On the chernoff-savage theorem for dependent sequences

Summary Given a sequence of ϕ-mixing random variables not necessarily stationary, a Chernoff-Savage theorem for two-sample linear rank statistics is proved using the Pyke-Shorack [5] approach based on weak convergence properties of empirical processes in an extended metric. This result is a generalization of Fears and Mehra [4] in that the stationarity is not required and that the condition imposed on the mixing numbers is substantially relaxed. A similar result is shown to hold for strong mixing sequences under slightly stronger conditions on the mixing numbers. Research partially supported by the National Research Council of Canada under Grant No. A-3954.