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-5 votes
1 answer
149 views

Lottery in O(1) per participant

Goal: implement in $O(1)$ per participant a lottery where each participant has some large number of tickets, and the best (e.g. least) one wins, without actually burning electricity in proportion to ...
0 votes
1 answer
196 views

Sufficient conditions for finite mean of a non-negative random variable

Consider a continuous random variable that takes only non-negative values. Let the cumulative distribution function be $F(\cdot)$. Consider the following condition: $$\lim_{x\rightarrow\infty} x(1-F(x)...
2 votes
1 answer
302 views

Concentration on discrete probability estimator

Let $t>1$ and $X_1,..., X_t$ a set of real random variables from a discrete distribution, whose pmf is $p(x)$, supported on the points $1,...,k$. Let $N_t(x) = \sum_{i = 1}^t \mathbb{1}_{X_i =\, x}....
0 votes
1 answer
86 views

Is integration against an indicator Wasserstein-Continuous

Let $\mathcal{P}_p(X)$ denote the Wasserstein space over a compact metric space $X$, and $1\leq p<\infty$. Fix a non-empty closed subset $C\subseteq X$. Then is the map: $$ \mathbb{P} \mapsto \...
1 vote
0 answers
240 views

Riemann-Stieltjes integral of a distribution function

I recently learned the basics of Riemann-Stieltjes integral, and based on the sources I found, we can define the expectation of random variables quite naturally with the R-S integrals: if $X$ is a ...
0 votes
1 answer
235 views

Existence of independent linear combinations of random variables

Let $X,Y$ be independent multivariant random variables on $\mathbb{R}^d$. Let $\alpha,\beta$ be two positive real values such that $\alpha^2+\beta^2=1$. Then, $S=\alpha X+\beta Y$ is a new random ...
1 vote
0 answers
88 views

Berry-Esseen type bounds for functions of almost Gaussian random variables

Suppose that I have $n$ dependent random variables $X_1,\ldots,X_n$ with $\mathbb{E}[X_i]=0, \mathbb{E}[X_i^2]=1$, where we have the following bounds on the Kolmogorov distance from a normal ...
1 vote
0 answers
121 views

Relation satisfied by a Gaussian random variable

I want to prove the following relation for $X\sim \mathcal{N}(0,1)$, $x\in \mathbb{R}$ and $f(x)=\mathbb{E}[\max(X,x)]$: $$f(\frac{f(x+1)+f(x-1)}{2})\leq \frac{f(f(x)-1)+f(f(x)+1)}{2}$$ It seems that ...
1 vote
0 answers
233 views

Maximum mutual information of a matrix representation

Let $\mathbf{Z}$ be a $m\times n$ matrix with zero-mean unit-variance i.i.d complex Gaussian entries. What is the maximum value of mutual information $I(\mathbf{X}_1,\mathbf{X}_2;\mathbf{Y})$ such ...
5 votes
1 answer
1k views

Quantization of normal distribution

For $n\in\mathbb{N}$, denote by $\mathcal{Q}_n$ the set of all probability measures on $\mathbb{R}$ that are supported on at most $n$ points. Question: Is it known which element in $\mathcal{Q}_n$ is ...
0 votes
1 answer
479 views

Covariance in the limit of random variables

Suppose $\{X_n\}$ and $\{Y_n\}$ are two sequences of random variables and we know that $X_n \overset{L^2}{\to} X$ and $Y_n \overset{L^2}{\to} Y$, where $\overset{L^2}{\to}$ means converge in mean ...
1 vote
1 answer
207 views

Expectation of the sum of the squares of the cardinal of an inverse function

I sample a random one-to-one function $\pi:\{0\,;\,1\}^n\to\{0\,;\,1\}^n$. I define $f$ as: $$\forall x\in\left[0\,;\,2^n-1\right]\cap\mathbb{N},f(x)=x\oplus\pi(x)$$ where $\oplus$ is the bitwise XOR. ...
1 vote
1 answer
135 views

KL-divergence and sub-$\sigma$-algebras

I am trying to understand if the following claim is true: Let $P$, $Q$ be probability measures on $\mathcal{X}$. For any $\sigma$-algebra $\mathcal{G}$, with countably many atoms (sets with $\...
1 vote
2 answers
141 views

Greater contribution in a sum of independent random variables

In section 2.4 (Summation of strictly stable random variables), page 54, of the book "chance and stability", Zolotarev, Uchaikin there is the following consideration : The general relation ...
5 votes
3 answers
601 views

Convergence speed of a random dyadic rational generator

We are given a multiset $M$ of real numbers which initially is equal to $\{0,1\}$. In a sequential fashion, at each round $r\in\mathbb{N}$ two distinct instances $x_r$ and $y_r$ of $M$'s numbers are ...
1 vote
1 answer
259 views

Is the topology generated by the convergence of finite-dimensional distributions metrizable?

Let $\mathbf{D} := D([0,1]; \mathbb{R}^d)$ be the Skorokhod space (equipped with the Skorokhod metric) of càdlàg functions, and let $X = (X_t)_{t \geq 0}$ be its canonical process. The space of ...
2 votes
0 answers
50 views

Log-concave probability measure with slowest decay

Let $X$ be a real valued random variable with log-concave distribution $\mu$. For each $x \in {\mathbb R}$, let $$ \phi_\mu(x)=\min\limits_{c\in{\mathbb R}}E[e^{c(X-x)}] $$ be the minimal value of the ...
6 votes
0 answers
156 views

Distribution of iid hypergeometric random variables conditioned on the sum

Let $X_1,X_2,\ldots,X_n$ be iid random variables with hypergeometric distribution. To be specific, $$ \mathrm{Prob}(X_1=i) = \frac{\binom{N}{i}\binom{M-N}{m-i}}{\binom{M}{m}}.$$ Let $S=X_1+\cdots+X_n$....
0 votes
1 answer
323 views

What is the expected value of the sum of the k (out of a set of n) smallest normal random variables?

Given $n$ independent normally distributed random variables $X_1,X_2,...,X_n \sim N(\mu,\sigma)$. For any $k\leq n$, let $X_{(k)}$ be the k-th order statistics (i.e., the k-th smallest value). What is ...
0 votes
0 answers
769 views

sub-exponential type upper bound on the Poisson probability

I posted this question on Math Stack Exchange, though I'm not satisfied with the answer I received. Question: For a Poisson random variable $Z$ with the parameter $\lambda,\,$ what would be a good ...
1 vote
1 answer
197 views

Rate of variance's decrease for the mean's distribution of infinite variance i.i.d. random variables

Consider a set of i.i.d. (positive) random variables $\{X_i\}_{i=1}^N$. Each variable $X_i$ has a distribution with finite mean but infinite variance. In particular, if $P_{X_i}(x)$ is the P.D.F. of ...
0 votes
0 answers
96 views

Limit of a linear discrete-time stochastic process with uniform noise

I have posted this in the math and stats sites, but I am not sure where the proper forum for this question is. If it is not here, please go on and delete it. Suppose we have a stochastic linear ...
3 votes
2 answers
509 views

Distribution of a certain functional of iid $N(0,1)$ random variables

Suppose that $X_1,\ldots,X_n$ are iid $N(0,1)$ random variables. Consider the random variable given by $$ \xi_n =\Bigl|\frac1{\sqrt{n}}\sum_{t=1}^nX_t\Bigr|^2-\frac1n\sum_{t=1}^nX_t^2 =\frac1n\sum_{s\...
2 votes
1 answer
1k views

measure of a degenerate Gaussian distribution

I want to do computations with a degenerate Gaussian measure, but I do not know how to represent it in a close form. After starting with a Gaussian random variable and restricting it to a condition, I ...
1 vote
1 answer
130 views

How much reduction in expected variance can we get from a single bit?

Consider the following protocol: Alice has a number $X$, chosen according to a known distribution $\mathcal D$ (e.g., $X\sim U[0,1]$). She can send a bit to Bob, giving him more information about $X$ (...
0 votes
0 answers
72 views

Integration of fractional function over Rice distribution

Let $a>2$ be a real variable. My objective is to find an approximation of the integral defined as \begin{equation} \int_0^{\infty } {\frac{1}{{1 + {x^a}}}} f\left( {x|y} \right)\, dx \end{equation}...
3 votes
1 answer
206 views

Random planes separating points in $\mathbb{R}^3$

We are given a unit origin-centered sphere $S$ in $\mathbb{R}^3$, and three points $\mathbf{x},\mathbf{y},\mathbf{z}\in S$. Let $\mathbf{h}$ be a point selected uniformly at random from $S$ and let $H$...
1 vote
1 answer
172 views

Is it always possible to determine the distribution of a random variable given all its moments? [closed]

we we're asked about it, and I know that answer is "NO", and I haven't found an good enough answer yet and would appreciate an explanation with examples.
1 vote
1 answer
117 views

Modulus of continuity of parameterizing Wasserstein

Let $x_1,\dots,x_n\in X$ some Polish space $X$ and let $\Delta$ be the probability simplex in $\mathbb{R}^n$. Consider the map sending every $(w_1,\dots,w_n)\in\Delta$ to the finitely supported ...
1 vote
1 answer
114 views

Upper bound on the ratio of Poisson CDFs [closed]

Suppose $X \sim Pois(\lambda)$. I'm interested in an upper bound on the ratio, $$\dfrac{P(X \leq n)}{P(X \leq n-1)}\,,\,\,\text{for $n=1,2,3,...$}$$ Observe that, the ratio is $>1$ & as $n \to \...
0 votes
1 answer
401 views

Joint distribution of dependent Gaussians and their product

Consider a pair of dependent zero mean unit variance Gaussians, $$X,Y \sim \mathcal{MVN}\left(\vec{0},\begin{pmatrix}1 & \rho \\ \rho & 1\end{pmatrix}\right).$$ Their product $Z:=X\cdot Y$ is ...
3 votes
1 answer
153 views

Randomized version of Turán's theorem II

$\newcommand{\om}{\omega}$Let $\om(G)$ denote the number of vertices in a largest clique of an (undirected) graph $G$ with the set $[n]:=\{1,\dots,n\}$ of vertices. Then \begin{equation} \om(G)\ge\...
5 votes
1 answer
209 views

Randomized version of Turán's theorem

Turán's theorem says the following. Take any natural $n$ and $r$. Suppose that \begin{equation*} |G|>\Big(1-\frac1r\Big)\frac{n^2}2, \tag{0} \end{equation*} where $|G|$ is the number of edges of ...
1 vote
1 answer
240 views

Continuity of pushforward operation

Let $X$ and $Y$ be compact metric spaces and let $f,g:X\rightarrow Y$ be $\epsilon$-uniformly close; i.e.: $$ \sup_{x \in X} d_Y(f(x),g(x))<\epsilon. $$ Then, are their push-forwards close in ...
1 vote
0 answers
104 views

An Inequality of Expected Value of Random Variables

I encountered the following problem in my research: Suppose there are $N$ random variables that are independent and identically distributed (IID). The probability density function (PDF) of these ...
0 votes
1 answer
126 views

Perturbative approach starting from a probability distribution approximated form

I approximate a probability distribution $P_x(x)$ with a $P_x^{app}(x)$, such that $P_x(x)-P_x^{app}(x) = O(\epsilon)$ uniformly in x, where epsilon is a small positive quantity. Consider the generic ...
1 vote
1 answer
107 views

Tail bounds on random series in Hilbert space

Tail bounds on random series in Hilbert space Let $X_n$, $n \in \mathbb {N}$, be independent $\pm 1$ symmetric random variables, and $a_n$, $n \in \mathbb {N}$, be a sequence in a Hilbert space $H$ ...
1 vote
0 answers
225 views

Distribution and expectation of inverse of a random Bernoulli matrix

This question cropped up as a part of my research. Let us assume a $n\times n$ random matrix $\mathbf{M}$ with elements iid distributed to a Bernoulli distribution that takes values $\{0,1\}$ with ...
3 votes
1 answer
315 views

Distribution of the first occurrence of a maximum (record) run of zeros in the digits of a normal number (say $\pi$)

If the question was stated to appeal to the general public, it would be something like this. For a number such as $\pi$ or $\sqrt{2}$, the digits in base $b$ appear to be randomly distributed. We are ...
5 votes
1 answer
191 views

Probability of gaps between coordinates of a random point on the sphere

Let $X=(X_1,\ldots,X_n)$ be a point chosen uniformly at random from the sphere $S^{n-1}\subseteq \mathbb R^n$. Given $a>0$, what is the probability that $|X_1|^2-|X_i|^2\geq a$ for all $i>1$? Is ...
1 vote
1 answer
370 views

in Euclidean space defined by multivariate normal distribution, what fraction of points falls within n-ball (centered at origin) tangent to point p?

In a Euclidean space defined by the multivariate normal distribution, what fraction of all points falls within or are tangent to (as opposed to falling outside of) the n-sphere whose center is at the ...
23 votes
7 answers
5k views

What makes Gaussian distributions special?

I'm looking for as many different arguments or derivations as possible that support the informal claim that Gaussian/Normal distributions are "the most fundamental" among all distributions. ...
1 vote
0 answers
44 views

Small parameter expansion of probability density

I am trying to describe the motion of a particle that moves according to the Langevin equations \begin{align} \dot{x}&(t)=v_0\cos{\beta(t)},\tag{1}\\ \dot{y}&(t)=v_0\cos{\beta(t)},\tag{2} \end{...
0 votes
0 answers
86 views

What probability distribution is this?

Thank you in advance for any suggestions or feedback. I have a discrete 1D probability distribution represented as a vector $\textbf{p}$, $p_i = p(x_i)$. I am interested in finding the Wasserstein (...
1 vote
1 answer
276 views

Upper bound for $P(X \geq x)$, where $X \sim \operatorname{Pois}(\lambda)$

I posted the following question in a comment on CDF of a log-concave discrete random variable. Since it is not related to my main question, I thought of reposting it as separate post. Question: Let $X ...
0 votes
0 answers
113 views

How much a probability distribution is non-uniform in a convex subspace of $\mathbb{R}^d$?

I know a number of (standard and well known) ways to measure the distance between two probability distributions and, more in general, to quantify how much one is far from another. Could you please ...
-1 votes
1 answer
205 views

How to combine estimator with different variances?

Consider independent random variables $X_1,X_2,\ldots,$ that have the same expectation $\mathbb x=\mathbb E[X_1]=\mathbb E[X_2]=\ldots$ Further, assume that we know that $Var[X_i]=\sigma_i^2$. In the ...
2 votes
1 answer
476 views

Is total variation distance of normalized sum of random variables to Gaussian monotonic decreasing?

Let $X_1, X_2, \ldots$ be independent and identically distributed random variables with mean $0$ and variance $1$ and let $S_n = (X_1 + \cdots + X_n)/\sqrt{n}$ to be their normalized sum. Define $D_n$ ...
2 votes
1 answer
337 views

Uniqueness of deconvolution after convolution?

I have the following question and I'd greatly appreciate any help! Basically, I have an arbitrary probability distribution with pdf $f(x)$, we can assume it's continuous with support on $[0,\infty]$ ...
2 votes
0 answers
174 views

Random sets of points and hyperplanes in high dimensions

We are given a set $X$ of $n$ points $\mathbf{x}_1, \mathbf{x}_2, \ldots, \in\mathbb{R}^d$ selected uniformly at random from the unit origin-centered ball $\mathcal{B}^{d}$. Consider the random ...

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