On improved estimators of the generalized variance

Treated in this paper is the problem of estimating with squared error loss the generalized variance | Σ | from a Wishart random matrix S: p × p W_p(n, Σ) and an independent normal random matrix X: p × k N(ξ, Σ I_k) with ξ(p × k) unknown. Denote the columns of X by X₍₁₎ ,…, X_(k) and set ψ⁽⁰⁾(S, X) = {(n − p + 2)!/(n + 2)!} | S |, ψ⁽ⁱ⁾(X, X) = min[ψ⁽ⁱ⁻¹⁾(S, X), {(n − p + i + 2)!/(n + i + 2)!} | S + X₍₁₎ X′₍₁₎ + + X_(i) X′_(i) |] and Ψ⁽ⁱ⁾(S, X) = min[ψ⁽⁰⁾(S, X), {(n − p + i + 2)!/(n + i + 2)!}| S + X₍₁₎ X′₍₁₎ + + X_(i) X′_(i) |], i = 1,…,k. Our result is that the minimax, best affine equivariant estimator ψ⁽⁰⁾(S, X) is dominated by each of Ψ⁽ⁱ⁾(S, X), i = 1,…,k and for every i, ψ⁽ⁱ⁾(S, X) is better than ψ⁽ⁱ⁻¹⁾(S, X). In particular, ψ^(k)(S, X) = min[{(n − p + 2)!/(n + 2)!} | S |, {(n − p + 2)!/(n + 2)!} | S + X₍₁₎X′₍₁₎|,…,| {(n − p + k + 2)!/(n + k + 2)!} | S + X₍₁₎X′₍₁₎ + + X_(k)X′_(k)|] dominates all other ψ's. It is obtained by considering a multivariate extension of Stein's result (Ann. Inst. Statist. Math. 16, 155–160 (1964)) on the estimation of the normal variance.     

An asymptotic minimax risk bound for estimation of a linear functional relationship

We consider estimation of the parameter B in a multivariate linear functional relationship X_i=ξ_i+ξ_1i, Y_i=Bξ_i+ξ_2i, i=1,…,n, where the errors (ζ_1i^′, ζ_2i^′) are independent standard normal and (ξ_i, i ) is a sequence of unknown nonrandom vectors (incidental parameters). If there are no substantial a priori restrictions on the infinite sequence of incidental parameters then asymptotically the model is nonparametric but does not fit into common settings presupposing a parameter from a metric function space. A special result of the local asymptotic minimax type for the m.1.e. of B is proved. The accuracy of the normal approximation for the m.l.e. of order n^−1/2 is also established.     

On the conditional probability density functions of multivariate uniform random vectors and multivariate normal random vectors

It is shown that the conditional probability density function of Y₁ given (1/n) Σ_i=1ⁿ Y_i=1Y_i^t = Σ, where Y₁, Y₂,…, Y_n are i.i.d, p-variate uniform random vectors with mean 0 equals to that of Y₁ given (1/n) Σ_i=1ⁿ Y_iY_i^t,…, Y_n are i.i.d, p-variate normal random vectors with mean 0 and covariance matrix Σ.     

Continuous mappings on subspaces of products with the κ-box topology

Much of General Topology addresses this issue: Given a function fC(Y,Z) with YY^′ and ZZ^′, find , or at least , such that ; sometimes Z=Z^′ is demanded. In this spirit the authors prove several quite general theorems in the context Y^′=(X_I)_κ=∏_iIX_i in the κ-box topology (that is, with basic open sets of the form ∏_iIU_i with U_i open in X_i and with U_i≠X_i for <κ-many iI). A representative sample result, extending to the κ-box topology some results of Comfort and Negrepontis, of Noble and Ulmer, and of Hušek, is this. Theorem Let ωκα (that means: κ<α, and [β<α and λ<κ]β^λ<α) with α regular, be a set of non-empty spaces with each d(X_i)<α, π[Y]=X_J for each non-empty JI such that |J|<α, and the diagonal in Z be the intersection of <α-many regular-closed subsets of Z×Z. Then (a) Y is pseudo-(α,α)-compact, (b) for every fC(Y,Z) there is J[I]^<α such that f(x)=f(y) whenever x_J=y_J, and (c) every such f extends to .     

Prophet regions and sharp inequalities for pth absolute moments of martingales

Exact comparisons are made relating E|Y₀|^p, E|Y_n−1|^p, and E(max_j≤n−1 |Y_j|^p), valid for all martingales Y₀,…,Y_n−1, for each p ≥ 1. Specifically, for p > 1, the set of ordered triples {(x, y, z) : X = E|Y₀|^p, Y = E |Y_n−1|^p, and Z = E(max_j≤n−1 |Y_j|^p) for some martingale Y₀,…,Y_n−1} is precisely the set {(x, y, z) : 0≤x≤y≤z≤Ψ_n,p(x, y)}, where Ψ_n,p(x, y) = xψ_n,p(y/x) if x > 0, and = a_n−1,py if x = 0; here ψ_n,p is a specific recursively defined function. The result yields families of sharp inequalities, such as E(max_j≤n−1 |Y_j|^p) + ψ_n,p^*(a) E |Y₀|^p ≤ aE |Y_n−1|^p, valid for all martingales Y₀,…,Y_n−1, where ψ_n,p^* is the concave conjugate function of ψ_n,p. Both the finite sequence and infinite sequence cases are developed. Proofs utilize moment theory, induction, conjugate function theory, and functional equation analysis.     

Consistency of a recursive nearest neighbor regression function estimate

Let (X, Y) be an ^d × -valued random vector and let (X₁, Y₁),…,(X_N, Y_N) be a random sample drawn from its distribution. Divide the data sequence into disjoint blocks of length l₁, …, l_n, find the nearest neighbor to X in each block and call the corresponding couple (X_i^*, Y_i^*). It is shown that the estimate m_n(X) = Σ_{i = 1}ⁿ w_niY_i^*/Σ_{i = 1}ⁿ w_ni of m(X) = E{Y|X} satisfies E{|m_n(X) − m(X)|^p} 0 (p ≥ 1) whenever E{|Y|^p} < ∞, l_n ∞, and the triangular array of positive weights {w_ni} satisfies sup_{i ≤ n}w_ni/Σ_{i = 1}ⁿ w_ni 0. No other restrictions are put on the distribution of (X, Y). Also, some distribution-free results for the strong convergence of E{|m_n(X) − m(X)|^p|X₁, Y₁,…, X_N, Y_N} to zero are included. Finally, an application to the discrimination problem is considered, and a discrimination rule is exhibited and shown to be strongly Bayes risk consistent for all distributions.     

L1-optimal estimates for a regression type function in R

Let X₁, X₂, …, X_n be random vectors that take values in a compact set in R^d, d ≥ 1. Let Y₁, Y₂, …, Y_n be random variables (“the responses”) which conditionally on X₁ = x₁, …, X_n = x_n are independent with densities f(y | x_i, θ(x_i)), i = 1, …, n. Assuming that θ lives in a sup-norm compact space Θ_q,d of real valued functions, an optimal L₁-consistent estimator of θ is constructed via empirical measures. The rate of convergence of the estimator to the true parameter θ depends on Kolmogorov's entropy of Θ_q,d.     

Global nonparametric estimation of conditional quantile functions and their derivatives

Let (X, Y) be a random vector such that X is d-dimensional, Y is real valued, and θ(X) is the conditional αth quantile of Y given X, where α is a fixed number such that 0 < α < 1. Assume that θ is a smooth function with order of smoothness p > 0, and set r = (p − m)/(2p + d), where m is a nonnegative integer smaller than p. Let T(θ) denote a derivative of θ of order m. It is proved that there exists estimate of T(θ), based on a set of i.i.d. observations (X₁, Y₁), …, (X_n, Y_n), that achieves the optimal nonparametric rate of convergence n^−r in L_q-norms (1 ≤ q < ∞) restricted to compacts under appropriate regularity conditions. Further, it has been shown that there exists estimate of T(θ) that achieves the optimal rate (n/log n)^−r in L_∞-norm restricted to compacts.     

A sufficient condition for pairing problem of generators in symmetrizable Kac–Moody algebras

In a symmetrizable Kac–Moody algebra g(A), let α=∑_i=1ⁿk_iα_i be an imaginary root satisfying k_i>0 and α,α_i<0 for i=1,2,…,n. In this paper, it is proved that for any x_αg_α{0}, satisfying [x_α,f_n]≠0 and [x_α,f_i]=0 for i=1,2,…,n−1, there exists a vector y such that the subalgebra generated by x_α and y contains g′(A), the derived subalgebra of g(A).     

Minimax estimation of the mean of spherically symmetric distributions under general quadratic loss

For X one observation on a p-dimensional (p ≥ 4) spherically symmetric (s.s.) distribution about θ, minimax estimators whose risks dominate the risk of X (the best invariant procedure) are found with respect to general quadratic loss, L(δ, θ) = (δ − θ)′ D(δ − θ) where D is a known p × p positive definite matrix. For C a p × p known positive definite matrix, conditions are given under which estimators of the form δ_a,r,C,D(X) = (I − (ar(|X|²)) D^−1/2CD^1/2 |X|⁻²)X are minimax with smaller risk than X. For the problem of estimating the mean when n observations X₁, X₂, …, X_n are taken on a p-dimensional s.s. distribution about θ, any spherically symmetric translation invariant estimator, δ(X₁, X₂, …, X_n), with have a s.s. distribution about θ. Among the estimators which have these properties are best invariant estimators, sample means and maximum likelihood estimators. Moreover, under certain conditions, improved robust estimators can be found.     

Polynomial Projections inC[−1, 1] andL(−1, 1) with Growthn, 0<γ1/2

Forγ(0, 1/2] we constructn-dimensional polynomial subspacesY_nofC[−1, 1] andL¹(−1, 1) such that the relative projection constantsλ(Y_n, C[−1, 1]) andλ(Y_n, L¹(−1, 1)) grow asn^γ. These subspaces are spanned by Chebyshev polynomials of the first and second kind, respectively. The spacesL¹_{w(α, β}wherew_{α, β}is the weight function of the Jacobi polynomials and (α, β){(−1/2, −1/2), (−1/2, 0), (0, −1/2)} are also studied.     

Some properties of BLUE in a linear model and canonical correlations associated with linear transformations

Let (x, Xβ, V) be a linear model and let A′ = (A′₁, A′₂) be a p × p nonsingular matrix such that A₂X = 0, Rank A₂ = p − Rank X. We represent the BLUE and its covariance matrix in alternative forms under the conditions that the number of unit canonical correlations between y₁ ( = A₁x) and y₂ ( = A₂x) is zero. For the second problem, let x′ = (x′₁, x′₂) and let a g-inverse V⁻ of V be written as (V⁻)′ = (A′₁, A′₂). We investigate the reations (if any) between the nonzero canonical correlations {1 ₁ … ₁ > 0} due to y₁ ( = A₁x) and y₂ ( = A₂x), and the nonzero canonical correlations {1 λ₁ … λ_v+r > 0} due to x₁ and x₂. We answer some of the questions raised by Latour et al. (1987, in Proceedings, 2nd Int. Tampere Conf. Statist. (T. Pukkila and S. Puntanen, Eds.), Univ. of Tampere, Finland) in the case of the Moore-Penrose inverse V⁺ = (A′₁, A′₂) of V.     

On the evaluation of the Eigenvalues of a banded toeplitz block matrix

Let A = (a_ij) be an n × n Toeplitz matrix with bandwidth k + 1, K = r + s, that is, a_ij = a_j−i, i, J = 1,… ,n, a_i = 0 if i > s and if i < -r. We compute p(λ)= det(A - λI), as well as p(λ)/p′(λ), where p′(λ) is the first derivative of p(λ), by using O(k log k log n) arithmetic operations. Moreover, if a_i are m × m matrices, so that A is a banded Toeplitz block matrix, then we compute p(λ), as well as p(λ)/p′(λ), by using O(m³k(log² k + log n) + m²k log k log n) arithmetic operations. The algorithms can be extended to the computation of det(A − λB) and of its first derivative, where both A and B are banded Toeplitz matrices. The algorithms may be used as a basis for iterative solution of the eigenvalue problem for the matrix A and of the generalized eigenvalue problem for A and B.     

A full-invariant theorem and some applications

Let (X,τ₁) and (Y,τ₂) be two Hausdorff locally convex spaces with continuous duals X′ and Y′, respectively, L(X,Y) be the space of all continuous linear operators from X into Y, K(X,Y) be the space of all compact operators of L(X,Y). Let WOT and UOT be the weak operator topology and uniform operator topology on K(X,Y), respectively. In this paper, we characterize a full-invariant property of K(X,Y); that is, if the sequence space λ has the signed-weak gliding hump property, then each λ-multiplier WOT-convergent series ∑_iT_i in K(X,Y) must be λ-multiplier convergent with respect to all topologies between WOT and UOT if and only if each continuous linear operator T :(X,τ₁)→(λ^β,σ(λ^β,λ)) is compact. It follows from this result that the converse of Kalton's Orlicz–Pettis theorem is also true.     

Schur functions and the invariant polynomials characterizing U(n) tensor operators

We give a direct formulation of the invariant polynomials _μG_q⁽ⁿ⁾(, Δ_i,;, x_{i,i + 1},) characterizing U(n) tensor operators p, q, …, q, 0, …, 0 in terms of the symmetric functions S_λ known as Schur functions. To this end, we show after the change of variables Δ_i = γ_i − δ_i and x_{i, i + 1} = δ_i − δ_{i + 1} that_μG_q⁽ⁿ⁾(,Δ_i;, x_{i, i + 1},) becomes an integral linear combination of products of Schur functions S_α(, γ_i,) · S_β(, δ_i,) in the variables {γ₁,…, γ_n} and {δ₁,…, δ_n}, respectively. That is, we give a direct proof that _μG_q⁽ⁿ⁾(,Δ_i,;, x_{i, i + 1},) is a bisymmetric polynomial with integer coefficients in the variables {γ₁,…, γ_n} and {δ₁,…, δ_n}. By making further use of basic properties of Schur functions such as the Littlewood-Richardson rule, we prove several remarkable new symmetries for the yet more general bisymmetric polynomials _μ^mG_q⁽ⁿ⁾(γ₁,…, γ_n; δ₁,…, δ_m). These new symmetries enable us to give an explicit formula for both _μ^mG₁⁽ⁿ⁾(γ; δ) and ₁G₂⁽ⁿ⁾(γ; δ). In addition, we describe both algebraic and numerical integration methods for deriving general polynomial formulas for _μ^mG_q⁽ⁿ⁾(γ; δ).     

A note on the largest eigenvalue of a large dimensional sample covariance matrix

Let {v_ij; i, J = 1, 2, …} be a family of i.i.d. random variables with E(v₁₁⁴) = ∞. For positive integers p, n with p = p(n) and p/n → y > 0 as n → ∞, let M_n = (1/n) V_n V_n^T , where V_n = (v_ij)_{1 ≤ i ≤ p, 1 ≤ j ≤ n}, and let λ_max(n) denote the largest eigenvalue of M_n. It is shown that a.s. This result verifies the boundedness of E(v₁₁⁴) to be the weakest condition known to assure the almost sure convergence of λ_max(n) for a class of sample covariance matrices.     

I.i.d. representations for the bivariate product limit estimators and the bootstrap versions

Let F(s, t) = P(X > s, Y > t) be the bivariate survival function which is subject to random censoring. Let be the bivariate product limit estimator (PL-estimator) by Campbell and Földes (1982, Proceedings International Colloquium on Non-parametric Statistical Inference, Budapest 1980, North-Holland, Amsterdam). In this paper, it was shown that

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, where {ζ_i(s, t)} is i.i.d. mean zero process and R_n(s, t) is of the order O((n⁻¹log n)^3/4) a.s. uniformly on compact sets. Weak convergence of the process {n⁻¹ Σ_{i = 1}ⁿ ζ_i(s, t)} to a two-dimensional-time Gaussian process is shown. The covariance structure of the limiting Gaussian process is also given. Corresponding results are also derived for the bootstrap estimators. The result can be extended to the multivariate cases and are extensions of the univariate case of Lo and Singh (1986, Probab. Theory Relat. Fields, 71, 455–465). The estimator is also modified so that the modified estimator is closer to the true survival function than in supnorm.     

Capture in linear functional differential games of pursuit

The problem of capture in a pursuit game which is described by a linear retarded functional differential equation is considered. The initial function belongs to the Sobolev space W₂⁽¹⁾. The target is either a subset of W₂⁽¹⁾ a point in W₂⁽¹⁾, a subset of the Euclidean space Eⁿ or a point of Eⁿ. There is capture if the initial function can be forced to the target by the pursuer no matter what the quarry does. The concept of capture therefore formalizes the concepts of controllability under unpredictable disturbances. This is proved to be equivalent to the controllability of an associated linear retarded functional differential equation. There is nothing in (2) (6) or (7) below which restricts the control sets to be of the same dimension as the phase space. Our results can be applied in (2) for example, if the constraint sets Q′, P′ are subsets of E^m and Eⁱ respectively with q(t) = C(t) q′(t), − p(t) = B(t) p′(t), q′(t) ε E^mp′(t) ε E^r and B(t) is an n × r′-matrices and C(t) an n × m-matrix.     

Lp Markov–Bernstein Inequalities on All Arcs of the Circle

Let 0<p<∞ and 0α<β2π. We prove that for n1 and trigonometric polynomials s_n of degree n, we have

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cn^p ∫^β_α |s_n(θ)|^p dθ, where c is independent of α, β, n, s_n. The essential feature is the uniformity in [α,β] of the estimate and the fact that as [α,β] approaches [0,2π], we recover the L_p Markov inequality. The result may be viewed as the complete L_p form of Videnskii's inequalities, improving earlier work of the second author.     

A random CLT for dependent random variables

We introduce a new condition for {Y_τn} to have the same asymptotic distribution that {Y_n} has, where {Y_n} is a sequence of random elements of a metric space (S, d) and {τ_n} is a sequence of random indices. The condition on {Y_n} is that max_iDnd(Y_i, Y_an)→^p0 as n → ∞, where D_n = {i: |k_i−k_an| ≤ δ_ank_an} and {δ_n} is a nonincreasing sequence of positive numbers. The condition on {τ_n} is that P(|(k_τn/k_an)−1| > δ_an) → 0 as n → ∞. Under these conditions, we will show that d(Y_τn, Y_an) → ^P0 and apply this result to the CLT for a general class of sequences of dependent random variables.