All Questions
66 questions
20
votes
1
answer
2k
views
How rich is the richest person in a society satisfying the Pareto principle?
The Pareto Principle roughly states that in many societies, the top 20% of people hold over 80% of the wealth. Suppose we had a society that satisfied this principle in every stratum of society - how ...
- 6,215
7
votes
2
answers
706
views
Poisson binomial conjecture
Let $X_i\in\{0,1\}$
be mutually independent and distributed according to $\mathrm{Bernoulli}(p_i)$
and similarly, $Y_i\sim\mathrm{Bernoulli}(q_i)$,
for some parameters $p,q\in[0,1]^n$. Put $X:=\sum_{i=...
- 6,541
0
votes
0
answers
73
views
Asymptotic stochastic ordering for weighted sum of i.i.d. random variables
Are you aware of any literature focusing on the conditions such that for two i.i.d. sequences of discrete r.v.'s $\{X_n\}$ and $\{Y_n\}$,
\begin{equation}
a_1X_1+a_2X_2+\ldots+a_nX_n\geq_1 a_1Y_1+...
- 19
1
vote
1
answer
187
views
Bound the distance between two vectors on the probability simplex
Let $a,b$ be two vectors with strictly positive elements and $\delta = 1 - \frac{\langle a,b \rangle}{\|a\|\|b\|}$. Bound the following optimization problem as a function of $\delta$
$$\sup_{x>0} \...
- 135
3
votes
0
answers
125
views
Extracting moments of $\max(X_1,\ldots,X_k)$ from asymptotic behavior of $\mathbb{E}[(X_1^n+\cdots+X_k^n)^m]$
For fixed $k$ suppose we have $X_1,\ldots,X_k$ non-negative random variables with density functions.
Setting a): We know $\mathbb{E}[(X_1^n+\cdots+X_k^n)^m]$ exactly for any integers $n,m \in \mathbb{...
- 1,295
14
votes
1
answer
416
views
Lipschitz property of the determinant
$\newcommand{\A}{\mathcal A}\newcommand{\Tr}{\operatorname{tr}}$For $c$ and $C$ such that $0<c<C<\infty$, let $\A_{d;c,C}$ denote the set of all symmetric positive-definite real $d\times d$ ...
- 128k
4
votes
1
answer
424
views
An exercise on log-concave random variable on the real line
Let $X$ be a real random variable with log-concave density $f$. Assume that $E(X) =0$ and $E(X^2)=1$.
Show that there is a universal (independent of $X$) constant $c>0$ such that:
$$P(X\in[-1/2;0])\...
- 245
0
votes
1
answer
61
views
What can we say about the order of convergence of a critical point of Gaussian mixture density to its limit when the parameter $h$ goes to $0?$
Density of Gaussian mixture with $n$ components is given by:
$$f(x):=C \sum_{i=1}^{n}e^{-\frac{1}{2}||\frac{x-x_i}{h}||^2}, x_i \in \mathbb{R}^d, h > 0$$
where $C$ is a normalization constant ...
- 1,467
3
votes
2
answers
206
views
Getting Wasserstein closeness from a derivative estimate
In my setting, $\mu$ and $\nu$ are probability measures on $\mathbb{R}^{2}$ with compact support. For any function $f\in{C^{2}_{b}(\mathbb{R}^{2})}$, I have the estimate:
$$
|\mathbb{E}_{\mu}(f)-\...
- 662
0
votes
1
answer
105
views
Transforming two smooth densities to the same density
I am looking for an example of the following:
Find a bijective, differentiable function $f$ and continuous probability density functions $q_1\ne q_2$ such that $f_*q_1=p=f_*q_2$, where $f_*$ is the ...
- 5
1
vote
1
answer
125
views
Approximation of two densities with a single transformation
Let $p_1$ and $p_2$ be two probability densities and $X_i\sim N(\mu_i,\Sigma_i)$. Write $w(X)\sim p$ if the law of the random variable $w(X)$ has a density equal to $p$. For general densities $p_i$, ...
- 63
0
votes
1
answer
296
views
When can a convolution be written as a change of variables?
Suppose $X$ is a random variable with a density $f(x)$ such that $f(x)$ is a convolution of some density $g$ with some other density $q$:
$$
f = g\ast q.
$$
Under what conditions does $X=h(Y)$, where $...
- 5
8
votes
0
answers
422
views
Non-affine smooth transformation of Gaussian is Gaussian
Suppose $Z\sim N(0,1)$ (standard Gaussian) and $f: \mathbb{R} \to \mathbb{R}$ is a differentiable function such that $f(Z)\sim N(0,1)$. My question is whether there exists any such $f$ other than $f(x)...
- 399
3
votes
1
answer
142
views
How does the integral of pseudo Gaussian kernel on $(0,\infty)$ depend on its variance?
Let $a, b: \mathbb R_+ \to [0,1]$ be continuous functions. Let $k: \mathbb R_+\times\mathbb R \to [1,2]$ be $1-$Lipschitz. Set, for $0<s<t$ and $y>0$,
$$A(s,t,y):=\int_s^t\frac{k(u,y)}{1+a(u)}...
user478492
0
votes
0
answers
84
views
Determining the tails of a convolution from its behavior on a compact set
Let $p$ be a smooth (say, $C^\infty$, but this is not crucial) density on the interval $I=[0,1]$ and $g_\sigma$ be the density of $N(0,\sigma^2)$. Define $f=p\ast g_\sigma$. To what extent does the ...
- 19
1
vote
0
answers
100
views
Exponential decay of a random matrix falling into a ball
Let $A=U\Sigma V^T\in\mathbb{R}^{n\times n}$ be a random matrix defined in the following way: $U,V$ are uniformly distributed on the orthogonal group $O(n)$, $\Sigma$ is a diagonal matrix such that ...
- 1,495
2
votes
0
answers
192
views
Convergence of Gibbs distribution to Dirac measure [closed]
Consider the probability density function on $R^d$ for a continuous function $F: R^d \to R$:
$$
q_{\varepsilon}(x) = \frac{1}{Z} \exp\left(-\frac{1}{\varepsilon} F(x)\right).
$$
Denote $x^* = \arg \...
- 31
-1
votes
1
answer
74
views
Example(s) where replacing a multivariate, discrete RV with a single, univariate RV fail
Let $X_1,\ldots,X_n,Y,Z$ be $n+2$ binary random variables and define $X=(X_1,\ldots,X_n)$. In most problems, instead of treating $X$ as $n$ distinct binary random variables, there is no loss of ...
- 1
3
votes
1
answer
246
views
How well can we approximate a given continuous random variable by a weighted sum of several i.i.d uniform variables?
Consider a continuous random variable $X$ with the compact support $[0,1]$. For given $N\in\mathbb{N}$, we define the weighted sum as
$$
S_N=\sum_{i=1}^N a_iU_i,
$$
where $U_i$ are i.i.d. random ...
- 550
2
votes
1
answer
154
views
Smooth conditional expectation with nonsmooth "reverse"
I am looking for a concrete example of the following: $(X,Y)$ are real-valued random variables such that:
$E[Y|X]$ is smooth
$E[X|Y]$ is discontinuous
Even better, I'd like to see an example where ...
- 23
7
votes
1
answer
259
views
Normal distribution by successive approximation?
$\newcommand\R{\mathbb R}\newcommand\la\lambda$It is well known and easy to see that the rotationally invariant
product of two probability measures on $\R$ has to be a Gaussian (or Dirac) measure; see ...
- 128k
10
votes
2
answers
488
views
A functional equation involving the inverse function
$\newcommand\ep\epsilon\newcommand\R{\mathbb R}$Let $P$ denote the set of all continuous probability density functions (pdf's) $p$ on $\R$ vanishing at $\pm\infty$. Let us say that a pdf $p\in P$ is ...
- 128k
0
votes
1
answer
141
views
Arbitrarily bad rates of convergence in Wasserstein metric
Suppose $W_p(\mu_n,\mu)\to 0$ and $d(E(\mu_n),E(\mu))<r_n$. Here, $W_p$ is the $p$th-order Wasserstein distance (with respect to the metric $d$) and $\mu_n,\mu$ are probability measures on some ...
- 13
0
votes
1
answer
582
views
Integrability of $\int \log(f(x)) f(x) dx$ for a probability density function $f$
I am looking for weak conditions when a probability density function $f$ on $\mathbb{R}^d$ has a finite integral
$$
\int_{\mathbb{R}^d} \log(f(x)) f(x) dx.
$$
Any references would be appreciated.
- 3
0
votes
1
answer
159
views
Best bounds on the integral of an increasing function
The following question, somewhat edited here, was asked and then closed at The best bound of the integral of a nondecreasing real function in a closed interval.
Let $F\colon[0,1]\to[0,1]$ be a ...
- 128k
1
vote
1
answer
266
views
Decomposition of the sum of nonnegative random variables [closed]
Non-necessarily independent random variables $X_1,~X_2,~\cdots,~X_n$ are supported on $[0,a_1],~[0,a_2],~\cdots,[0,a_n]$ and with mean values $\mu_1,~\cdots,~\mu_n$ respectively, where all $a_i$ and $\...
- 550
2
votes
1
answer
265
views
A random variable whose characteristic function decreases the fastest
A random variable $X$ is "good" for $(a_0, b_0) \in (0,1)^2$ if its characteristic function $\varphi_X(t)$ satisfies the following constraints:
$\forall t : \varphi_X(t) \geq 0$.
$\varphi_X$...
- 53
3
votes
1
answer
983
views
About the metrizability of the space of Probability measures $\mathcal{P}(S)$
It is often proved in Books that the space of Probability measures $\mathcal{P}(S)$ on a Polish metric space $(S,\rho)$ endowed with the weak/narrow topology induced by declaring it to be be the ...
- 309
3
votes
1
answer
335
views
Reversing the order of conditioning in a sum to compare conditional variances
Suppose $Z=X+Y$ where $X$ is independent of $Y$ and $Y\sim N(0,1)$. I would like to compare $\text{var}(E(X|Z))$ to $\text{var}(E(Z|X))$. Obviously, $\text{var}(E(Z|X))=\text{var}(X)$.
In particular, ...
0
votes
1
answer
86
views
Integral rising from difference of chi-squared random variables
Let $X,Y$ be independent random variables such that $X\sim\chi_{n-1}^{2}, Y\sim\chi_{1}^{2}$ are chi-squared distributed (where $n\geq2$ is a natural number). I am trying to evaluate $\mathbb{P}[X\leq ...
- 109
9
votes
1
answer
556
views
A non-recursive, explicit formula for the Fabius function
The Fabius function $F\colon\mathbb R\to[-1,1]$ may be defined as the unique solution of the functional integral equation
$F(x)=\int_0^{2x}F(t)\,dt$ for all real $x$ such that $F(1)=1$.
The recent ...
- 128k
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
2
votes
1
answer
636
views
Sufficient condition for function of conditional probability density to be increasing
Let $Y$ and $W$ be two jointly distributed random variables; $Y$ takes values on $(y_1,y_2)$ and $W$ takes values on $(w_1,w_2)$. The conditional probability density of $W$ given $Y$ is given by $f_{W|...
- 143
2
votes
0
answers
208
views
On the difference of conditional differential entropy of two correlated random variables
Problem Definition
Let $\mathbf{G}$ and $\mathbf{S}$ be jointly distributed random variables where
$\mathbf{S}$ is continuous and is related to $\mathbf{G}$ through a conditional pdf $f(s|g)$ defined ...
- 31
8
votes
2
answers
891
views
Differentiating an integral that grows like log asymptotically
Suppose I have a continuous function $f(x)$ that is non-increasing and always stays between $0$ and $1$, and it is known that
$$ \int_0^t f(x) dx = \log t + o(\log t), \qquad t \to \infty.$$
...
- 205
3
votes
1
answer
209
views
Log concavity of the maximum of dependent Gaussians
Let $Z_1,\dots,Z_n$ be dependent Gaussian random variables. Is it true that $X=\max\{Z_1,\dots,Z_n\}$ has a log-concave distribution function? This is true for the independent case, but is it true in ...
- 2,288
3
votes
1
answer
461
views
Bounding the "spikiness" of a probability distribution
Are there any well-known conditions that guarantee that a probability distribution isn't too "spiky"?
I ask this question because I am interested in the families of probability distributions $f(x)$ ...
- 4,049
3
votes
1
answer
113
views
maximum likelihood estimation of X is better than that of f(X)?
Consider a binary variable $C$ with $\Pr(C=0)=\Pr(C=1)=0.5$. Consider a random vector $X \in \mathbb{R}^d$, characterized by $C$, with PDF $p_m(x)$, $m\in\{0,1\}$. Define a maximum likelihood (ML) ...
- 482
1
vote
1
answer
357
views
Does CLT hold for joint distribution of two dependent binomial variables?
Let $S_n$ and $T_m$ be two binomial variables satisfying $S_n\sim B(n,\frac12)$ and $T_m\sim B(m,\frac12)$. Define $\tilde{S}_n=\frac{2S_n-n}{\sqrt{n}}$ and define $\tilde{T}_m$ similarly. For any ...
- 111
2
votes
1
answer
71
views
Distances between probability distributions by the variance of the test functions
Let $P$ and $Q$ be two probability distributions on $\mathbb{R}$. The goal is to obtain a notion of ``distance'' between $P$ and $Q$, e.g., total variation distance, K-L divergence.
Let $f\colon \...
- 1,127
4
votes
0
answers
95
views
Approximating martingales given marginal distributions
Let $(\mu_0,\mu_1)$ be a vector of probability measures on $\mathbb R$ that are of finite first moment, i.e.
$$\int_{\mathbb{R}}|x|\mu_i(dx)~<~+\infty \mbox{ for } i=0,1$$
and increasing in ...
- 1,835
2
votes
0
answers
63
views
Sensitivity of a function against its random arguments
Let $g:R^{n+m} \to R$ be a deterministic function of some independent random variables $x_1,\ldots,x_n$ with distributions $f_{x_1}(x),\ldots,f_{x_n}(x)$ and some deterministic variables $z_1,\ldots,...
- 482
1
vote
0
answers
447
views
Largest possible variance for log-concave distributions on a bounded interval
Let $f$ be the density of a log-concave probability distribution on the interval $[0,1]$ (with respect to Lebesgue measure). To be concrete, suppose that $f(x) = \exp( - \varphi(x))$, for some convex ...
- 251
2
votes
1
answer
207
views
Expectation of Truncated Bivariate Gaussian Random Variables
Suppose $Z , \epsilon \sim N(0, 1)$ are independent Gaussian random variables. Let $a \ll 1$ be a small positive number. Let $W = aZ + \epsilon$. It can be show that
\begin{align}
\mathbb{E} [ W^2 (Z^...
- 1,127
3
votes
1
answer
188
views
Equivalent Definitions of the Gaussian Surface Measure for Regular Sets
I wonder if the following definitions of the Gaussian surface measure are equivalent.
First, let $\mathbb{R}^n$ be the Euclidean space and $A \subseteq \mathbb{R}^n$ be a sufficiently regular set, e....
- 1,127
2
votes
1
answer
216
views
Ask for a special function related to the error function
I am wondering whether anyone knows the following integration has a named special function or a reference
$$
F_{a,b}(z) :=\frac{2}{\sqrt{\pi}} \int_0^z \text{erf}(a+b y)\: e^{-y^2} \text{d}y
$$
for ...
- 1,649
1
vote
1
answer
166
views
Question abouth Skorokhod representation of random variables (II)
This is a continuation of
Question abouth Skorokhod representation of random variables
Let $\mu$ and $\nu$ be two probability measures on $\mathbb R$ such that
$$\int_{\mathbb R}|x|^pd\mu(x),~ \...
- 1,835
3
votes
1
answer
304
views
Question abouth Skorokhod representation of random variables
It is known that for any two probability measures $\mu$ and $\nu$ on $\mathbb R$ that are close in the Prokhorov metric $\rho$, i.e.
$$\rho(\mu,\nu)<\varepsilon,$$
then there exist two random ...
- 1,835
6
votes
2
answers
378
views
Slight variation on law of the iterated logarithm
Let$$M_t = \max\{B_s : 0 \le s \le t\},\text{ }m_t = \min\{B_s : 0 \le s \le t\},$$where $B_t$ is a standard Brownian motion. My question is, does there exist $r$ such that with probability one,$$\...
user80013
2
votes
1
answer
571
views
Extension of Dynkin's formula, conclude that process is a martingale
This question was asked here, but it did not get enough attention, so I'm crossposting it to MO.
Let $u: \mathbb{R}_+ \times \mathbb{R}^d$ be a bounded $C^2$ function whose first and second partial ...
user61522