest concentration inequality I know ...
- 1,955
7
votes
2
answers
606
views
Uniform Concentration Bounds on Weighted Sum of i.i.d. Bernoulli Random Variables
Let $\delta_1,...,\delta_n$ be $n$ independent identically distributed Bernoulli random variables with $\mathbb{P}(\delta_1=1)=p$. We consider a set $\Omega = \{\mathbf{a}:=(a_1,...,a_n)~|~a_i\in [0,c/...
- 71
7
votes
1
answer
424
views
Transportation-cost inequality for pushforward measure
Let $X=(X,d_X)$ and $Y=(X,d_Y)$ be metric spaces and $\varphi: X\rightarrow Y$ be an $L$-Lipschitz map, with $0 \le L < \infty$. Suppose $\mu$ is a probability measure on $X$ which satisfies ...
- 6,853
7
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Tails of sums of Weibull random variables
Suppose that $X_1, X_2, \ldots, X_n$ are i.i.d random variables distributed according to Weibull distribution with shape $0 < \epsilon < 1$ (it means that $\mathbf{Pr}[X_i \geq t] = e^{-\Theta(t^...
- 1,791
7
votes
0
answers
759
views
Product of two random Gaussian matrices - orthant probability
Let $X \in \mathbb{R}^{m \times n}$ and $Y \in \mathbb{R}^{n \times k} $ be two independent Gaussian random matrices, i.e., with entries independently sampled from $\mathcal{N}(0,1)$ (a normal ...
- 968
6
votes
1
answer
306
views
Weak concentration bounds for averages of independent random variables in Orlicz spaces
Let $\phi$ be an $N$-function, (i.e. $\phi : \mathbb{R}_{\geq 0} \to \mathbb{R}_{\geq 0}$ is convex and satisfies $\lim_{t \to 0} \frac{\phi(t)}{t} = 0, \lim_{t\to \infty} \frac{\phi(t)}{t} = \infty$)....
- 1,190
6
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Concentration bounds on weighted sum of i.i.d. Bernoulli random variables
Let $X_1,\dots, X_n\sim\operatorname{Bern}(\frac{1}{2})$ be independent, identically distributed random variables, and $\alpha=(\alpha_1,\dots,\alpha_n)\in[0,1]^n$ a vector of non-negative weights ...
- 1,372
6
votes
1
answer
203
views
Good upper-bound for $\mathbb E[|X-np|^r]$ where $X \sim \text{Binomial}(n,p)$ and $r \ge 1$
Disclaimer. Question moved from SE.
Setup
Let $X \sim \text{Binomial}(p, n)$, and $r \ge 1$.
Question
What is a good upper-bound for $\mathbb E[|X-np|^r]$ ?
Solution for small $r$
If $r=2$, then ...
- 6,853
6
votes
3
answers
447
views
Isoperimetric inequality for $\epsilon$-expansion of a set only along a certain subspace
Let $\gamma_n$ be the standard gaussian distribution on $\mathbb R^n$. Let $V$ be a $k$-dimensional subspace of $\mathbb R^n$. Finally let $A$ be any (nonempty) Borel subset of $A$ with $\gamma_n(A) = ...
- 6,853
6
votes
2
answers
720
views
Local concentration of measure on Erdos-Rényi graph
Let $G_n=(V_n,E_n)$ be an Erdos-Rényi random graph, precisely the vertex set is $V_n=(1,\dots,n)$ and the edge set is $E_n=(ij\in\mathcal{P}_2(V_n)\ |\ \epsilon_{ij}=1)$ where $(\epsilon_{ij})_{ij}$ ...
- 293
6
votes
1
answer
446
views
Is there a counterexample to the Thin Shell Conjecture for sub-exponential distributions?
The thin shell conjecture states that there exist universal constants $C,c>0$ such that every logconcave isotropic random vector $X$ in every Euclidean space $\mathbb{R}^n$ satisfies
$$\mathbb{P}\...
- 7,633
6
votes
0
answers
273
views
Question about size-biased couplings and concentration of the number of collisions
Edit/Update: I was indeed missing something quite obvious. I assumed the notion of collision used was the one I am used to (number of pairwise collisions, so if a bin received $k$ balls then this ...
- 1,372
6
votes
0
answers
554
views
a variation on Hanson-Wright inequality
The classic Hanson-Wright inequality states that for a Gaussian random vector $\mathbf{x}\in\mathbb{R}^n$ distributed as $\mathcal{N}(\mathbf{0},\mathbf{I})$ and $\mathbf{A}\in\mathbb{R}^{n\times n}$ ...
- 859
6
votes
0
answers
337
views
Chernoff bound in the not-quite-sub-exponential case
In Terry Tao's notes on Concentration of measure, Exercise 7 indicates that the Chernoff bound can be generalized to sub-exponential random variables:
http://terrytao.wordpress.com/2010/01/03/254a-...
- 7,633
5
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Distribution of the individual coordinates of a uniform random vector on a high-dimensional sphere
Let $X=(X_1,\ldots,X_n)$ be a random vector uniformly distributed on the $n$-dimensional sphere of radius $R > 0$. Intuitively, i think that for large $p$ every coordinate $X_i$ is normally ...
- 6,853
5
votes
2
answers
397
views
Why sum of samples without replacement is more concentrated than with replacement?
Set $n\le N$.
Suppose $x_1,...,x_n$ are uniformly random variables taking value in $[N]$
In addition, let ${y_1,...,y_n}$ be an $n-$subset of $[N]$ that is chosen uniformly random among all $N \choose ...
- 550
5
votes
1
answer
401
views
Lower tail of random rank one sums?
Let $\{x_i\}_{i\geq 1}$ be iid random elements of the sequence space $\ell^2(\mathbb{N})$;
assume that $\|x_i\|_2 \leq 1$ almost surely. Let $\Sigma = \mathbb{E}[x_1 \otimes x_1]$.
Define
$$
\Sigma_n =...
- 420
5
votes
1
answer
165
views
Is there an i.i.d sequence in the unit cube $[-1,1]^d$ with $\mathbb E \left[ \Big \| \sum_{i=1}^N X_N \Big \|_\infty\right] = \sqrt {dN}$?
There are loads of concentration results for sums of scalar-valued independent sums $X_1,X_2,\ldots, X_N$ with $\mathbb E[X_n]=0$. For example Hoeffding's Inequality says if all $|X_1|\le 1$ then $\...
- 1,955
5
votes
2
answers
684
views
Asymptotic Expansion of Distribution in Central Limit Theorem for Non-Identically Distributed Random Variables
My question is related to the following theorem (e.g. Section XVI.4 of Feller's 1971 book): Let $Z_i$ $(i=1,\cdots,n)$ be independent and identically distributed random variables with mean zero, ...
- 325
5
votes
1
answer
299
views
Variance modulo 1
The fact that the variance of the sum of independent random variables is the sum of their variances allows one to have a good understanding of how well-concentrated each term $X_i$ in a sum of $n$ ...
- 1,914
5
votes
3
answers
898
views
Lower bound for Gaussian random vector with negative correlation
Let $X = (X_1,\ldots,X_n) \in \mathbb{R}^n$ be jointly Gaussian with mean $0$, covariance matrix: $Var(X_i) = 1$, $Cov(X_i, X_{i+1}) = -1/2$, and $Cov(X_i, X_j) = 0$ else.
Let $\zeta \in \mathbb{R}^...
- 1,010
5
votes
1
answer
273
views
Chernoff-style concentration inequality for k-tuples
I'm looking for a seemingly natural generalization of a Chernoff bound.
In many scenarios, we have a distribution $D$ with support $\mathsf{Supp}(D)$, and some event $E \subset \mathsf{Supp}(D)$ ...
- 161
5
votes
1
answer
282
views
What is the spectral norm of a random projection times a diagonal?
Take $n\ll N$. Let $P$ be an $n\times N$ matrix of iid $\mathcal{N}(0,1)$ random variables, and let $D$ be an $N\times N$ diagonal matrix.
What can be said about the distribution of the largest ...
- 7,633