Asymptotic Behavior of Sample Mean Direction for Spheres

In this note we consider some asymptotic properties of empirical mean direction on spheres. We do not require any symmetry for the underlying density. Thus our results provide the framework for an asymptotic inference regarding mean direction under very weak model assumptions. Mean direction is a specialization of the more general concept of mean location applicable to arbitrary (compact) submanifolds of Euclidean space, to which the methods of this paper could be applied.