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The Birkhoff ergodic theorem establishes pointwise convergence for integrable observables, but for $f\notin L^1$, no normalization yields almost sure convergence. This paper investigates trimmed ergodic sums, where the largest observations are removed, for observables with polynomial tails satisfying $\mathbb {P}(f>t)\,t^{1/\alpha }\to c>0$ as $t\to \infty $, in exponentially mixing dynamical systems. We prove trimmed strong laws of large numbers when $\alpha \geq 1$, extending known results from the independent and identically distributed case. We further establish distributional limit theorems for both lightly and intermediately trimmed sums in the regime $\alpha>1/2$, showing convergence to an explicitly described non-standard law and to a normal distribution, respectively. The proofs rely on approximating trimmed sums by truncated ergodic sums and exploiting the system’s exponential mixing properties.
We consider the problem of estimating fractional processes based on noisy high-frequency data. Generalizing the idea of pre-averaging to a fractional setting, we exhibit a sequence of consistent estimators for the unknown parameters of interest by proving a law of large numbers for associated variation functionals. In contrast to the semimartingale setting, the optimal window size for pre-averaging depends on the unknown roughness parameter of the underlying process. We evaluate the performance of our estimators in a simulation study and use them to empirically verify Kolmogorov’s $2/3$-law in turbulence data contaminated by instrument noise.
This chapter discusses techniques that help us estimate parameters and summarizing statistics for random variables from data. The chapter discusses techniques such as the method of moments, least-squares, and maximum likelihood. The chapter also touches on concepts of Monte Carlo simulation, which is a technique that can be used to approximate the summarizing statistics of random variables from random samples or from data. The chapter also highlights how one can characterize the quality of such approximations using the central limit theorem and the law of large numbers.
This chapter explains how to estimate population parameters from data. We introduce random sampling, an approach that yields accurate estimates from limited data. We then define the bias and the standard error, which quantify the average error of an estimator and how much it varies, respectively. In addition, we derive deviation bounds and use them to prove the law of large numbers, which states that averaging many independent samples from a distribution yields an accurate estimate of its mean. An important consequence is that random sampling provides a precise estimate of means and proportions. However, we caution that this is not necessarily the case, if the data contain extreme values. Next, we discuss the central limit theorem (CLT), according to which averages of independent quantities tend to be Gaussian. We again provide a cautionary tale, warning that this does not hold in the absence of independence. Then, we explain how to use the CLT to build confidence intervals which quantify the uncertainty of estimates obtained from finite data. Finally, we introduce the bootstrap, a popular computational technique to estimate standard errors and build confidence intervals.
One of life’s most fundamental revelations is change. Presenting the fascinating view that pattern is the manifestation of change, this unique book explores the science, mathematics, and philosophy of change and the ways in which they have come to inform our understanding of the world. Through discussions on chance and determinism, symmetry and invariance, information and entropy, quantum theory and paradox, the authors trace the history of science and bridge the gaps between mathematical, physical, and philosophical perspectives. Change as a foundational concept is deeply rooted in ancient Chinese thought, and this perspective is integrated into the narrative throughout, providing philosophical counterpoints to customary Western thought. Ultimately, this is a book about ideas. Intended for a wide audience, not so much as a book of answers, but rather an introduction to new ways of viewing the world.
The Monte Carlo method is a powerful approach providing a numerical estimate of an integral using random samples drawn from a given distribution and is perhaps the most widely used numerical method to estimate the price of complex derivative securities. This is because any integral can be written as an expectation of a function of a random variable following a given distribution, and this expectation can be estimated by averaging independent samples drawn from the corresponding distribution, as per the law of large numbers. This suggests that any integral, but also any expectation or probability, can be estimated arbitrarily well by averaging a sufficiently large number of random samples. Most computational software includes random number generators, drawing samples from the uniform distribution. Samples from other distributions can be easily obtained by transforming those uniform samples according to the probability integral transform seen in Chapter 2. The last section briefly introduces control variate and importance sampling, which are two improvements to the plain Monte Carlo method aiming to provide better estimates at fixed computational cost.
This chapter provides an overview of the arguments for the stability of public opinion as well as the arguments of those who believe public opinion is unstable. We then explore conditionality, or the conditions under which public opinion appears to be more unstable. Concepts such as low information rationality, issue salience, and question wording are covered.
This rather long chapter constitutes part of the hike in our walk/hike/stroll set-up. We introduce the reader to the basics of stochastics (representing both probability and statistics) necessary for the more technical discussions on risk later. The path followed starts from probability space (a theoretical concept we quickly leave aside); we then move to the notion of a random variable and,, its distribution function, including the most important discrete as well as continuous examples. Historical examples as well as pedagogical ones are always included in order to support the understanding of the new concepts introduced. These examples often show that there is more to randomness than meets the eye. For the applications discussed later, we will measure statistical uncertainty through the concept of confidence intervals. These can be based either on some asymptotic theory involving the famous bell curve, the normal distribution, or on some form of resampling known under the name of bootstrapping. Further, we add some tools that are very important for measuring and communicating risk; these include the concepts of return periods and quantile functions.
Chapter 7 covers probability fundamentals and includes the following specific topics, among others: the discrete case, additive rules of probability, complement rule of probability, multiplicative rule of probability, conditional probability, Bayes’ theorem, and the law of large numbers.
This paper deals with ergodic theorems for particular time-inhomogeneous Markov processes, whose time-inhomogeneity is asymptotically periodic. Under a Lyapunov/minorization condition, it is shown that, for any measurable bounded function f, the time average $\frac{1}{t} \int_0^t f(X_s)ds$ converges in $\mathbb{L}^2$ towards a limiting distribution, starting from any initial distribution for the process $(X_t)_{t \geq 0}$. This convergence can be improved to an almost sure convergence under an additional assumption on the initial measure. This result is then applied to show the existence of a quasi-ergodic distribution for processes absorbed by an asymptotically periodic moving boundary, satisfying a conditional Doeblin condition.
In the classical simple random walk the steps are independent, that is, the walker has no memory. In contrast, in the elephant random walk, which was introduced by Schütz and Trimper [19] in 2004, the next step always depends on the whole path so far. Our main aim is to prove analogous results when the elephant has only a restricted memory, for example remembering only the most remote step(s), the most recent step(s), or both. We also extend the models to cover more general step sizes.
A general multi-type population model is considered, where individuals live and reproduce according to their age and type, but also under the influence of the size and composition of the entire population. We describe the dynamics of the population as a measure-valued process and obtain its asymptotics as the population grows with the environmental carrying capacity. Thus, a deterministic approximation is given, in the form of a law of large numbers, as well as a central limit theorem. This general framework is then adapted to model sexual reproduction, with a special section on serial monogamic mating systems.
In this paper we introduce the multivariate Brownian semistationary (BSS) process and study the joint asymptotic behaviour of its realised covariation using in-fill asymptotics. First, we present a central limit theorem for general multivariate Gaussian processes with stationary increments, which are not necessarily semimartingales. Then, we show weak laws of large numbers, central limit theorems, and feasible results for BSS processes. An explicit example based on the so-called gamma kernels is also provided.
We present a law of large numbers and a central limit theorem for the time to absorption of Λ-coalescents with dust started from n blocks, as n→∞. The proofs rely on an approximation of the logarithm of the block-counting process by means of a drifted subordinator.
It is clear from the previous chapter that sample statistics have distributions depending, in general, on the sample size n. The natural question one may ask is how these distributions are affected by varying n deterministically and, in particular, as n increases. It turns out that one can get common limiting results, for a variety of settings, by analyzing what happens as n tends to infinity; this is large-sample asymptotic theory.We study convergence of distributions and of characteristic functions. For variates that converge to a single value, we study convergence in probability and in moments, and almost-sure convergence with its connection to events that happen infinitely-often. The speed of convergence and orders of magnitude are covered, as are law of large numbers (LLNs) weak and strong, limiting distributions such as central limit theorems (CLTs), stable limit theorems (SLTs), the generalized extreme-value theorem with its three special cases, and a law of iterated logarithms.
We consider a general class of epidemic models obtained by applying the random time changes of Ethier and Kurtz (2005) to a collection of Poisson processes and we show the large deviation principle for such models. We generalise the approach followed by Dolgoarshinnykh (2009) in the case of the SIR epidemic model. Thanks to an additional assumption which is satisfied in many examples, we simplify the recent work of Kratz and Pardoux (2017).
The standard Hawkes process is constructed from a homogeneous Poisson process and uses the same exciting function for different generations of offspring. We propose an extension of this process by considering different exciting functions. This consideration may be important in a number of fields; e.g. in seismology, where main shocks produce aftershocks with possibly different intensities. The main results are devoted to the asymptotic behavior of this extension of the Hawkes process. Indeed, a law of large numbers and a central limit theorem are stated. These results allow us to analyze the asymptotic behavior of the process when unpredictable marks are considered.
In this paper we study asymptotic consistency of law invariant convex risk measures and the corresponding risk averse stochastic programming problems for independent, identically distributed data. Under mild regularity conditions, we prove a law of large numbers and epiconvergence of the corresponding statistical estimators. This can be applied in a straightforward way to establish convergence with probability 1 of sample-based estimators of risk averse stochastic programming problems.
This year we celebrate the 300th anniversary of Jakob Bernoulli's path-breaking work Ars conjectandi, which appeared in 1713, eight years after his death. In Part IV of his masterpiece, Bernoulli proves the law of large numbers which is one of the fundamental theorems in probability theory, statistics and actuarial science. We review and comment on his original proof.
In this paper we study limit theorems for the Feller game which is constructed from one-dimensional simple symmetric random walks, and corresponds to the St. Petersburg game. Motivated by a generalization of the St. Petersburg game which was investigated by Gut (2010), we generalize the Feller game by introducing the parameter α. We investigate limit distributions of the generalized Feller game corresponding to the results of Gut. Firstly, we give the weak law of large numbers for α=1. Moreover, for 0<α≤1, we have convergence in distribution to a stable law with index α. Finally, some limit theorems for a polynomial size and a geometric size deviation are given.