All Questions
Tagged with pr.probability probability-distributions
367 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
222
votes
0
answers
18k
views
Why do polynomials with coefficients $0,1$ like to have only factors with $0,1$ coefficients?
Conjecture. Let $P(x),Q(x) \in \mathbb{R}[x]$ be two monic polynomials with non-negative coefficients. If $R(x)=P(x)Q(x)$ is $0,1$ polynomial (coefficients only from $\{0,1\}$), then $P(x)$ and $Q(x)$ ...
- 2,272
19
votes
0
answers
988
views
On random Dirichlet distributions
Fix a dimension $d\ge2$.
Let $Q_d$ denote the positive quadrant of $\mathbb{R}^d$, that is, $Q_d$ is the set of points $\mathbf{x}=(x_i)_i$ in $\mathbb{R}^d$ such that $x_i>0$ for every $i$.
For ...
- 5,721
12
votes
1
answer
628
views
A function with unexpectedly simple Legendre transformation
Let $I(x) = \frac{1}{2\pi} \int_{-2}^2 \sqrt{4-y^2}\ln|x-y|dy$. Then $I(x)$ is a concave function and
\begin{equation}
I(x)=
\begin{cases}
\frac{1}{4}x^2-\frac{1}{2}, &\text{if } |x|\leq2 \\
\...
- 1,608
11
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Distribution of infinity-norm over the unit sphere
I need to compute probabilities of the form
$P( \Vert X \Vert_\infty < r ),$
where $X$ is a random variable of dimension $n$, drawn with a uniform distribution on the unit sphere $\mathcal{S}_{n-1}$...
- 617
10
votes
0
answers
742
views
Torus Graph Dynamics
Consider the torus graph, or the toroidal grid, which looks like
(The graph's vertices are the bold dots).
I will discuss only square torus graphs, where there is an equal number of vertices in a "...
- 403
9
votes
0
answers
240
views
Does there exist such a probability distribution?
Does there exist a probability distribution over the set $\{(x,y,z)\in[0,1]^3\colon x+y+z=3/2\}$ whose projection on each of the three coordinate axes is the uniform distribution over the interval $[0,...
- 128k
9
votes
0
answers
389
views
How do I draw samples from this distribution?
Let S be the the standard K-1 simplex. Consider the following probability distribution:
$$\begin{align}
f(p,\alpha,\beta) &= \prod_{k=1}^K p_k^{\alpha_k-1}(1-p_k)^{\beta_k-1}\\
Z(\alpha,\beta) &...
- 135
8
votes
0
answers
422
views
Non-affine smooth transformation of Gaussian is Gaussian
Suppose $Z\sim N(0,1)$ (standard Gaussian) and $f: \mathbb{R} \to \mathbb{R}$ is a differentiable function such that $f(Z)\sim N(0,1)$. My question is whether there exists any such $f$ other than $f(x)...
- 399
7
votes
0
answers
222
views
Projected polar chessboard measure convergence in total variation?
$\newcommand\R{\mathbb R}\newcommand\C{\mathbb C}\newcommand\ga{\gamma}$For natural $n$, let $E_n$ be the set of all points in $\R^2$ with "polar coordinates" $(r,t)$ in the set
$$F_n:=\...
- 128k
7
votes
1
answer
763
views
Reference request: discretisation of probability measures on $\mathbb R^d$
Given a probability measures $\mu$ on $\mathbb R^d$ with finite first movement, i.e.
$$\int_{\mathbb R^d}|x|\mu(dx)~~<~~+\infty.$$
My concern is to approximate $\mu$ some $\mu_n$ that is ...
- 345
7
votes
0
answers
774
views
Calculate the expectation of the maximum of averaged random walks
Let $X_1, X_2, \ldots$ be iid random variables with bounded second moment. The question is to calculate the exact value of $$\mathbb{E} \max_{1 \le j < \infty} \frac{X_1 + \cdots + X_j}{j}.$$
Is ...
- 773
7
votes
0
answers
3k
views
What is vague convergence and what does it accomplish?
For convenience, let's say that I have a locally compact Hausdorff space $X$ and am concerned with probability measures on its Borel $\sigma$-algebra $\mathcal{B}(X)$. Natural vector spaces to ...
- 1,104
7
votes
0
answers
758
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
7
votes
0
answers
179
views
Can one "smooth over" k-wise independence to get actual independence?
I came across the following toy problem and was curious if there was a simple solution or counterexample. Suppose you have a distribution $p$ on $m$ random variables $X_1, \ldots, X_m$, each with ...
- 91
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 $S=X_1+\cdots+X_n$....
- 37.7k
6
votes
0
answers
150
views
Delayed Pólya's urn process
The standard Pólya's urn process can be stated as follows:
You have an urn with red and green balls. At any time unit you choose one ball at random, note the colour, and give the ball back. At the ...
- 396
6
votes
0
answers
133
views
Random Balanced Assignment
A balanced assignment from from $N$ objects to $K$ classes is a mapping $\sigma\colon \{ 1, \ldots, N\} \rightarrow \{ 1, \ldots, K\}$ such that
$$
\textrm{Card}( \sigma^{-1} \{j \} ) = \textrm{Card} ...
- 1,127
6
votes
0
answers
388
views
Closedness of a set of measures, where conditional marginals are in closed $\varepsilon$-ball w.r.t. Wasserstein distance
Let $(E,d)$ be a bounded polish space (separable, complete metric space satisfying $\sup_{x,y\in E} d(x,y) < \infty$). By $\mathcal{P}(E)$ we denote the space of Borel probability measures on $E$ ...
- 1,095
6
votes
0
answers
183
views
Distribution of the stopping time of an autoregressive sequence
Consider $e_t$ being i.i.d. uniformly chosen from $\pm 1$. Let $\eta$ be a small positive constant. What is the distribution of $T$ such that $\eta^{0.5} (1+\eta)^T W_T$ first hits $\pm 1$, in which
$$...
- 1,127
6
votes
0
answers
277
views
universality for large deviations?
This is a question about universality in probability theory, with combinatorics in mind.
Consider a sequence of polynomials $P_n$ in one variable, with positive coefficients. Combinatorics is a large ...
- 3,587
6
votes
0
answers
203
views
Elementary function relative to erf
The modified Bessel function of the 1st kind $I_0$ is defined by
$$
I_0(z)=\frac1\pi\int_0^{2\pi}e^{z\cos\theta}\,d\theta
$$
and arises, among other places, in the probability density function of a ...
- 24.8k
6
votes
0
answers
486
views
Two sets of independent Bernoulli random variables
There are two sets of random variables $X_1,\ldots,X_n$ and $Y_1,\ldots,Y_n$ satisfying:
Each $X_i$ and each $Y_j$ has a symmetric Bernoulli distribution ($-1$ and $+1$ with probability $\frac12$ ...
- 37.7k
5
votes
1
answer
240
views
Asymptotic distribution of the extreme, standardized order statistics of uniform distribution?
Let $\{U_{k, n}\}_{k=1}^n$, denote the order statistics of a sample of $n$ iid uniform $[0, 1]$ variates.
Note that, marginally $U_{k, n}$ is distributed $\mathrm{Beta}(k, n+1 -k)$.
Therefore, let us ...
- 410
5
votes
0
answers
239
views
Expected value of $X^{\top}(XAX^{\top})^{-1}X$ for large random $X$
Let $X\in \mathbb{R}^{m\times n}$ be a random matrix where the entries are i.i.d. standard normal, and let $A\in \mathbb{R}^{n\times n}$ be a deterministic diagonal matrix with positive entries on the ...
- 161
5
votes
0
answers
130
views
Random process on a sequence of rolls of an $n$-sided die
Let $\ X:=X_{k\,n}\ $ be a random variable of a $n$-sided die where $\Pr(X=i)=\frac{1}{n}$ for each $i\in\{1,2,\ldots,n\},\ $ where $\ k\in\{1, 2, \ldots,n\}\ $ and $\ n\ $ are fixed. Let $t$ be a ...
- 83
5
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Explicit constant for Carbery–Wright inequality
The Carbery–Wright inequality is a seminal result about the anti-concentration of polynomials of Gaussian random variables.
See e.g. Meka, Nguyen, and Vu - Anti-concentration for polynomials of ...
- 111
5
votes
0
answers
797
views
How many balls should we throw into $m$ bins so that at least $k$ bins get at least $r$ balls, with probability $1-\delta$?
Let $m,k,r\in\mathbb N$ and $\delta\in(0,1)$, such that $k\le m$.
Suppose that we throw balls uniformly and independently into $m$ bins.
I am looking for an upper bound $N_{m,k,r,\delta}$ on the ...
- 51
5
votes
0
answers
205
views
Strange inequality relating Binomial pmf and cdf
I'm encountering a strange inequality I need to prove, relating the Binomial pmf and cdf.
Suppose we have $n$ coin flips, and fix an arbitrary $k \le n/2$ heads. Suppose further that we have some ...
- 101
5
votes
0
answers
711
views
Concentration inequality for max component of a multivariate Gaussian in the general case
I am looking to bound the variance of the maximum component of a vector distributed multivariate Gaussian in the general case where the Gaussian distribution has arbitrary mean and full covariance ...
- 283
5
votes
0
answers
523
views
How to obtain the probability distribution of a sum of dependent discrete random variables more efficiently
I hope you are well. Here is my problem.
Let $\{s_0,\,s_1,\ldots,\,s_T\}$ be a sequence of discrete random variables and denote $S_t=s_0+s_1+\cdots+s_t$, with $S_0=0$ and $S_T\leq M$, where $M$ and $T$...
- 173
5
votes
0
answers
204
views
anti-concentration of multi-linear polynomials in Gaussian variables
A Gaussian variable $X_i\sim {\cal N}(0,1)$ is anti-concentrated in the following sense: for any $\epsilon>0$ we have:
$$
\mathbf{P}( |X_i| \leq \epsilon ) = O(\epsilon).
$$
Hence if we consider a ...
- 445
5
votes
0
answers
149
views
Distribution of Random Knots from Braids
Let $R_{2n,l}$ be a random braid word of length $l$, where each letter is chosen uniformly from the braid generators of $B_{2n}$, $\{\sigma_1,\ldots,\sigma_{2n-1},\sigma_1^{-1},\ldots,\sigma_{2n-1}^{-...
- 71
5
votes
0
answers
96
views
Is there a name for the set of distributions whose probability generating functions are Mobius transformations?
Consider a discrete random variable $N\in\mathbb N$ with
$\mathbb P(N=0) = p$,
$\mathbb P(N=n) = (1-p)(1-q)q^n$ for $n\neq 0$.
Then the probability generating function of $N$
$$\mathbb E(z^N) = \...
- 241
5
votes
0
answers
1k
views
Compute the expected value of the next step of a sorted random walk
Here's what I'm thinking about. If you have a random walk (move +1 or -1 at each step) of some fixed length, then if you're at the maximum of the walk, the next step you take is -1 with probability 1. ...
4
votes
0
answers
112
views
MGFs of sum of (Rademacher) independent variables and (hyperbolic/spherical) Pythagorean theorem
Consider a set of iid random variables $X_1, X_2, \ldots$ (distribution to-be-specified later). For real numbers $a_1, a_2, \ldots$ (with $\sum_{k} a_k^2 < \infty$) define
$$X = a_1 X_1 + a_2 X_2 +...
- 637
4
votes
0
answers
142
views
Algebraic area of Brownian half-plane excursion
Is anything known about the distribution of the algebraic area, à la Lévy's stochastic area, of a Brownian excursion in the half-plane? To be precise, letting $x>0$, we consider the path $(X_t,Y_t)...
- 3,927
4
votes
0
answers
143
views
Projection of log-concave distribution on unit sphere surface
Let $\mathbf X : \Omega \to \mathbb R^d$ be a random vector following a zero mean, identity covariance log-concave distribution.
Is there any known upper bound for the probability density function of $...
- 141
4
votes
0
answers
131
views
Log of a truncated binomial
Let $X$ follow a binomial distribution with $n$ trials and success probability $p$, and let $0\leq k\leq n$. Are there any natural approximations or bounds for the ratio $$\frac{\boldsymbol{E}\log\...
- 4,049
4
votes
0
answers
2k
views
Show that $\mathbb{P}[ a V\le Z| V+Z]=\mathbb{P}[aV \ge Z| V+Z] \text{ a.s.} $ iff $V=\frac{1}{\sqrt{a}}Z'$ where $Z'$ is standard normal
Consider a pair of independent random variables $(V,Z)$ where $Z$ is standard normal. Now suppose that the following equality holds: for a given $a>0$
\begin{align}
\mathbb{P}[ a V\le Z| V+Z]=\...
- 671
4
votes
0
answers
144
views
Exponential families closed under affine transformations
Let $(\Omega,\Sigma,\mu)$ be a probability space and let $\mathcal{M}$ be an exponential family of probability distributions for $\mu$ of the following form: There are $\varphi_1,\dots,\varphi_n:\...
- 5,405
4
votes
0
answers
118
views
What is the least compressible probability distribution? (under entropy constraint, for an expected squared error metric)
This is a cross-post from cstheory after a week with no answers/comments; I'm hoping someone here may have some thoughts.
Consider a distribution $\mathcal D$ over the reals, a real parameter $H\in\...
- 618
4
votes
0
answers
96
views
Is this conjecture about the binomial and beta distributions true?
Let $X$ follow a binomial distribution with parameters $n$ and $p$, and also fix $k$ such that $1<k<n$. Define
$$a = \mathbb{E}(X-k)^+$$
and
$$b = \mathbb{E}\log\binom{X}{(X-k)^+}$$
where the ...
4
votes
0
answers
75
views
Marginalization of Wishart distribution
Consider the following Wishart distribution
$$
f({\bf W}) = \frac{ |{\bf W}|^{(n-p-1)/2} \exp\big[-\frac{1}{2}\text{tr}({\bf V}^{-1}{\bf W} ) \big] }{2^{np/2} |{\bf V}| \Gamma_p(\frac{n}{2})} \tag{1}
$...
4
votes
0
answers
146
views
An inequality for three iid random variables with a log-concave density
It was previously shown that
$$H\ge cG,\tag{1}$$
where $c:=1/14334$,
$$G:=E|X-Y|,\quad H:=E|X-Y|-\tfrac12\,E|X+Y-2Z|,$$
and $X,Y,Z$ are independent random variables with the same log-concave density.
...
- 128k
4
votes
0
answers
160
views
Can we show equivalence of two distributions based on their statistics?
Let $p,q$ be two distributions on $\mathbb{R}^d$. Let $f:\mathbb{R}^d\times\mathbb{R}^d\rightarrow\mathbb{R}$. Under what conditions does $\mathbb{E}_{x\sim p}f(x,z)=\mathbb{E}_{x\sim q}f(x,z)\ \...
- 57
4
votes
0
answers
143
views
A possible generalization of Solomonoff's theorem
Assume that $P$ and $Q$ are probability distribution on the binary tree,
i.e. $P$ and $Q$ are functions $\{0,1\}^{*} \to \mathbb{R}$ such that:
for every $x$: $P(x)=P(x0)+P(x1)$ and $P( \text{empty ...
- 2,576
4
votes
0
answers
212
views
A lower bound on the expected sum of Bernoulli random variables given a constraint on its distribution
Given a set of Bernoulli random variables $x_1, \dots, x_n$ (not necessarily identical) with $X= \sum_{0<i\leq n} x_i$, I am intrested in finding a lower-bound for $\frac{\mathbb{E} [ \min (X,k) ]...
- 189
4
votes
0
answers
261
views
Tight bounds for finite de Finetti's theorem
de Finetti's theorem roughly states that infinite sequence of exchangeable random variables are conditionally independent. I am looking for tight bounds for de Finetti's theorem in the following ...
- 763
4
votes
0
answers
100
views
Asymptotics of the joint pdf of two sums of powers of independent $\mathcal U(0,1)$ random variables
As a warm-up in words: The sum of twelve uniform random variables is a classic approximation to a normal distribution. What is the joint pdf for the sum of their cubes and the sum of their fourth ...
- 128k
4
votes
0
answers
228
views
Minimization over a convex function of equal vs unequal success probabilities of Bernoulli random variables
Let $U_1,U_2,\ldots,U_n$ be $n\geq 2$ mutually independent Bernoulli random variables. There are two cases of interest:
$1.$ The random variables $U_1,U_2,\ldots,U_n$ are identically distributed;
$...
- 359