Near-exact distributions for the independence and sphericity likelihood ratio test statistics

In this paper we show how, based on a decomposition of the likelihood ratio test for sphericity into two independent tests and a suitably developed decomposition of the characteristic function of the logarithm of the likelihood ratio test statistic to test independence in a set of variates, we may obtain extremely well-fitting near-exact distributions for both test statistics. Since both test statistics have the distribution of the product of independent Beta random variables, it is possible to obtain near-exact distributions for both statistics in the form of Generalized Near-Integer Gamma distributions or mixtures of these distributions. For the independence test statistic, numerical studies and comparisons with asymptotic distributions proposed by other authors show the extremely high accuracy of the near-exact distributions developed as approximations to the exact distribution. Concerning the sphericity test statistic, comparisons with formerly developed near-exact distributions show the advantages of these new near-exact distributions.     

Hypothesis testing for the common mean of two normal distributions in the presence of an indifference zone

Summary LetX ₁,...,X _m andY _t,...,Y be independent, random samples from populations which are N(θ,σ _x ² ) and N(θ,σ _y ² ), respectively, with all parameters unknown. In testingH ₀:θ=0 againstH ₁:θ≠0, thet-test based upon either sample is known to be admissible in the two-sample setting. If, however, one testsH ₀ againstH ₁:|θ|≧ε>0, with ε arbitrary, our main results show: (i) the construction of a test which is better than the particulart-test chosen, (ii) eacht-test is admissible under the invariance principle with respect to the group of scale changes, and (iii) there does not exist a test which simultaneously is better than botht-tests.     

Connection between the Hadamard and matrix products with an application to matrix-variate Birnbaum-Saunders distributions

In this paper, we establish a connection between the Hadamard product and the usual matrix multiplication. In addition, we study some new properties of the Hadamard product and explore the inverse problem associated with the established connection, which facilitates diverse applications. Furthermore, we propose a matrix-variate generalized Birnbaum-Saunders (GBS) distribution. Three representations of the matrix-variate GBS density are provided, one of them by using the mentioned connection. The main motivation of this article is based on the fact that the representation of the matrix-variate GBS density based on element-by-element specification does not allow matrix transformations. Consequently, some statistical procedures based on this representation, such as multivariate data analysis and statistical shape theory, cannot be performed. For this reason, the primary goal of this work is to obtain a matrix representation of the matrix-variate GBS density that is useful for some statistical applications. When the GBS density is expressed by means of a matrix representation based on the Hadamard product, such a density is defined in terms of the original matrices, as is common for many matrix-variate distributions, allowing matrix transformations to be handled in a natural way and then suitable statistical procedures to be developed.     

Characterization of the normal distribution by constant regression of quadratic statistics on linear statistics

This paper contains applications of theorems of [1] for quadratic statistics which have constant regression on linear statistics. Two theorems are proved. The first is a sufficient condition which assumes that the characteristic function of a sample is an entire function. The second gives a new characterization of the normal distribution.     

Stochastic comparisons of order statistics from gamma distributions

Let (X₁,X₂,…,X_n) and (Y₁,Y₂,…,Y_n) be gamma random vectors with common shape parameter α(0<α?1) and scale parameters (λ₁,λ₂,…,λ_n), (μ₁,μ₂,…,μ_n), respectively. Let X₍₎=(X₍₁₎,X₍₂₎,…,X_(n)), Y₍₎=(Y₍₁₎,Y₍₂₎,…,Y_(n)) be the order statistics of (X₁,X₂,…,X_n) and (Y₁,Y₂,…,Y_n). Then (λ₁,λ₂,…,λ_n) majorizes (μ₁,μ₂,…,μ_n) implies that X₍₎ is stochastically larger than Y₍₎. However if the common shape parameter α>1, we can only compare the the first- and last-order statistics. Some earlier results on stochastically comparing proportional hazard functions are shown to be special cases of our results.     

A new class of bivariate distributions and its mixture

A new class of bivariate distributions is presented in this paper. The procedure used in this paper is based on a latent random variable with exponential distribution. The model introduced here is of Marshall-Olkin type. A mixture of the proposed bivariate distributions is also discussed. The results obtained here generalize those of the bivariate exponential distribution present in the literature.     

Distributions of order statistics and linear combinations of order statistics from an elliptical distribution as mixtures of unified skew-elliptical distributions

We consider here the distributions of order statistics and linear combinations of order statistics from an elliptical distribution. We show that these distributions can be expressed as mixtures of unified skew-elliptical distributions, and then use these mixture representations to derive their moment generating functions and moments, when they exist.     

Linear combination of concomitants of order statistics with application to testing and estimation

Summary Let (X ₁,Y ₁), (X ₂,Y ₂),…, (X _n,Y _n) be i.i.d. as (X, Y). TheY-variate paired with therth orderedX-variateX _rn is denoted byY _rn and terms the concomitant of therth order statistic. Statistics of the form are considered. The asymptotic normality ofT _n is established. The asymptotic results are used to test univariate and bivariate normality, to test independence and linearity ofX andY, and to estimate regression coefficient based on complete and censored samples.     

Pseudo-inverse multivariate/matrix-variate distributions

The Moore-Penrose inverse of a singular or nonsquare matrix is not only existent but also unique. In this paper, we derive the Jacobian of the transformation from such a matrix to the transpose of its Moore-Penrose inverse. Using this Jacobian, we investigate the distribution of the Moore-Penrose inverse of a random matrix and propose the notion of pseudo-inverse multivariate/matrix-variate distributions. For arbitrary multivariate or matrix-variate distributions, we can develop the corresponding pseudo-inverse distributions. In particular, we present pseudo-inverse multivariate normal distributions, pseudo-inverse Dirichlet distributions, pseudo-inverse matrix-variate normal distributions and pseudo-inverse Wishart distributions.     

The distribution of product of independent beta random variables with application to multivariate analysis

Summary Schatzoff [9] obtained the forms of the probability density function (pdf) and the cumulative distribution function (cdf) of the product of independent beta random variables when their parameters had some special values. The forms, however, did not indicate the constants explicitly. In this paper his approach is modified so as to allow presentation of explicit expressions for the pdf and cdf of the product of independent beta random variables (without restriction to the values of the parameters) in neat forms. Applications in multivariate analysis are given for the central and the non-central cases. Research supported by the National Research Council of Canada, No. A-4060.     

On Mardia's and Song's measures of kurtosis in elliptical distributions

The main objective of this paper is the calculation and the comparative study of two general measures of multivariate kurtosis, namely Mardia's measure β_2,p and Song's measure S(f). In this context, general formulas for the said measures are derived for the broad family of the elliptically contoured symmetric distributions and also for specific members of this family, like the multivariate t-distribution, the multivariate Pearson type II, the multivariate Pearson type VII, the multivariate symmetric Kotz type distribution and the uniform distribution in the unit sphere. Analytic expressions for computing Shannon and Rényi entropies are obtained under the elliptic family. The behaviour of Mardia's and Song's measures, their similarities and differences, possible interpretations and uses in practice are investigated by comparing them in specific members of the elliptic family of multivariate distributions. An empirical estimator of Song's measure is moreover proposed and its asymptotic distribution is investigated under the elliptic family of multivariate distributions.     

A multivariate skew normal distribution

In this paper, we define a new class of multivariate skew-normal distributions. Its properties are studied. In particular we derive its density, moment generating function, the first two moments and marginal and conditional distributions. We illustrate the contours of a bivariate density as well as conditional expectations. We also give an extension to construct a general multivariate skew normal distribution.